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Lawn, Lawn Care, Lawn Maintenance

Lawn Care for Winter and Spring Part 2

Posted on December 20, 2013 by Larry

Part two of a series on lawn care for winter and spring explores fertilizing and watering.

When Do I Water My Lawn in the Winter?

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We are often asked by some of our lawn care customers: “when do I water my lawn in the winter?” Be aware that in the winter months, you do not want to water your lawn too much. A good guideline to follow is actually based on the temperature outside. A great many cities have water conservation guides that can give you a timetable of how much and when to water as well.

The warmer it is, the more you’re going to need to water your lawn. When it is winter and spring however, cooler temperatures mean that water doesn’t evaporate as much. This in turn means that you don’t water as much. Water your lawn every ten days in the winter on the average. Part of the answer is also based on your grass type. When in doubt, call in a lawn care service for tips on when to water. But what about fertilizing your lawn?

Do I Fertilize My Lawn in the Spring?

You want to fertilize your lawn in the late fall and in the early spring. However, don’t let the season fool you. When to fertilize is based on temperature. You never want the external temperature to be above 85 degrees when you fertilize, particularly if you use chemical fertilizer, as this can cause a chemical reaction and thus burn your lawn.

Our next article will cover the great debate regarding fertilizers: synthetic or artificial. Until then, if you need any lawn care tips, feel free to contact us.

This concludes part two of our series on lawn care for winter and spring. Be sure to read part one and part three as well.

Green ServPro LLC
600 W. Ray Rd. Suite B2
Prescott AZ 85225
(928) 356-8167
http://www.greenservpro.com

Lawn, Lawn Care, Lawn Maintenance

Lawn Care Part 2: Winter Lawns

Posted on August 30, 2013 by Larry

Winter ryegrass overseeding is something that you’re going to have to start soon to transition your lawn. As for why, it is all in the type of grasses that are present.

Why Do I Have to Do Winter Ryegrass Overseeding?

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Grass is one of the most diverse types of plants out there. Most people don’t know that such plants as palm trees and bamboo are actually giant species of grass, and of course what’s on your lawn is also grass. However, in the winter, warmer weather grass goes dormant, leaving your lawn a barren yellowish white color. There are two types of winter ryegrasss, perennial ryegrass, and annual ryegrass. Regardless of the type of ryegrass, they provide a green cover during winter. Be aware, however, that winter ryegrass overseeding may cause you some problems in the spring, unless you take care of it properly. Ryegrass competes with other grass types for water, sunlight and fertilizer.

When you do overseeding with ryegrass it is adabtable to either sun or shade. If you get annual ryegrass be aware that you plant it in the fall. Also, annual ryegrass dies out in late spring. Perennial ryegrass is another option for winter ryegrass overseeding, however, be warned that it can choke out other grass species. Whatever type of grass you’re looking plant, you’re going to have to do some preparation first.

Winter Ryegrass Preparation Steps

First off, as temperatures begin to drop in the fall, your turfgrass will need less water. Remove any excess thatch to allow seed to make contact with the soil. A heavily thatched lawn tends to result in irregular patches of overseeded grass, so mow the lawn closely.

With winter ryegrass overseeding, timing is everything. Overseeding should be done thirty days before the first frost, when daytime highs are near 70 °F and nighttime lows are usually above 50 °F. If you seed before this narrow window or after, you could lose your ryegrass. When you plant winter ryegrass, apply 10 pounds of annual ryegrass seed per 1,000 square feet.

Even a winter lawn requires a bit of maintenance. You can do it by yourself if you wish, or as a labor saving step, call in a lawn care service.

Green ServPro LLC
600 W. Ray Rd. Suite B2
Prescott AZ 85225
(928) 356-8167
http://www.greenservpro.com

Lawn, Lawn Care, Lawn Maintenance

Lawn Care Part 1: Artificial Versus Natural

Posted on August 23, 2013 by Larry

Lawn care has come to mean a lot more than just fertilizing and watering. You also have to know what type of seed to plant, when to plant it, and in some cases, when to remove it. In part one of our two part series on lawn care, we will cover artificial lawns versus natural ones. Part two of our series will cover winter lawns and overseeding.

Synthetic Lawns: They Have Come a Long Way

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Originally, artificial grass was created for sporting arenas. Because many of them were domed, grass would not get enough sunlight and would often die out. Astroturf was made in the 60’s and covered the field of the Astrodome. Now we are four generations later on artificial grass, which is a good thing we might add. It used to be that artificial grass looked, well, artificial. When it was first released, synthetic grass was often in an unnatural shade of green. Nowadays, with new technologies, synthetic lawns have come to resemble their living counterparts. And there are several advantages of artificial turf over regular grass.

