First and foremost, we must follow proper irrigation practices.  Planning to water all areas of the lawn for a minimum of 1 hour per week can be a guideline for those who cannot monitor the lawn to determine when the lawn needs water and in which areas.  In general, the goal should be to provide enough water to keep the lawn green and growing.  In the early spring most lawns do not need more water than Mother Nature provides.  However, beginning June 1st, you should be prepared to water areas as required to keep those areas green and growing.  An area that is allowed to dry out in early June is an invitation to chinch bugs to set up a colony here!  Also when we allow the lawn to dry out and go dormant, the lawn becomes more susceptible to invading weeds.  A thick green lawn resists weed and insect invasions.  Watering should be done heavily and infrequently, (Ie: 1 time weekly for 2 hrs) rather than watering daily for 20 minutes.  This practice will promote deep root growth, as the roots will go deeper to find water as the soil dries out from the surface down.

	Did you Know? Another overlooked practice that affects the overall health of the lawn is proper cutting.  Your lawn should be cut at least 1 time per week with a sharp blade to a height not less than 2 inches. Our average cutting heights range from 2.75 inches to 3.25 inches. When the lawn is cut too short we put the grass under stress, again, making it susceptible to weed and insect invasions.  A lawn that is left longer will have more leaf surface to photosynthesize sunlight resulting in a stronger, healthier turf.  Weed seeds cannot germinate because the longer, thicker grass is preventing sunlight from reaching the weed seeds.

Often, one or more aspects of your cultural practices are lacking.  This season, if you don’t feel that you have the time to invest in caring for your property the natural way, let us help.  We are available for all of your maintenance needs.  We can provide professional spring clean up services, weekly lawn cutting and monitoring of your property, fall clean up and disposal services, slit seeding, top dressing and seeding, or sod for weak or damaged areas.  We provide complete tree, shrub and cedar hedge trimming and removal services as well as installations of low maintenance and naturalized landscapes.