Lawn Care Charlotte Blog

Starting out the lawn care program for 2013

2013-02-28T15:59:03Z

This is a very important time for your lawn- how you treat your lawn right now will set the tone for how your lawn looks for the next 6 months.

First, you NEED to address any weeds that have already emerged from the ground. These are cool season weeds such as chickweed, henbit, etc. These are easy to control RIGHT NOW with a broadleaf herbicide treatment. If you wait another month when these weeds are in full bloom and growing, they are much more difficult to control.

Next, you want to apply a pre-emergent herbicide (crabgrass preventer) to the lawn before soil temperatures reach 55 degrees (crabgrass can germinate once soil temps reach 57 degrees). As I write this on 2/28 soil temps are still in the upper 40's so we still have a few weeks of being in the window. Typically late February to mid March is a good time to do this treatment. Its a granular application that combines the herbicide with fertilizer to provide a feeding for your existing turf.

Other considerations to address are taking care of any bare spots in the lawn. If seeding is required, you want to do that in early February so you can still get some pre-emergent out in late March/early April. Keep in mind though, you won't have the best protection from crabgrass is you take this approach.

If you have issues with poa annua weeds in spring, well there really is'nt a great approach to fixing at this time of the year. If it really bothers you and don't mind paying the extra money, you can re-sod these areas. Otherwise, you should just live with it for another 6 weeks until it goes away on its own.

Lawn Care Charlotte- Winter update

2012-12-05T12:56:55Z

Its been a challenging year for lawn care. Starting with poa annua weed going crazy this spring, brown patch fungus the worst its been in years, a bumper crop of nutsedge weeds this summer, and finally a hot dry fall making it difficult to get new grass to grow. Each of these issues are directly related to the weather patterns we go through during the year: a wet spring with lots of downpours, Summers getting hotter and dryer, humidity through the roof, and drought periods continuing through the Fall.

Each year we go through extreme conditions like this one it helps me to refine my Premium Lawn Care Program. Although every year is different, and next year I’m sure will bring a new set of challenges, I feel better prepared to be proactive and deliver the most complete lawn care program available.

By now everyone has received the very important winter fertilizing treatment. This will provide nutrients over the winter as well as stored nutrients for recovery in the springtime.

If you have noticed weeds appearing in your turf or beds, I expect to be able to spray your lawn sometime this month so you will be weed-free going into next year.

The plan is to begin spraying these weeds as soon as the new grass is established and strong enough to handle the herbicide used to get rid of the weeds. The new grass is considered established after it has been cut at least 3 times. Every cut of the new grass blades will force roots to spread and the top growth to come back thicker and stronger so it is very important to cut the grass several times before spraying. The challenge has been trying to get a dry stretch when we can get the mowers on the lawn without causing damage.

Lawn Care in Charlotte Fall/Winter

2012-11-15T21:23:11Z

Although the turf growth will be slowing down over the next month or so, its very important that we continue to provide nutrients for the grass during the cold weather. This will keep some color in the lawn longer in the season and allow for a quick recovery from “winter fatigue” and faster green-up next spring. A high-nitrogen granular fertilizer will be applied to the lawn around the first week of November. Also, if any weeds have popped up recently, they will be sprayed as soon as the new grass has been cut several times and is established.

We did a lime treatment as part of the Premium renovation service this year. Lime usually isn't needed every year, so if you did not get the Premium renovation this year, let me know if you want a lime treatment added.

I’m always doing quite a bit of research on lawn care products, as well as talking with vendors and horticultural experts so I can continue to improve my lawn care program. I’ve also been doing some trial and error on my own property and some of my friends properties to find the best combination of lawn products, the best timing of applications, and optimal application rates. I am not content to follow the herd of landscapers and just do what everybody else is doing to get marginal results.

Next year I may be tweaking your specific lawn care program based on what we saw on your specific property. No two lawns are the same. What works for your next door neighbor probably won’t be ideal for your property. Once we pick up on the long-term pattern of what your lawn needs, how it reacts to certain products, test the soil, and take into account what kind of weather we’re getting; only then are we able to make informed and proactive decisions.

There may be points in time when we stumble, its hard to be perfect when we’re dealing with an ever-changing live micro-climate and rely on the weather to help out. But we strive for improvement each year as we get to know your property better as time goes by.

Summer Lawn Care

2012-07-19T18:37:52Z

We are full swing into Brown Patch fungus season as well as Nutsedge weed growth. We've had a good amount of rainfall this summer in the form of afternoon thunderstorms producing a large quanity of water on the turf at once. And thats exactly what makes those 2 lawn issues thrive!

For treatment of Brown Patch we are rotating between Armada and Disarm fungicides. We get about 30 days control after each treatment and using different active ingredients will reduce disease tolerance in the lawn.

