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From Bad to Great: The Year in the Life of One Lawn
One of our Field Service Professionals, Derek J. Gambro, who works in our Wauconda, IL lawn care office , took it upon himself to document the improvements he was able to achieve with a lawn in his territory over the past year. What is the most amazing aspect of this sequence of pictures is how the lawn improved, even during the drought and heat we experienced this past summer. They also show how well the lawn responded once rain returned during the fall. The sequence is illustrated in the gallery above. Lawn Care Application #1 The first application was made on April 21. You can see the number of weeds throughout the lawn and the thin, weak looking grass.
Fall Yard Clean-Up Work
It is the time of year to put your gardens to bed for the winter, unless you live in the areas of the country that are not affected by frost and freezing temperatures. Almost all of my annuals have died due to some cold nights and heavy frosts. As is the case with Mother Nature, one day it can be 70 degrees and the next it is in the 40's. Being in the Midwest, you sometimes can wake up to a little snow on the ground in the morning.As you can see from this picture, I have cut back most of the perennial plants, including my roses. I have a problem with Black Spot on my roses and I do my best to pick up and dispose of all the infected leaves that have dropped to the ground around the plants. I also like to cut back all the hostas<
First Detector Forest Pest Training
Earlier this week, I attended the First Detector Forest Pest training program put on by the University of Illinois Extension Service in Springfield, IL. It focused on different invasive species that threaten native plants or have the potential to cause major financial impacts on local economies in an effort to control these pests. The first pest discussed was the Emerald Ash Borer which is causing the death of literally millions of trees in the Midwest and is moving outward from there. Currently, it can be found in 15 states and in Canada and has the potential to make its way across the entire continental U.S. The second forest pest discussed is known as Thousand Cankers Disease,
Squirrel Damage: The Feeding Habits of Red Squirrels
A colleague of mine recently sent me an article from Michigan State University on squirrel damage and what the Red Squirrel can do to a tree, specifically, to the buds of numerous trees in their unending search for food. Often times, they will chew off the last foot or so of a branch, feed on newly emerging buds and throw away the limb after feeding. I have seen this occur on my own tree, usually in the early spring, just as the tree is beginning to bud out. Red squirrels, also called pine squirrels, and are native to the U.S. They can be found from Alaska, throughout Canada, south to the Appalachians and west to the Rocky Mountains. They mainly feed on the seeds of conifer cones and usually stay near areas where those tr
Why are There Still Leaves on my Tree?
I recently received a question from a person asking why their ash tree still has leaves on it at this late date. The person stated that some leaves were turning brown during the summer and that they figured it was due to the drought that much of the Midwest experienced this year. There are some trees that keep leaves that turn a fall color for a long time. Some of them remain on the tree all the way until spring. Ironwood, certain oaks and beeches are a few of the trees that keep their leaves on for a longer time than most other deciduous trees. Sometimes this is just the quality of the tree and sometimes it can be the result of some other stress factors. In the
Storm Damage to Your Yard & Lawn: How to Clean Up
Regardless of where you may live, at some time your property will be hit by a severe storm. It could be a blizzard, an intense thunderstorm, a wind storm or even a hurricane or tornado. Regardless of the source, these types of storms have the potential to damage your trees and shrubs. The aftermath of the storm may result in property damage, but often the result comes in the form of tree damage , including broken limbs, branches and, in some cases, entire trees ripped out of the ground by high winds. What steps do you need to take to safely clean up after the storm is over? First of all, check to make sure that none of the fallen limbs are resting on power lines. If this is the case, you need to contact your local utility company to have the branches removed. This is not a j
Fertilizing Your Lawn in the Fall: Cool vs. Warm Season Grasses
Is Fall a Good Time to Fertilize? It all depends on what type of grass you have growing in your lawn. If your lawn has warm-season grasses in it like Centipede, St. Augustine, Bermuda or Zoysia, you are at the latest possible time to fertilize your lawn. Many universities recommend that these grasses not be fertilized after the end of September sin
Mulching Leaves: Why Mowing Is Better Than Raking
Let me start this post with a fact: I hate raking leaves. Being a homeowner with several large trees on my property and in neighboring properties, I always looked upon fall with anger and loathing as I knew I had to rake up all those leaves that came dancing down this time of year. The amount is consistently extensive… one day I wake up to find a sea of leaves where my once beautiful lawn resided! I always tell people that I have the world’s larges
How to Start Composting
I try to do my part for the environment. Anything I can do to lessen my “footprint” is a priority to me. No one is perfect, but I strive to make the right choices and decisions. So when it comes to composting, I try to do the right thing. I’ve tried a compost pile, but I never seemed to find the time to go outside and turn it over as much as it required. Since that wasn’t the best solution, I asked for a compost tumbler for my birthday a couple of years ago and I’ve
Dormant Seeding Dos and Don’ts
If you live in the south, dormant seeding is not something you can do to help your existing lawn. Seeding for warm season grasses is generally completed in the early summer. Although seed is available for many warm season grasses, getting it to germinate can be a real challenge. Most repair work is done using sprigs or by resodding bare areas. If you live farther north, where cool season grasses like bluegrass, perennial ryegrass and fescu
