We have little or no rain and intense sun. It kills our grass. And we live in Florida and the grass is a drought resistant type, looks like crab grass really. And it still dies. We have water sprinklers. The sun is just too intense and there isn't enough rain (until the hurricane comes). What to do?
Is your grass dead or dormant? We let our grass (St. Augustine and also bermuda) go dormant in the summer. It looks brown and dead, but perks right up with the fall rains. If you are sprinkling, you may be keeping your grass on the edge of dormancy, which will stress it. A deep watering once a week is better than sprinkling, which also loses a lot of water to evaporation. Check and see how deep the moisture goes after you sprinkle the lawn.
St. Augustine grass is the most common type used in Florida, it is laid out in rolls of sod on top of the sand that passes for soil in south Florida. Pull up an edge of the grass, if it pulls up easily you will probably see very shallow roots and sand under it. The water you are putting on it just sinks down into the sand and the grass roots never get a drop. You might try soaker hoses instead of sprinkling in hopes of the grass roots getting to keep some of the water for themselves. When I lived down there sand, gravel and succulents/cactus plants were very popular.
You should always try and water your grass at times when it will soak in most, such as early in the morning or later at night. Try and avoid sprinkling the grass every day as this can damage the roots and make it even more prone to drying out. Giving your lawn a good drink once or twice a week when it is dry will be a lot more beneficial.
