2023 Irrigation Shut Off Dates for the Area and End of Season Watering Tips

October brings the end to the irrigation water season, and we wanted to share when several of the local irrigation districts are ending the irrigation water season and some tips for your landscape to make it through winter better.

Irrigation Districts
Benton Irrigation District Oct 13th
Badger Mountain Irrigation District Oct 20th
Columbia Irrigation District Oct 13th
City of Pasco Irrigation Oct 16th
City of Richland Irrigation Oct 16th
East Columbia Irrigation District Oct 23rd
Franklin County Irrigation District Oct 23rd
Kennewick Irrigation District Oct 11th
South Columbia Irrigation District Oct 23rd

Before the water goes off
-Ensure everything in the yard gets a good drink; nothing is dry or wilting.
-Deep soak evergreens, and then make a recurring phone/calendar reminder to check the evergreens once a month through March.
-Make a fix list to repair before spring if sprinklers or valves are leaking, broken, or haven’t worked correctly.
-Review this list of plants that do well getting a drink in winter.

After the irrigation, the irrigation water is off.
-Clean your filters. That way, they are good to go in spring.
-Get your sprinkler lines blown out
-Disconnect your hoses from outdoor faucets
-Drain garden hoses when not in use
-Clean your sprinkler screens, inspect the sprinklers for wear and tear like springs, nozzles, or threads repair if needed
-Put your irrigation timer either in standby mode or off, depending on model or brand recommendations for winter storage. There is no need to have your valves turned on and off all winter.
-Consider upgrading your irrigation timer if it’s hard to program for modern smart controllers that use phone apps for programming vs the mystery dial.

Featured Garden Supply Plant for April 6th 2020

The Bayer BioAdvanced Bermudagrass Control for Lawns is a growth inhibitor that helps beat back Bermuda Grass. What you do is apply the Bermudagrass Control when the Bermuda Grass is just waking up for spring. The chemical triggers it to halt growing and weaken it. Then from there you apply it again on a monthly regiment until the surrounding grass chokes it out. Timing is everything with this product, so be organized and vigilant. It’s easy to apply by just hooking the bottle up to the hose and measuring out your area to make sure you apply the correct amount per square foot.

Here is a link to read more about Bermudagrass Control for Lawns and the product.

Plant of the Week for April 6th 2020

The Burkwood Viburnum is simply stunning this year in my yard! My plant stands about 7 feet tall and is loaded with fragrant, white snowball shaped clusters of blooms. The fragrance is sweet and reminds me of Jasimine. It will top out at about 10 feet tall and 6 feet wide. The dark green leaves contrast the flowers very well. The Burkwood Viburnum enjoys full sun to part shade. Like other Viburnums, even Burkwood’s cousin The Common Snowball Bush that blooms later in spring, they handle our area and a variety of soil conditions. A truly easy care plant.

Plant of the Week for March 20th 2020 The Black Tulip Magnolia

The Black Tulip Magnolia is just so fun this time of year with it’s large, dark purple flowers! They flower one bloom per branch while creating a sense of wonder when people walk by. They enjoy full sun but need some wind protection from hot summer winds. They grow to about 20 feet tall and 10 feet wide. After it’s done blooming it has large medium green leaves.

Featured Garden Product for March 20th 2020

The Rapitest Digital Soil Thermometer is this week's feature because it easily tells you what the soil temp is. Why is this important? Because it helps guide you on when it is time to plant or transplant your veggies plants. Most seeds germinate best when the soil is at optimum temps. Transplants take off faster when they have their feet at the right temp. Most seed packets will have the soil temps needed for a specific variety on them. If not, a quick google search of what you are planting and the soil temp will bring up that pertinent info. Help eliminate the guessing game of knowing when is it the right to plant with a digital soil thermometer!

Featured Garden Supplies-Florel

Florel is a growth regulator that when applied just as a plant begins to flower that sterilizes the bloom, which leads to no undesired fruit or seeds. It is advised to plan on spraying just before the flowers open and soon after. Timing is the critical factor.

Plant of the Week of March 9th 2020

This week’s featured plant is the Leonard Messel Magnolia just before flowering. As the flowers begin to swell in February they resemble a pussywillow bloom. The added bonus is that unlike the pussywillow blooms, the Magnolias open up to a light pink flower! Extending the seasonal interest from February to the end of March depending on the weather. At the 2020 Regional Home and Garden show this Magnolia was one of the most touched plants that brought on memories being shared with us of past adventures or family in the garden. The Leonard Messel can get to about 15 to 20 feet tall and wide. This week they should be opening their flowers for the pink show.

Plant of the Week for February 23rd 2020

The Arnold’s Promise Witch Hazel is a welcomed site at the nursery because it shows us that spring is around the corner. It started flowering this year about Feb 5th in the greenhouse. It will remain in bloom for another week or so. While not a fast grower, it does eventually get 15 to 20 feet tall and wide.

Plant for the Week of October 15th 2019

The Sun Valley Maple is not only very colorful in the fall but is also sterile (no helicopters)! Sun Valley grows to about 40 feet tall and 35 feet tall. This is a good sized shade tree for city lots. In summer they are a medium green. To keep it’s vibrant colors in fall and summer fertilize the tree in spring and late summer. It’s shape is rounded. It colors up in our area from early to mid October.

Plant of the Week for October 2nd, 2019

Pumpkin Hypericum provides yellow flowers in spring and pumpkin orange berries in fall. It enjoys full sun but can handle some shade. Pumpkin gets 2.5 to 3 feet tall and wide. It works well to add in landscape beds that need compact fall impact!

Plant of the Week for September 24th 2019

Fire Light Hydrangea is a sun loving hydrangea that blooms white in July. Then they age over summer to a vibrant “red” pictured above. Fire Light grows to about 6 to 8 feet tall and wide making it a large shrub. A plant like this can be used as a colorful privacy block or as a focal point with perennials and smaller shrubs in front. It would go nicely along a fence lined up with a window that is part of the main living space like great room or kitchen. Where it can be seen and enjoyed through it’s long show season. After the flowers have faded, remove them and to keep size in check prune back harder in early spring. They can handle all day sun to as little as 4 hours of direct sunlight.

Plant of the Week for September 17th 2019

Angel Hair Silver Mound is so soft that you cannot resist petting it! This distant relative to Sagebrush is much more yard friendly than it’s cousin because of it’s compact habit and is far less scratchy. It’s grows to 6 to 12 inches tall and about 2 feet wide. Silver Mounds enjoys full sun, exposed areas and well drained soils. In fact they like it on the drier side. These plants work well in front of yarrows, sedums, barberry, junipers and black eyed Susans.