How and When to Prune Trees: Fall Pruning and Other Tips
There are many questions surrounding when to prune trees. So if you’re looking for a good time… the time is NOW! Fall is a great time to prune many trees, shrubs and perennial plants. First things first, you have to ask yourself some quick questions before you start. Do You Have the Right Tools? Before you start thinking about when to prune trees, making sure you have the right tools for whatever job you’re doing is essential! If you plan t
How to Get Rid of Grubs: Identification and Treatment
A Spring-Green reader, concerned with which treatment options work best for which grub species, sent in the following question on grub control : “Do I need to be sure what species of grub is in my lawn before I treat it? If so, how do I identify which grub it is? I was told that milky spore powder only works for the Japanese beetle grub? Is this true? I suspect a moth grub but can't be sure. We are in Sedona, Arizona. Thank you for your time and expertise.” Mr. Griffin, Thank you for sending in your question on how to get rid of grubs. No, you don’t need to know what species of grub is in your lawn to treat for it with conventional methods. Grubs are the larval stage o
Winterizing Your Sprinkler System: How to Blow Out Your Sprinklers
If you have an automatic sprinkler system installed in your lawn and landscape and you live in an area where the ground can freeze during the winter months, the most important task to ensure the system will function properly next year is to winterize your sprinkler system. Not only are you removing the water from the pipes, you need to shut
Starting Over with Your Lawn: Reseeding and Resodding Tips
One of our readers was wondering how to start fresh with his lawn and landscape, so he turned to Harold Enger, our in-house expert. Read the question and answer below to get tips on reseeding or resodding for your new lawn. “Hello Harold! I saw your video on YouTube! I bought a home recently and the lawn has Bermuda grass in patches and weeds everywhere else. I liked your idea on starting over, and I was wondering what the best process is to do so? What kind of Roun
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
Spring-Green Gives Back to Residents of Historic Smoketown, in Louisville, KY
For the third year in a row, I was fortunate to participate in a service project that is part of the annual Green Industry Conference in Louisville, KY. The Professional Landcare Network, or PLANET, organizes this event called PLANET Gives Back. On Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2014, I joined 74 other lawn and landscape professionals from across the US to help beautify the grounds around three different buildings in an histor
Spring-Green Volunteers at the Northern Illinois Food Bank
On December 15th and 17th, ten of us from the Spring-Green Support Center traveled to the Northern Illinois Food Bank in Geneva, IL to help sort food for those in need throughout 13 counties in northern Illinois. More than 425,000 people each year rely on the food that the food bank supplies, and they currently provide over 50 milli
Lawn Care Tips for the Pros: Go Inside Spring-Green Lawn Care Training
Every year for about the last 15 years or so, I have geared up to conduct 17 training sessions at regional locations across the US, offering lawn care tips and working with the field staff as they get ready for another year of servicing your lawns. It may be snowing in northern Illinois, but weeds are growing in the south and customers expect us to take care of them. I will be starting my lawn care training sessions in North and South Carolina, before moving on across the south to Tulsa, OK and Lake Charles, LA. I will make a quick detour to the Seattle area as they usually don’t experience the same cold winters as the rest of the northern states. From there, I will slowly work my way across the US to the Northeast and Midwest. It all comes to a close at the end of March in Green Bay, WI.
Lawn Care Expert Harold Enger Celebrates 37 Years | Spring-Green
February 20, 1978 was the day I first started working for a lawn care company. I have been asked many times about why I started working in this industry, and I’ve always said that it was fate that enabled me to start a job that I really knew nothing about when I first started. I had worked for a couple of landscaping companies while in high school, so I was familiar with landscapes and plants, but working for a lawn care company was new to me. After
How to Grow Grass in Shady Areas
Does your lawn look like the picture below? Is it thin, bumpy, and looking overall just bad ? Finally, are there a number of trees shading the ground underneath? Trying to grow grass in a shady area can be a challenge even for the most hardcore lawn enthusiast, let alone the weekend warrior. Follow these steps to better your chances of growing grass in the shady areas of your lawn. The first thing to understand is that there are situatio
21st Anniversary of Renewal and Remembrance
The National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP) held their annual Renewal and Remembrance service project at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, VA on Monday, July 17, 2017. This event has been organized by the National Association of Landscape Professionals for 21 years. Over 500 Green Industry Professionals from across the US joined together to beautify the final resting place of over 400,000 of America’s military veterans and their spouses. Everyone joined together to spread lime and phosphorus, core aerated large sections of the grounds, completed tree t
Spring-Green’s National Training Conference Help Those in Need
Spring-Green Lawn Care Corp. just completed celebrating their 40th Anniversary in business with our National Training Conference, Optimize for Success, on August 2nd through the 4th in Oak Brook, IL. Spring-Green Franchise Owners from across the US gathered to network with fellow Franchise Owners, listen to inspiring presentations from Marty Grunder, well known landscape owner and Green Industry speaker and Jay Baer, a respected consultant on building customer relations. It was an incredible 2 and a half days of learning, laughing and reflection on business