Tag: lawn care

Spring Clean-Up: A Strong Start to the Season

Finally, there are signs of Spring.

January is over and we are starting to notice little changes in the environment that are early indicators of Spring. For those of us in the Landscape and Lawn Maintenance industry, it is a welcome arrival. I am sure that many of you are ready for warmer weather, longer days, and sunnier skies too.

The arrival of warmer weather and longer days signals the start of the spring planting season. Before you can make plans for new plantings or other changes to your landscape, you need to take the time to thoroughly clean up your landscape or lawn. We call this a Spring Cleanup. We have all heard the terms Spring Cleaning before, though maybe you never associated it with your outdoor spaces.

Spring cleanups are, in my opinion, the most important cultural practice that we do all year for our landscapes and lawns. It helps us to establish a healthy, clean growing environment, where our plants and turf can thrive in the coming season. Spring cleanups do not have to be arduous tasks that take a long time to complete, however there are a few specific things that you will want to check off the list.

Perennials and Ornamentals

Spring is a good time to cut back certain species to encourage a bigger and better regeneration later in the season. Ornamental grasses can be cut back to about 1/5th of their max height.

It is also a good time to divide up fall blooming perennials and grasses. By doing this in the spring, you are giving the divided plants a season grow and will have new plants in the fall.

Beds

Beds are probably the most intimidating aspect of the Spring Cleanup. Over the winter they get cluttered with fallen leaves, twigs, sticks, and other debris. This all needs to be removed. By removing the debris, the surface of the bed becomes open to better water absorption and gas exchange, improving the growing medium for the bedded plants.

Folks tend to want to spread fresh mulch in the spring, to help dress everything up, after all, fresh mulch is one way to spruce things up quickly and affordably, but I would hold off. One of the primary functions of mulch is moisture retention, which can aid in the reduction of irrigation water to beds. In the spring though, there is plenty of natural moisture, we don’t necessarily need to retain any at this point. And we all know, or at least we should, that too much moisture for plant roots can create a host of disease issues. So, hold off on the new mulch for now.
If you just cannot wait on the mulch, then tread lightly. Go thinner on the application and monitor the moisture level in your beds closely.

The last thing that I recommend for bed maintenance in the spring, is to cut a fresh new edge on the perimeter of the bed and make a pre-emergent herbicide application to the interior of the bed. Pre-emergent is most often utilized by professional turf managers to control undesirable weeds in sports fields, golf courses, and home lawns, but it will also work wonders in a bed. Nobody likes spending hours on their hands and knees weeding beds all summer long. A well timed pre-emergent application in the spring can prevent this and keep your beds looking clean and weed free all season.

Lawns

We approach lawns in a similar manner to beds. Rake up or blow the debris from the winter away, exposing the underlying grass. Give the lawn a mow to clean it up. Spring is also a great time to aerify cool season grasses like Fescue.

In this area, Fescue can and often does struggle during the summer months if not properly maintained. A spring aerification can pay dividends later in the season when the temps go up and things get stressful.

Keeping a healthy lawn means keeping the weeds out. Make your pre-emergent herbicide applications before mid-March, although I prefer to use indicator plants, like the Forsythia. If you can make the application before the Forsythia bloom in your area, then you should be fine. It is also a good time to start feeding your lawn. A balanced fertilizer program is essential for healthy turf.

Spring clean ups can work wonders for a lawn or landscape, and they don’t have to be intimidating for the homeowner. Make the effort this spring to clean up your outdoor spaces before the growing season really starts and you’ll reap the rewards the rest of the year.

Importance Of Pre-Emergent Weed Control

 

A weed is generally defined as any undesirable species present in an otherwise homogenous stand of turf. Weeds can be intimidating and stressful on both professional turf managers and homeowners, but they don’t have to be. With the right information and timing, weeds can be controlled and virtually eliminated from a turf stand (if a plan is developed and followed). Pre-emergent herbicides are the key in the battle against weeds.

As a golf course superintendent, every  September, I would start the pre-emergent application process, so that turf at the course would be lush and weed free not only for the remaining season but also for the coming one.

Many might think that this is an expensive process or can not be done to residential lawns. It most certainly can, and should be done to home lawns. The cost is outweighed by the season-long benefits that it provides. You know the saying ‘an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.’ That is precisely the case with pre-emergent applications. Weed free lawns provide homeowners with better curb appeal, a more enjoyable lawn, and a denser,healthier lawn.

It is considerably more difficult and costly to control weeds once they have emerged from the soil.

