Getting your property looking it’s best is what we do best, we take just as much pride in your lawn as we would our own. That’s why we’ve created several helpful tips that you can use to ensure that your lawn stays looking its best at all times.

Mowing Tips
Watering & Drainage Tips for Lawns
Tree & Shrub Watering Tips
Aeration
Dethatching
Treating & Preventing Brown Spots from Pets

Mowing Tips

1. Sharp, clean mower blades make the difference. By keeping your mower blades sharp, you are making sure each blade of grass is cleanly cut, not torn. If you tear the grass blades, you leave them open to dehydration and disease.
2. The benefits of mulching vs bagging. By leaving the grass clippings where they fall you are feeding your lawn every time you mow.
3. Set your mower to the proper height. One of the worst mistakes you can make is to cut your lawn too short. 3″ or higher is best for this area. Grass blades that are cut too short can take up to a month to start growing again, and where the grass is thin, the weeds will grow.
4. Be careful how much you cut. Do not cut more than 1/3 of the grass off during one single mowing. If you haven’t been able to mow as often and the lawn is higher then usual, reset your mowing height so you do not cut more then 1/3 of the grass blades. After this initial “high” mowing, come back a few days later and cut again to get it down to its normal cutting height.
5. Don’t be afraid of long grass. A longer lawn generally means a deeper root system, increasing its chance of withstanding periods of drought and severe heat. Higher grass also allows for increased ground cover to help protect soil from drying out and lets the grass absorb more sunlight.
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Watering & Drainage Tips for Lawns

1. Watering will vary throughout the season. Lawn irrigation would normally be minimal in spring until June. Add 1 to 1-1/2 inches of water per week (minus any rainfall) during the summer months. Lawns use about 4 to 6 inches of water per month during June, July, and August. The precipitation during each of those months is usually 3 to 4 inches.
2. Water in early morning hours for greatest efficiency. The most efficient time to water lawns is probably early in the morning hours from 4 to 8 a.m. Less water is lost to evaporation due to lower temperatures and less sunlight. Also, wind velocities are usually lower than they will be later in the day so distribution is improved. Water demand on municipal systems is usually less at that time as well.
3. How much water does your lawn need and how do you know when you’ve given it enough water? Here’s an easy tip: Place an empty tuna can under the sprinkler and water the lawn until the can is full. The can is about an inch high, which is just the right amount to soak the lawn’s root system.
4. When to use more water: Any turf that is affected by or is recovering from pest damage such as disease, insects, or excessive weed growth, should receive plenty of water to aid recovery. Any area that has been recently seeded should be watered frequently. Whenever possible, areas subjected to wear, such as ball fields or play areas, should be watered to maintain tolerance to traffic and aid recovery.
5. When to use less water: At times, using less water can help prevent fertilizers from being washed away. In certain cases watering less can also prevent pet wastes, applied chemicals and other run-off from entering nearby storm drains and local water bodies. Watering less also reduces the demand when water use may be restricted and saves money on water utility bills in the summer.
6. Don’t water too frequently. Deep, infrequent irrigations cause plants to develop deep, strong root systems that can extract water from a much larger volume of soil than the shallow roots associated with light, frequent irrigations.
7. The amount of water may depend on soil type: The prefered method is to thoroughly wet the soil down to a depth of 5 inches. If the soil is initially very dry, it may take 1/2 inch of water to wet a sandy soil down to a depth of 5 inches, while 1-1/2 inches of water may be needed to wet a clayey soil down that far. Once the soil is thoroughly wet to a depth of 5 inches, any additional water will simply drain below the root zone.
8. Testing the saturation depth of your soil type: An easy method is to sink a shovel into the soil and spread the hole so you can see how far the water has penetrated. Then remove the shovel and press the soil into place with your foot.
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Tree & Shrub Watering Tips

1. Trees: Once every two weeks, two inches of water
2. Shrubs: Once a week, one inch of water
3. Perennials: Once a week initially, finger test biweekly
4. If there is less than one inch of rainfall per week, water plants thoroughly once a week.
5. Apply water slowly and repeatedly to allow it to soak in.
6. As with lawns, morning is the best time of day to water your other plants. When plant foliage remains wet overnight, it provides an ideal environment for fungus diseases.
7. Watch plants for wilting and other signs of water stress. (Misting the foliage with a fine spray helps revive wilted plants)
8. Remember: Plants need more water when they are actively growing (spring and summer), than when they are dormant (fall and winter).
9. Water your trees and shrubs thoroughly after planting.
10. Continue to water plants regularly for the first two years that they are planted. Proper watering is especially crucial during this time as the plants are working to establish themselves in the landscape and to overcome any transplant shock.
11. Deep, less frequent watering is better than frequent, shallow watering. This promotes deep root growth and can reduce water loss by evaporation.
12. Sandy soils drain water much faster than clay soils. In an area with a heavy clay soil, the water percolates slowly into the ground, so water at a slower rate to help reduce run off.
13. Know how much water each plant type needs to thrive.
14. Water the rootball or the area directly below the plant rather than the leaves. The leaves can take in water, but the main uptake of water and nutrients is through the roots.
15. The best time to water is during the morning hours. Afternoon watering tends to increase the chances of water loss through evaporation. Watering at night increases the likelihood of fungal infections.
16. Mulch around your plantings. This helps to reduce evaporation and to suppress weeds.
17. Control your weeds – they will be competing with your plants for the same water.
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Aeration

Aerating lawns is one ofthe most important and neglected practices available for your lawn. An enemy of lawns is soil compaction. Soil compaction is a frequent cause of turf deterioration. It’s caused by lawn traffic, like walking and mowing. Soil compaction is greatest (or worse) in the top 2″ to 3″ of the soil.
When soil gets compacted by walking or mowing, dirt particles are forced together. This is a big problem because it reduces the area where your lawns roots can grow. The solution to soil compaction is aeration.