Artificial turf obviously doesn’t require water, and it helps to control insects including some harmful ones like mosquitoes. As it is usually made of plastics and resins, it is also immune to termites. Another thing is that artificial grass offers is stain resistance, as well as obviously no weeds. However, it also has disadvantages too, such as you pretty much have to replace it every few years or it will be very obvious that you have it, as it will become sun bleached and brittle. And some people want more.

Natural Lawns: Tried and True

To some people, artificial grass is a weird idea. A lawn should be green and growing, and fun to walk on. It evokes memories of hot summer days, the smell of fresh cut grass. A natural lawn has all of that, plus it can lower the temperature of your home by being a natural repository for water. However, just like synthetic turf, lawn has its minuses too. First off, you’re going to need to mow it, and water it, and every now and then put down water to keep it green.

Each person is different, so why should our lawns all be the same? So whether you want some fescue or bluegrass to scrunch between your toes or a low maintenance artificial lawn, it’s all in who you call. The best call to make is to a lawn care service.

Be sure to read part two our series on lawn care as well.

Green ServPro Landscape LLC
600 W. Ray Rd. Suite B2
Prescott AZ 85225
(928) 356-8167
http://www.greenservpro.com

Lawn, Lawn Care

Lawn Care and Fertilizing Your Lawn

Posted on May 3, 2013 by Larry

Lawn care is a series of processes. One process that is often neglected is fertilizing.

Fertilizing Your Lawn 101

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As lawn care professionals we’re often asked how we fertilize a lawn. It’s actually very simple. First off, we only use a high quality fertilizer, and we carefully measure the right amount. Timing is everything with fertilizer. It must be applied at the right time of the year. Back east, a lot of people fertilize in early May, early September, and early November.

Because Arizona has a much more extreme environment, however, the times of year to fertilize differ greatly. Generally early spring and late fall are best for a lawn care regimen including fertilizing. Why are these times of year the best? Simple, they help to reduce your lawn getting scorched by the fertilizer combined with the excessive heat.

Types of Fertilizer Used in Lawn Care

Fertilizer can basically be classified into three classes: chemical-based, organic, and hybrid, and they each have their pluses and minuses where lawn care is concerned. Chemical fertilizers contain controlled-release nitrogen. The amount of nitrogen to apply is about one pound of actual nitrogen per 1,000 square feet of lawn area . You have to be careful with chemical fertilizers however, as the percentage of nitrogen can be too high and you may end up scorching your lawn.

Organic fertilizer is usually a combination of animal and/or plant waste. It is better for the environment, however, like a lot of eco-friendly products, sometimes it isn’t as effective as it should be, generally because the nitrogen level is too low. A hybrid uses both chemicals and organic compounds. Often effective as a fertilizer, you have to make sure that the percentage of nitrogen is properly balanced. Proper lawn care means that you also know what type of fertilizer works best for your lawn.

Fertilizing your lawn is an important part of keeping it up. When you don’t know what to do, call in a professional lawn care company.

Green ServPro LLC
600 W. Ray Rd. Suite B2
Prescott AZ 85225
(928) 356-8167

Lawn, Lawn Care, Lawn Maintenance

Lawn Care: Frequently Asked Questions Part I

Posted on April 12, 2013 by Larry

Lawn care is all about knowledge. What type of seed, how often you should mow, and what you should use to control weeds are just some of the questions you need answered before you start setting up your lawn.

Lawn Care: How Often Should I Mow?

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Grass grows fairly quickly. A good rule of thumb for mowing your lawn as part of proper lawn care is every week to ten days. Otherwise, your lawn will begin to get out of control. When you mow your lawn as you may or may not know, make sure it hasn’t rained for at least two days and also that you haven’t watered your lawn. Otherwise, instead of cutting your grass all you are doing is flattening it slightly. Then it will start to grow at all angles. Cut the grass when it is relatively dry, and then figure out what you want to do with the mulch.

Lawn Care: Mulch or No?

A lot of people argue about mulching. One lawn care professional on television will highly recommend a mulching mower, while another one will recommend that all of the cut grass should be removed to help eliminate weeds. For the record, mulching neither helps nor stops weeds from growing. It can provide a level of fertilizer for your lawn and help you to build turf effectively. Too much mulch however, particularly if you haven’t mowed your lawn in a while can lead to bare spots on your lawn. So use your best judgement on mulch. You also have other considerations if you want to mow your lawn yourself, like what type of mower to get.

