This guide is for homeowners around Lake Winnipesaukee, Gilford and Laconia, and the wider Greater Lakes Region who want sprinklers, mulch, and plant growth to stay friends in May. Belknap Landscape delivers property maintenance, landscape construction, and design and permitting when grading or shoreline rules join the story. Read once with your controller manual and a hose in view, then walk beds slowly with photos.
Step one: confirm programs match May plant reality
Open each zone and watch arcs with leaves on shrubs, not only turf. New growth lowers effective throw faster than spreadsheets suggest. If heads bury under fresh mulch, pull mulch back before you change run times. Tie this pass to May week maintenance checklist if crews already refreshed beds this month.
Step two: mulch depth versus spray and bark wash
Fine mulch moves with spray. Note bare rings that appear after one heavy week. Top dress should support roots, not plug low heads. If stone edging sheds toward turf, reset edges before you blame the controller. Shoreline adjacent beds still belong in design and permitting when grade aims toward water.
Step three: maintenance visits versus construction triggers
Weekly property maintenance can adjust heads, clear mulch volcanoes, and report cracked risers. Regrading, new valve boxes, or trenching across drives belong in scoped landscape construction. Send video of the zone running so estimators hear clicks and see arcs.
Step four: tree skirts and spray angles
Low branches that cleared rotors in April may bat spray in May. Flag limbs for tree and plant health pruning rather than forcing higher pressure that stresses turf elsewhere.
Bottom line
May rewards homeowners who sequence controller checks with honest mulch and plant growth. Contact us with controller brand, photos of suspect heads, and event dates you care about.