Some of the benefits of aeration include:

• Oxygen gets to the roots and the soil allowing it to “breathe”
• Organic fertilizers and nutrients get access to the root system
• Water is able to better soak the soil and reach the root system
• Helps to break up and control thatch
• Tight, compacted soil is loosened up allowing the root system to grow
• Encourages greener lawns
• Makes lawns easier to maintain
• Suffer from fewer pest problems and disease
• Improves the soil structure
• Helps create growth pockets for new roots (your lawn can easily have dead patches if you don’t aerate)

How to know when your lawn may need aeration:

• There are worn areas where people walk often
• Water puddles after rain or irrigating (watering) your lawn
• Water runs off the lawn, after only a few minutes of watering
• There are areas in your lawn that just can’t seem to keep moist

How often should you aerate? If you maintain your lawn to a high standard or if your soil is heavy and tends to compact, you may need aerating twice per year. Sandy soils do not become compacted as easily and may only need aerating every few years. Here is a quick test you can do to know if your soil is compacted: Poke a large screwdriver or sturdy stake in the ground. If it goes in easily, the soil is not compacted, but if it goes in only with difficulty, that’s a clear signal that your soil is compacted and needs more breathing room.
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Dethatching

Thatch is a layer of dead plant material such as roots, grass and leaves that forms near the surface of soil. In healthy lawns, organisms such as bacteria, fungi, worms and insects dethatch soil naturally. But in some situations your lawn may have a tendency to build up thatch. Several dethatching methods, such as core aeration and raking, are available, allowing you to encourage root growth, increase the efficiency of fertilizer, increase soil drainage, and help protect your lawn from future problems.

Some of the benefits of dethatching include:

• Root Growth: One of the most harmful effects of thatch buildup is that it strangles new growth, making your ideal, lush green lawn impossible to obtain. Dethatching helps circulate air down into roots, giving it essential carbon dioxide (CO2). This encourages the growth of existing roots and also helps stimulate new root growth.
• Fertilizer Efficiency: Thatch buildup can prevent fertilizers from mixing properly with surrounding and underlying soil. This is because the dead plant materials making up thatch form a layer near the surface of the soil, which can be nearly impenetrable. Dethatching will help make your fertilizing more effective by removing this thatch barrier and allowing your fertilizer to spread.
• Soil Drainage: Thatch buildup can be a barrier not just against fertilizer and water. In a healthy lawn, water will only remain on your lawn temporarily, and will eventually be soaked up by the soil. Thatch buildup prevents this from happening, keeping water at the surface for longer periods and over-saturating plants.
• Prevents Lawn Problems: The longer you let thatch build up in your yard, the harder it will be to dethatch. Dethatching your lawn is a good way to protect again future lawn problems, such as disease and insect infestations. Dethatching helps protect your lawn from summer droughts and becoming arid.
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Treating & Preventing Brown Spots from Pets

If you have dogs, then you probably have yellow or dead spots in your lawn created by their urine. Your dog’s urine is highly acidic and can kill the grass it comes in contact with, similar to burning a lawn with over-fertilization.

The most common treatment is to saturate the urine spot with water. Enough water has to be used to dilute the urine or even completely wash it away. If you don’t use enough water, you may save the lawn from burning, and instead have lots of very dark green spots where the urine was diluted to the point of actually helping the grass too much.

Another way to combat urine burn is to train your dog to do his business in one area of the yard that has been designated as his personal bathroom. It’s a good idea to segregate that spot with river pebbles, sand or even artificial turf. This way, you can clean it up easily.

There are several contributing factors that increase the likelihood of developing lawn burn.

• Female dogs are more likely to cause lawn burn than males because they void their entire bladder in one location instead of lifting their leg and marking, like males.
• Large dogs deposit more urine so they increase the quantity of nitrogen in one location, making lawn burn more likely.
• Those dogs, usually young active dogs, fed a high protein diet are more likely to produce a urine that causes lawn burn.
• Heavily fertilized yards are already receiving near maximum levels of nitrogen. The small amount of nitrogen in dog urine may be all that is needed to put these lawns over the edge and cause lawn burn.
• Lawns that are stressed are more susceptible to damage. Lawns that are suffering from drought, disease, or are newly sodded or seeded are more susceptible to lawn burn.

Solving the problem

1. Saturate the urinated spots with water. After the pet urinates, pour several cupfuls of water on the spot to dilute the urine.
2. Feed a high quality dog food that does not exceed the pet’s protein requirement. High quality foods have more digestible protein sources that are more completely utilized by the pet and create less nitrogenous waste in the urine.
3. Encouraging your dog to drink more, will help dilute the urine and decrease the risk of lawn burn. Small amounts of non-salted broth in the drinking water may help increase your dog’s water intake.
4. Train your dog to urinate in a location that is less visible. This approach is very effective for some owners that do not want to add supplements to their dogs’ diet.
5. Replant your yard with more urine-resistant grasses. The most resistant grasses tend to be perennial ryegrasses and fescues. The most sensitive tend to be Kentucky bluegrass and Bermuda.
6. Feed your dog a supplement like Drs. Foster and Smith Lawn Guard, or apply a product to the lawn such as Dogonit Lawn Treatment. These products bind and neutralize the nitrogen in your pet’s urine.
7. Reduce the stress on your lawn by not over- or under-fertilizing and by providing frequent watering.
8. If neighbors’ dogs are causing the problem, you may advise your neighbors of the leash laws. Using a fence or motion-activated sprinkler may be helpful in keeping these dogs off of your lawn.
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