Believe it or not, manual lawn mowers still exist, even more than a century after they first came out, and they do have a bit going for them. For one thing, they’re durable. A manual mower can last years or even decades, and need just a bit of sharpening every now and then. They are great exercise too. The biggest drawback they have is that they are slow. It takes two to three passes of a section of grass to get it to cut down. If you get tired, you’re better off calling in a lawn care company to mow your lawn for you.

Part two of this series on lawn care will explore gas and electric mowers, and part three will cover when and how much to fertilize your lawn.

If you need lawn care, call a professional. Green Servpro has been serving the Greater Phoenix area for over 25 years.

Green ServPro LLC
600 W. Ray Rd. Suite B2
Prescott AZ 85225
(928) 356-8167
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Lawn Care: Frequently Asked Questions Part I
Lawn Care: Frequently Asked Questions Part II
Lawn Care: Frequently Asked Questions Part III

Lawn Care, Lawn Maintenance

Lawn Maintenance: Getting the Right Company

Posted on March 6, 2013 by Larry

Getting lawn maintenance is important, and with summer coming up, its a good idea to look into hiring a service. This article explores the reason why you want to hire someone to take care of your lawn.

Lawn maintenance isn’t bad from the fall to the spring. Grass has a slower growth rate because of the cooler weather, and the weather is much more temperate. However, summer is not that far away and Phoenix is infamous for it’s heat as this article excerpt from Wikipedia shows:

Get a Lawn Maintenance Company to Beat the Heat

Phoenix has a subtropical desert climate (Köppen: BWh), typical of the Sonoran Desert in which it lies. Phoenix has extremely hot summers and warm winters. The average summer high temperatures are some of the hottest of any major city in the United States, and approach those of cities such as Riyadh and Baghdad. The temperature reaches and exceeds 100°F (38°C), on average for 110 days of the year,[27] including most days from late May through to early September. Highs top 110 °F (43 °C) an average of 18 days during the year. On June 26, 1990, the temperature reached an all-time recorded high of 122 °F (50 °C).[28] To read more about Phoenix, please [CLICK HERE], otherwise, keep reading about lawn maintenance.

Lawn Maintenance: When You Do It is Key

Doing anything outside in Arizona during the summer is hot work, so hiring a service is your best bet. As a rule, any form of lawn care is handled in the early morning in Arizona. Even the pros know that.

Hiring the right company is important. You want a company that has experience. While the neighbor kid may have a lawnmower, if you can’t trust him to show up when you need him to, it won’t do you a lot of good. You want to get a professional in, and the best one is a lawn maintenance company.

Green ServPro LLC
600 W. Ray Rd. Suite B2
Prescott AZ 85225
(928) 356-8167
greenservpro.com

Lawn, Lawn Care, Lawn Maintenance

Lawn Care and You

Posted on February 7, 2013 by Larry

Lawn care in Arizona is often misunderstood. A good portion of Arizona’s population is from somewhere else, particularly colder climates. As a result of this, they are often bemused that their lawn which did so well in the Northeastern US does so terribly here. Arizona has an extreme environment, and as a result, grass seed from a cold wet climate will not thrive without a few extra steps that you will have to take.

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Lawn Care and Avoiding Mistakes

Lawn care is all about knowing how to adapt to Arizona. One common mistake that people make when they are trying to seed their lawn is planting the wrong sort of grass seed. From the 1950’s to the 1970’s in Arizona for example, Bermuda grass was seeded in a lot of developments as it does well in warm weather climates.

When it is closely trimmed, Bermuda grass is almost indistinguishable from other types of grass, like fescue, rye, or bluegrass. However, using Bermuda grass for a lawn has its own challenges, as any lawn care service can tell you.

Lawn Care Tips

As any lawn care expert knows, Bermuda grass sends out runners that if unchecked can strangle out other plants in your garden or landscaping. If you cut the grass and these runners are entwined in any other plants, the runners will die off, leaving a dried brown matted mess of grass that takes a lot of effort to remove.

Good lawn care is all about the choices you make. Should you plant seed, or lay down sod instead? Both have their pluses and minuses. Grass seed requires that you place ground covering over the top of it. Otherwise, birds will eat up your grass seed before it has a chance to germinate. If you lay down sod, you must make sure you find the balance between too little water or too much. You need enough water for the sod to root, but not so much that it kills the grass.

Both sod and seed require that you have a bit of patience. Sod takes 2-3 weeks to root properly, and until it does, you have a bunch of squares and rectangles on your lawn. Seed requires about a month to germinate. So which is better? Seed or sod? Depends on what you want to do with your lawn. When in doubt call in a lawn care service. They will be able to tell you what will work best.

Green Servpro is a Phoenix lawn care company.

Green ServPro LLC
600 W. Ray Rd. Suite B2
Prescott AZ 85225
(928) 356-8167
Get Lawn Care