Your Lawn is Our Business
Locally & Family Owned for Over 17 years.
Current Conditions Lawn Tips
Things to know for Mid April - Late May
This is not a weed
What it is - It is just the grass going through its normal plant cycle and going to seed. As you continue to mow and the temperatures warm up it will stop it's seeding phase.
Crabgrass vs Tall/Coarse Fescue
Tall or Coarse Fescue - is not a grassy weed such as crabgrass and others. Fescues are a durable variety of grass but can stick out in a lawn that is mainly blue & ryegrass. Unfortunately, there is no way to eliminate fescue, other than to kill it off with round-up, dig it out, and re-seed the areas. Fescues can come from the original land/soil that was there before your home was built, seeds can be blown in from neighboring lawns and even brought in from birds.
Tall Fescue
Tall Fescue
Crabgrass
Crabgrass
Crabgrass - as you can see in the photo is more “crabby” looking and lighter colored. It won’t normally rear its ugliness until Summer. We apply crabgrass preventative on your early applications to eliminate/reduce any crabgrass population. We are always on the lookout and will use a post control spray to knock it out on our Summer visits if any should appear.
Just a reminder - Weed Control is a killer, not a preventer.
Weeds need to be actively growing in order to spray and kill them. We spray any and all weeds we see on every visit, aside from the first application. Your first application includes fertilizer and crabgrass preventative, as it is generally too cold for weeds to be actively growing and be able to be killed.
Red Thread
We have not seen much of this as of yet, however, it can still arise and things warm up and conditions become more favorable.
Red Thread: Does not cause permanent damage. It is a fungus caused by excessive wet conditions along with warmer temps and it often has a pink or reddish color to infected areas in the early stages. A fungicide application is NOT necessary, keeping the lawn fertilized along with drier weather and steady temps, the lawn will recover on its own.
Varried Green-Up
Different varieties of grass can green-up at different rates. Even lawns that contain mainly bluegrass or fescue can have uneven coloring.
This season thus far, we have had quite the odd variation of up and down temperatures, which can be confusing to your turf.
Many lawns in our area have more than one variety of grass, in most cases, your lawn has between 2 & 4 different varieties of grass. This is done by design, as each variety has its strengths and weaknesses, so a blend is a good thing. However, the downside is that each variety will green-up at a different rate. Especially when the temps stay inconsistent as they have this season.
Lawns with mainly one variety of turf (mainly bluegrass & fescue) can still show signs of varied green-up. This is usually due to soil structure. The soil throughout your lawn is never the same. You can have bad pockets/areas as well as good areas.
No matter what the variety/circumstance is in your lawn, once the temperatures level out to normal Spring-like weather, things will begin to blend better and match as best as the varying varieties allow.
Are your Mower Blades Sharp?
Dull Mower Blade Damage:
Once we have gotten through the heavy and wet spring mowing season, you should consider having your blades sharpened again to get you through the rest of the season.
Issues caused by dull mower blades: As you can see in the photo, the grass blades on the right are what they should look like and the ones on the left are from a dull mower blade. This can cause several problems that you want to avoid.
*It gives the lawn almost a brown cast over the whole lawn and will not look as green as it should. You should be able to tell that something is wrong.
*It will lead to water loss and increased disease susceptibility.
*If the condition persists into the hot summer months your lawn will have a much more difficult time coping with heat stress and could lead to severe damage.
Watering
Watering: In the spring is not normally necessary, as we typically have adequate rainfall to keep your lawn healthy. HOWEVER once the higher temps arrive and rain diminishes the lawn should be watered 1-3 times a week depending on rainfall. Water for longer periods at least 45min - 1hr in each area.
Our fertilizers will not burn your lawn even if it is not watered; it has a poly coating that inhibits it from breaking down or releasing the nutrients until it has been water activated.
Does it have to be watered in? NO
Will it help activate and give you better results if you do? Yes
