Flex Daily - split zones up or whole yard?

post by GreenDevil on Jun 19, 2020

I am struggling to find the proper scheduling setting/combination for my lawn. If I set everything to flex daily before sunrise, a scheduled run can sometimes start as early as 2am if every zone goes off at once. Is that normal? Seems like it would make more sense if the system split the run over two days instead of everything so early in the morning.

Property is a new construction, lawn is in great shape and has been established for 2 years. I recently added two new zones for mulch/flower/shrub beds, about 500sqft each.

For the grass, I currently run 10 zones (mix of fixed and rotary heads). Beds are a mix of shrubs and flowers on the front of the house.

I’m in transition zone (Maryland) with tall fescue. Lawn is about 11,500sqft l. I have done a soil test and found that I have sandy loam. Front yard is about 2,500sqft.

Do I split my schedules into 3 (Front, Back, Beds)? Front yard is green as can be but can be prone to fungus, back tends to dry out more in the summer, and the beds are new this year so I really don’t know the best approach. Some of the shrubs have 12”+ roots mixed with newer annuals.

Goals = (1) Keep front green, prevent fungus. (2) prevent the back from browning a bit without killing the water bill. (3) Do what’s right for the beds, I’m sorry, I'm new to irrigation for this area.

post by gizbug on Jun 19, 2020

I run flex daily, 2 yr old lawn. Each zone is a separate part of my yard. All are set to cool season grass. I do not specify shrubs. Any water that hits the shrubs is a bonus. You have sprinklers that are specific to your shrubs only? I run ONE schedule for my 5500sq ft lot

post by GreenDevil on Jun 19, 2020

I ran one schedule for my yard for the past two years. I added dedicated sprinklers for my shrubs this year because we replanted everything and added some flowers (original landscaping that came with the new construction was junk and did not establish well).

I still think one schedule is the answer but the timing seems a little funky and wonder how I should dial it in.