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How to Care for Your Lawn through a Drought Season
Ugh! It is really getting ugly out there. Lawns are drying up, leaves on shrubs are wilting and it is beginning to be a real chore to keep up on watering annual plants. The one thing I have learned in my 35 years in the lawn care business is that it will rain again – I guarantee it. The tough part is figuring out when it will rain again and how much damage will occur if the rain keeps skipping our area. We will just have to wait, hope, pray, wave a dead chicken over our head at midnight, do a rain dance or any other folk remedy that may help the rain return
Ascochyta Leaf Blight Lawn Disease
For the last several years, a minor disease has been affecting many lawns during the late spring into the early summer: • It usually occurs during the period of time when the weather switches from cool and wet to hot and humid. • Lawns have been growing well and then heat and humidity blankets the area. • Mowing during the heat of the day seems to be one of the factors that cause this disease to become active. • It mainly affects bluegrass and it is usually on lawns that were mowed too short. The lawn disease is called Ascochyta Leaf Blight. The one good thing about this disease is that it is not a crown killer and the plant will recover on its own. If you see sections of your lawn that look like the picture above, you will notice that the grass blades have turned tan fro
Repairing Dog Damage in Your Lawn
Many people think that if they change the diet of the dog or add some magical pill to their food, the dog will not damage the turf. Feeding your dog higher quality food with low to moderate protein and salt added may decrease the damage they cause – but always check with your vet first before changing your dog's diet. Types of Dog Damage There are two types of dog damage: The first is when darker green spots appear where they have “done their business.” This is usually the result of excess nitrogen that was released in the dog's urine, causing the darker green spots to appear. Female dogs are more apt to cause this kind of damage as they usually urinate in one spot. In this situation, lawn fertilization will help mask the spots. Male dogs have a tendency to urin
Lawn Care Tips #4: Battling Broadleaf Weeds
Weeds are amazing plants. They are able to endure any harsh weather condition that occurs during spring, summer or fall and continue to grow. Winter cold does not seem to faze them, either. Unless they are a summer annual weed that dies off every fall anyway, lawn weeds will start growing again once the weather warms up. The battle against weeds seems to be an unending one. Even if you follow all the right cultural practices of mowing high, watering on a regular basis and fertilizing during the growing season, weeds still have the ability to find that one little spot where the grass may not be growing as dense as other parts of the lawn and germinate. At this point, you have a choice in dealing with the weed: • You can live with it • You can try pulling it out • You can spray it wi
Spring Lawn Care Tips #3: Do I Need to Water My Grass in the Spring?
April showers bring May flowers. We have heard this old adage for most of our lives - and for the majority of the country, it holds true. Generally speaking, you don’t have to water your lawn in the spring. Of course, there are always those times when there is an exception to the rule. For example, if you have reseeded your lawn or resodded an area, you will have to supply additional water beyond what Mother Nature provides. Occasionally, parts of the country go through an extended drought period that can last well into spring. The picture is the current drought map that can be accessed by going to http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/ . How Much Water Should I Use? How much water to use depends on the type of grass in your lawn and the ar
Early Insect Pest – the Dangers of the European Pine Sawfly
I take my dog for a walk twice a day. During our walks, I am always looking for insects, disease and other problems that may be of interest to my readers. While walking by the local library, I saw several European Pine Sawfly larvae feeding on a Mugo Pine. At first, the larvae feed on the needle surface, but eventually they will strip the branch of all the needles. In many cases, the only thing that remains is a thin brown thread of the original needle. Once one branch is stripped, they will move on to the next and so on. They don’t feed on the current year’s needles, so the tree usually survives. If you’re looking into protecting your trees, consider using an insecticidal soap - they do a fairly good job of controlling the European Pine Sawfly larvae. Have you seen any of these
Don't Worry, Spring Will Come
There have been several articles in the last week or so comparing the weather we have had to endure the last month or so with the relatively mild conditions we enjoyed last year. It seems like winter just does not want to let go of its icy grip on many parts of the U.S. this year. I am happy to tell you that I am beginning to see a sign that spring is doing its best to push old man winter out of the way. The first thing that I noticed was that the Silver Maples are producing flowers. Silver Maples are one of the earliest flowering trees, and the flowers are red in color and about ¼ inch in diameter. If the recent cold weather has been good for anything, it may be that some of the Silver Maple flowers may be damaged, which could lead to a reduction in the number of seeds that develop. Th
Tree Burls - Why Are There Heads Growing Out Of My Tree?
Outside my dining room window is what I call the world's largest silver maple. I know it is not, but it is really big and has a 48 inch diameter. The other day, I was looking at it through the dining room window and noticed this weird growth developing on the side of the tree. I never noticed it before, and it seems to have grown in the last couple of months. The more I looked it, the more I noticed what looked like heads protruding out of the side of the tree and it is a little bit creepy. These growths are known as burls. Burls are odd shaped bumps, lumps or bulges that develop on the trunks of many trees. Sometimes they look like just a big bulge, but some take on human facial characteristics like noses or even faces. There hasn't been a lot of research on what causes burls to dev
Spring is Still Six Weeks Away
Last week was Groundhog’s Day and according to the news, Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow, so there are six more weeks of winter left. Whether or not you believe in the prognostication abilities of said rodent, winter for much of the U.S. has hardly materialized this year. It seems almost surreal that less than 14 inches of snow has fallen so far this winter in the Chicago area, especially considering that we had over 22 inches in just one day in early February of 2011. I speak with Spring-Green Franchisees throughout the U.S. on a regular basis. Many of the southern locations are well underway and they are completing early applications on home lawns and landscapes. Winter weed control is the primary focus on the still dormant warm season grasses. Lawn Care in Transition Zones</
Making a Landscape Plan - You Gotta Have a Map
Even if you live in an area where there isn’t any snow during the winter months, if you want to add or re-do your landscape beds , drawing out a plan is the best idea to make sure you have the right plants in the right place. Winter is a good time to do so as the weather can quickly change from day to day, and trying to plan some time outdoors can be challenging. The lawn or yard care that’s best for your lawn depends on the region you’re in. Last week, I discussed the need to look at the growing conditions required for any plant that you want to place in your landscape beds of even in your vegetable garden. Without a landscape plan , you will probably put too many plants into too small of an area and will be disappointed with the results. Sketching Your Garden or Landscape Bed<