Hi,

Please forgive any naivety. I am new to gardening and have always had a black thumb.

I had sod professionally installed last week. I do not know what type they installed, but I have attached a closeup in case it is helpful for identification.

I have been watering the lawn twice a day (early morning and early evening) so that each part of the lawn gets a minimum of 20 minutes each watering. The watering is done with an oscillating sprinkler. Despite this, the yard is getting a little browner every day. It is not an entire patch of sod, but more little areas within different patches. (Photo is a bit exaggerated due to my terrible cell phone camera but it conveys the general idea).

Honestly, I do not know what is going on. I have read conflicting things online, with some sites saying to water sparingly and others saying that new sod needs a lot of water for the first two weeks. A few details that may be helpful:

1) I live in MD, where daytime temps have been in the 90s. The lawn gets full sun between 12-6pm, so I'm guessing a good chunk of my watering is evaporating rather than soaking into the soil.

2) Other than when I first shut off the sprinkler, the ground is pretty firm. I have checked under the sod in multiple places, and the soil is moist but not dripping wet.

3) The sod patches are moist, and the surface has brown fuzzy roots. However, I do not see any new roots that would anchoring into the soil. The grass blades are also limp and don't stand up on their own. Possibly, they are too long. But I am worried that it may also be a sign of stress.

The person who did the installation told me to water only 20 minutes once a day, but this seems too little given the temperature and sun exposure. Therefore, I would really appreciate advice from someone who has experience with establishing sod in the dead of summer. Am I watering too much? Too little? Is the browning a natural part of the sod being shocked after transplant?

Thanks.