We are using a combination of products for weed control treatment during the summer. Drive is an excellent control of crabgrass and a few other grassy/broadleaf weeds. Dismiss is used for nutsedge control as well as some broadleaf. And then we will use Momentum for control of more aggressive broadleaf weeds such as buttonweed and spurge. As always, we must be very careful when spraying herbicides during the heat of the summer. Some of these products can stress out the fescue grass if its too hot, and rain or irrigation within 24 hours will reduce effectiveness.

Nutsedge

2012-05-30T13:06:53Z

The last few years Nutsedge has been a weed that has invaded our lawns and beds due to the ideal conditions for it to thrive. Nutsedge does well in hot weather and takes off when we have a wet spring, so we've seen it get worse and worse over the last few years.

Nutsedge grows faster than your fescue grass so it will stand out as a different shade of green growing taller than the grass. The leaves look like a monkey grass blade: long and tapering to a point.

Nutsedge can be treated with a specific herbicide that can be sprayed during the summer. This weed can be difficult to control and it usually takes at least 2 applications to fully kill it off. The challenge we run into is that our tall fescue typically is under some stress during the summer because of heat/drought so we don't want to put too much herbicide down at once to add stress to our turf. It just takes patience and diligence to manage the nutsedge.

Brown Patch Fungus In Charlotte NC

2012-05-30T12:46:08Z

This is a turf disease that we see every year around the beginning of Summer. Every fescue lawn has it to a degree, the extent of damage to the turf depends on the specific conditions on your property. The fungus actually lays dormant at the soil level until conditions are right for it to infect the leaves of fescue turf. If the conditions are perfect it can really thrive and do some severe damage.

Conditions for Brown Patch: Typically the circular brown patches in the lawn will start to form when temperatures stay above 65 at night and get into the upper 80s and 90s during the day. When we reach this temperature range, a series of afternoon/evening thunderstorms that keep the grass wet overnite will really accelerate brown patch development. Fescue lawns that are fertilized too heavily with nitrogen, or cut too short will usually see rapid disease development. Areas that are shady in the afternoon or have poor drainage are also prime areas for brown patch.

Symptoms of Brown Patch: It starts out by forming small brown lesions bordered by a dark brown band on the individual turf blades (figure 1). If you look closely at your lawn you can pick out the infected grass plants. This quickly browns out the entire grass blade and creates circular brown spots in the lawn that can be anywhere from 6” to a couple feet in diameter.

Treatment of Brown Patch: A fungicide treatment is the strongest line of defense to prevent and control brown patch fungus. However, there are a few limitations to relying on fungicides; the products are expensive, a treatment only has a 30 day residual, and the disease can build up a resistance if using the same product over and over again. This means that we have to switch up the products we use with a round 2 fungicide treatment to introduce a new ingredient to avoid resistance. Of course, if your on the Whitehouse Premium Lawn Care Program full disease protection is included in your plan. For those that pay extra for disease treatments, I have a strategy that will keep your costs down as much as possible. The first fungicide treatment will be a “wall-to-wall” application over the entire lawn to wipe out all of the existing fungus present in the lawn. After the 30 day residual is over, I will be monitoring your property and can spot spray any new fungus areas that come up later in the summer, hopefully for a much smaller cost. I think this is the best way to keep the fungus in check during the entire season while not hitting you hard with big charges on your invoice.

What YOU can do to minimize Brown Patch: Water management is the key to minimizing brown patch. We know that water sitting on the grass overnite activates the fungus, so you definitely do not want to water the lawn in late afternoon or night. Early to mid morning is the best watering time to allow the grass to dry quickly during the day. I can't stress enough the importance of auditing your irrigation system this time of year. We should be on the lookout for drainage problems in the yard and avoid over-watering. I will let you know if we see any areas that need improved drainage so we can come up with a solution.

On our side, we raise the mowing height on our mowers a little bit and keep the blades sharp every week. The lawn care treatment program and products I use are designed to provide the right amount of balanced nutrients to your lawn. I also make sure our spreaders and sprayers are calibrated to put out the right amount of product. We use premium grass seed when we overseed in the fall that has increased resistance to brown patch and mix in organic products to allow turf to recover quickly from any stress. Many lawn care companies will go with cheaper, quick release fertilizers to get a quick green up (especially the big national companies). They might get impressive short-term results but this always causes disease problems and stress on the lawn at some point.

I prefer to take into account the long-term impact of lawn treatments as well as getting results right away. I also do my best to keep prices as low as possible. Sometimes this means using premium products that last longer to prevent future costs.

Please let me know if you have any questions about lawn care. Coming up next month we will address Japanese Beetles and white grubs.

