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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
Is Nutsedge Driving You Nuts?
Actually, this grassy weed is not a true grass, it is a sedge and it is called nutsedge. It is a perennial plant that increases in numbers every year. I find the plant interesting in the fact that it has a triangular stem when viewed in a cross section, a trait found in many other sedge plants. In residential lawns, there are two types of nutsedge, Purple and Yellow. They get their names from the color of their seed heads. Nutsedge can be found in both co
Why is Nutsedge Such a Problem This Year?
At our recently held National Training Conference, we had a tradeshow for our many equipment and product vendors. One of our Franchisees asked the representatives of FMC Professional Solutions why there were so many nutsedge plants this year. It was a good question and one that I had asked myself. I am very observant of what is growing in lawns and landscapes wherever I travel and it seems to me that nutsedge has run rampant this year. FMC makes
Fall Lawn Care
Fall lawn care is an important part of ensuring your lawn is healthy and beautiful season after season. Below find tips on the best ways to care for a lawn in the fall, specific to northern and southern regions. Northern Areas Aerate your lawn Fall is the time when a lawn naturally repairs itself from the ravages of summer stresses. You can help this along by aerating to open up your lawn to allow more air, water and nutrients to reach the root z
Why Are There So Many Weeds This Year? – Weed Control & Prevention
The August 27th issue of the Wall Street Journal had an article in the Personal Journal section titled Better Ways to Battle Weeds, written by Anne Marie Chaker. In the article, Ms. Chaker wrote, "Weeds are bigger and badder this year in most states east of the Rocky Mountains than in recent memory, horticulture experts say. A particularly wet growing season, following a mild winter and last year's dry summer, has helped weeds flourish, weather experts
Plant Identification: White Snakeroot
Over the years, I have received many pictures of problem lawns and landscape plants. Most of them I am able to identify, but occasionally, I am stumped. That is when I go to a network of professionals and colleagues to help me identify or diagnose what may be the cause of the problem or identify the plant. I recently needed to go to my plant identification "helper" list to help me identify a weed that I didn't even know existed. Kenny Gute, franchise mana
Indicator Weeds and What They Tell About Your Soil
I recently attended the Lawn Care Summit, a program sponsored by the Professional Landcare Network, the lawn care industry's professional organization. One of the talks centered on indicator weeds and what they tell. Often, weeds can be used as an indicator of other turf problems. Turf will grow best in full sun and in deep, fertile, well-drained soils . Unfortuna
What to Do First: Reseeding or Top Dressing? - Spring-Green Lawn Care Tips
Lawn Care Tips: Reseeding and Top Dressing The following is a question-and-answer exchange between a homeowner and Harold Enger, the Director of Education at Spring-Green. Harold provides some expert tips on two important lawn care practices—reseeding and top dressing—and stresses the importance of doing them in the right order. He also addresses the best time to weed and feed. Question: "I planted about an acre of grass last spring. It has come in nic
How to Get Rid of Wild Violets and Ground Ivy
Wild violets and ground ivy can be considered some of the most difficult-to-control weeds in a lawn. They can drive homeowners crazy with their efforts to rid their lawns of these weeds with little or no success. The key to getting rid of ground ivy and wild violets is knowing the best time to apply control products.
Winter Weed Control on Warm-Season Grasses
With the colder weather hitting the states lately, we don’t need to be worrying about weeds, right? Wrong! Areas with warm season grasses, like Alabama, can still have a weed problem even when the turf goes dormant. Except for parts of Florida, most warm season grasses enter into a dormant state during the winter. They will turn brown and not green-up until next spring through early summer. Even though the grass turns brown, there are still weeds that continue growing throughout the winter dormant period. These broadleaf weeds are basically classified into annuals and perennials. They can also
Weed Control Simplified: Kill Your Weeds, Not Your Lawn
It’s warming up and lawns are growing once again, which unfortunately means the weeds are, too. Nothing detracts from the aesthetic beauty of a well-maintained lawn than seeing a bunch of puffball dandelions spread across it. Some people may like the bright yellow dandelions, but the flowers quickly turn into puffballs and spread seeds throughout the neighborhood. It can take as a little as a day to go from flower to puffball! When I go t
Weed Identification Guide: These Weeds Are the Worst
What are the worst weeds to have in your lawn? That is a difficult question to answer for the entire country, as certain weeds grow better in some areas than others. There are a few that seem to grow just about everywhere, so for now I’ll discuss them—and how to control them—in a brief weed identification guide. These are listed in no particular order, except being the ones I thought of first. 1. Wild Violet
Why Are There So Many Weeds This Year?
Depending on where you live in the US, weeds are out of control because there has been so much rain this year. Rain equals weeds; that is just a fact of life in lawn care. It just so happens that the number one service call for any lawn care company has to do with weeds. Some weeds are easy to control, but others can be a real challenge. There are many ways that weeds can be controlled or eliminated, but why are some weeds more difficult than others? Weed Control: 5 r
The Lawn Care Season Has Kicked-Off in the South
During the spring, I travel across the US to conduct training seminars for our great Field Staff and Customer Service Professionals in many of the states where Spring-Green does business. I started off in Columbia, SC, working with teams from North and South Carolina along with a team from Alabama. All of these locations started their lawn care year or are getting ready to start within the next week. It may be early February, but if the weather is good, as it has been, these operations are getting a jump start on late winter weed control. This helps lessen
Do It Yourself Lawn Care Worth It? Factors To Keep in Mind For the DIY Landscaper
It's safe to state that spring has finally arrived through much of the United States. The temperatures are on the rise, lawns are waking up from dormancy, trees and shrubs are leafing out and many of these plants are also producing flowers and the tulips, daffodils and other spring bulbs are blooming. It is also the time of year when advertisements for lawn care fertilizers and other control products are seen in the mail, newspapers and online. If you use a professional lawn care service like Spring-Green to care for your lawn, you may start comparing the price you pay for that service to the prices
Getting To Know & Getting Rid of Invasive Plants
Invasive plants are just as they sound; invasive. They are invading a space that is not native to them. This doesn’t just mean they came from somewhere other than your geographic locale, it can mean that they will cause big trouble for your landscape. Not all invasive plants are bad, but knowing how to identify them and remove them if needed can be m
What to Know When Renovating Your Lawn
Many savvy homeowners are taking their lawncare into their own hands. Whether you’re renovating your yard to sale your home or want a healthier, greener lawn, Spring-Green has the knowledge you need to make it a success. From timing to tips to weed control, we’ll guide you through the details. What are the benefits of renovating my lawn? By renovating your lawn, you are not only increasing your property value, but reducing the risk of soil erosion, groundwater impact, and helping improve the environment. For many of us today, being outside is the perfect vacation from indoors. Enjoy it more in a newly renovated yard. When should I renovate my lawn? Timing matters. I
When Do I Start Planning My Spring Landscaping Goals?
If you have big dreams for your landscape this year, now is a great time to map out what you want and create a wish list so you can hit the ground running when spring arrives. While you may not know where to begin with your spring landscape preparations,