We all know how unsightly rampant weeds can be in a lawn. There is a another negative effect weeds have on your lawn aside from aesthetics. Weeds compete with desirable turf for sunlight, water, air and essential nutrients. The effect of all the competition is a significant reduction in the overall health, density, vigor and aesthetics of the rest of your lawn as the more aggressive weeds out grown the existing grass.

Weed infestations can become uncontrollable quickly if there is not preventative action taken. In order to combat weeds, a well thought plan needs to be developed (likely with the help of a professional) and followed.

Strategic timing for the pre-emergent application is crucial to its overall effectiveness as is choosing the proper active ingredient (AI) in the pre-emergent. Waiting too late to make the application is not going to do you or your lawn any favors and can severely inhibit the efficacy of the treatment resulting in weed breakthrough and weaker protection.

Pre-emergent chemicals will only work when applied before weed seeds germinate, and location, grass type, and soil temperatures are the determining factors as to when that is, so if there is any doubt, contact a professional for a consultation. When applied properly, the active ingredient in the pre-emergent forms a barrier to prevent newly germinated weed seeds from breaking the soil surface and infesting your lawn.

Uniform coverage during application is critical for the effective barrier to cover the entire area you want to protect. In order to make an even, uniform application of the pre-emergent, it is critical to follow the following steps:

  1. make sure that your spreader is calibrated properly to the rate you want to distribute on the lawn
  2. apply half of the recommended application rate moving across the lawn in a north/south pattern
  3. make a second application at half of the recommended rate moving across the lawn in an east/west pattern
  4. irrigate the application into the soil

Key points about pre-emergent applications:

  1.  Pre-ermergent inhibits the development of newly germinated weed seeds.
  2. The product does not prohibit germination, but rather prevents the development of weeds above the soil surface.
  3. It is best to apply uniformly, at the right time, over the entire area that is to be protected.
  4. Most applications need to be watered in by at least a half inch of water after the application to be effective.

If this seems like a lot to take in, don’t worry about it. The professionals at Crossroads Turf can take care of it to ensure you have the weed free lawn you deserve.

6 Benefits of Professional Lawn Maintenance

Like most homeowners, you find you have little time for lawn care. Regular lawn care and maintenance takes time and effort, requiring a year-round commitment to keep a well-maintained lawn.

Hiring a landscape company that handles professional lawn maintenance in your areas is the perfect solution for a beautiful lawn. Do-it-yourself lawn care and regular maintenance is an overwhelming task for most homeowners.

Whether the lawn is large or small, keeping the grass, plants, trees and shrubs healthy an dgreen takes knowledge and experience in plant care and maintenance practices.

Professional lawn care offers numerous benefits that are difficult to match:

  1. Regular Services
    • With the hectic schedules that many homeowners have day in and day out, finding the time to take care of even basic lawn maintenance taskss is a challenge. Hiring a professional to take care of this for you frees up your time and gives you peace of mind in knowing that your lawns needs are met consistantly.
  2. A Healthier Lawn
    • Keeping your lawn healthy year-round is more than just regular mowing and trimming an drequires attention to details that may signal impending problems. A healthy, functional lawn requires knowledge and skill about mowing techniques, soil types, plant growth pattersn, climate and light conditions, feeding and pruing schedules, and proper lawn care product selection for your existing lawn and landscape conditions.
  3. Curb Appeal
    • Your lawn and landscape have a significant impact on your home’s appearance and curb appeal. A well-maintained lawn adds beauty and character to your home, creates an inviting entrance, increases property values, and gives the homeowner a sense of pride in their property.
  4. Professional Knowledge
    • Lawn care professionals have a diverse knowlege of the product and procedures that are essential to keep your lawn healthy and beautiful. Professional lawn managers understand the advantages and disavantages of different lawn care products and procedures. Professionals bring years of education and experience bear for the homeowner, with most now carrying  college degrees in turf maintenance, horticulture, or agronomy. This education and experience is key to the proper timing, selection, and application of fertilizers, perticides, herbicides, new plantings, and seeding.
  5. Skilled and Experienced Crews
    • Crews show up with the proper tools and equipment to get hte job done right. Hiring a professional to maintain your lawn can save you thousands in tool and equipment costs, while increasing the amount of free time that is available to you. If you consider the experience level of the team and the cost of the tools and equipment, often a professional lawn care service delivers a better product for less expense.
  6. Weed Control
    • Without proper weed control by a professional, aggressive weeds can infest your lawn. Proper selection and application of pre-emergent products is the first step in a weed free lawn. A healthy, properly maintained lawn can also aid in the elimination of unsightly weeds. Once weeds have established, it is much more expensive to remove them than it would have been to prevent them.