Fire Ants In Charlotte

2012-04-11T12:57:15Z

20 million people a year are stung by fire ants in the United States. Once they invade your landscape they usually take over with a vengeance, swarming over pets, kids, or anyone who disturbs their mound. Unsightly fire ant mounds can reach 15” wide, 15” high, and up to 5 feet deep in the ground. They like to anchor to something solid so you will usually see them along concrete curbs, driveways, mailboxes, lightposts, and benches.

Because of the warm winter we had we've started seeing mounds pop up much earlier than usuall so we need to be ready to treat this insect problem.

Full eradication of fire ants is very difficult; however, we do have a product that will keep them out of your landscape. Top Choice is a product that provides one full year of fire ant control and is the best product on the market I have seen. It is a granular material that is spread over the lawn and natural areas The active ingredient in Top Choice is the same thing used to make flea and tick collars for dogs so it is completely kid and pet safe; however, the FDA requires that it be purchased and applied by a licensed pesticide applicator (like me!).

The only catch is Top Choice comes with a fairly hefty price. But if you have had a history of fire ants and want to be rid of them for good, Top Choice is the way to go. Let me know if you want an estimate.

The other option is to treat each individual mound with an insecticide labeled for fire ants as they pop up. This method is less effective as the mound usually just relocates to a new spot.

Grassy Lawn Weeds in Charlotte NC

2012-04-11T11:55:38Z

Now that the usual spring weeds (like clover, chickweed, etc) have been controlled by all of the great lawn care herbicide products available on the market, we are left with lush and thriving fescue lawns. BUT WAIT! We still see some areas of "different" grasses growing in our deep green fescue lawn.

Unfortunately, we still have grassy weeds that cannot be controlled by a selective herbicide that won't also kill the good fescue grass. Here is a list of the most common we are seeing right now.

Poa trivialisPoa trivialis is a perennial weed that will come back each year. It stands out in fescue lawns as a lighter shade of green and grows a bit faster/taller than fescue. It favors shady and moist areas. Seed from this weed can lay dormant for years and germinate when conditions become favorable and there is low competition. The best treatment for these patches of weed is to apply Round Up to the plant and replace with new fescue sod.

Annual ryegrass

Annual ryegrass usually is the result of using hay straw during the fall season when mulching a newly renovated turf area. This weed is a light shade of green and quickly grows taller than fescue a day or two after mowing. Annual ryegrass will die off as we get into hot temperatures in May/June. Its best control is to mow it frequently so it does not produce new seed heads and let it die off on its own.

Spring- green grass and weeds!

2012-03-02T18:54:34Z

Some very important lawn care treatments will take place over the next month. We will put out the first pre-emergent treatment the first week of March. Right now soil temps are in the low 50's, crabgrass can germinate when soil temps get around 60 degrees. This year we will be using Barricade pre-emergent for crabgrass control, its known as the strongest (and most expensive) pre-emergent product. I will also be spraying lawns to get rid of any broadleaf weeds (like chickweed and henbit- see pics below) out there. You will get a lawn sign notifying you that this was done, for liquid applications you want to keep kids and pets off the lawn at least until its dry.

There are a lot of factors (mostly weather) that can reduce or increase the effectiveness of any pre-emergent or weed control we use. For those of you that did have weed breakthroughs last year, I’ll be making adjustments to application rates, timing, and products to try to increase the effectiveness of the treatments.

The Spring green-up of the grass also signals the time for weeds to break through. Broadleaf weeds like chickweed and henbit are easy enough to control (we hit em hard with herbicide) but sometimes we see the nastier ones like poa annua that are not so easy to control. Here is a description of some of the common weeds we are seeing now.

Poa Annua

(aka annual bluegrass) is one of the most difficult weeds to control. On the west coast you will find Poa on beautiful golf course greens. Here in the Carolinas, it is a nasty invasive weed in our lawns.

Poa germinates in the Fall, around the same time we are renovating lawns, and starts appearing in early Spring. It produces massive seed heads in April/May and then completely dies out when it warms up in May/June. Poa seeds can lay dormant in the soil for 10-15 years and then suddenly pop up as soon as an opportunity arises (thin areas of turf or not yet established new grass). I’ve seen it every year especially in the lawns that were heavily renovated for Bermuda. In these cases we worked the soil over so much with our aerators that any dormant seeds were brought to the surface and germinated the same time our new grass was coming in.

Once it starts growing it produces dense seed heads and is unsightly in the yard. There are some options to take to control Poa. If you want to get rid of your Poa Annua RIGHT NOW, we need to remove the weed areas and lay new sod. Unfortunately this is also the most costly option. The second option is to wait it out until the Poa dies off on its own in May/June. Then we can apply an extra pre-emergent treatment in August to prevent the Poa from germinating in the Fall. Also, a newer herbicide called ProGrass can be applied in the fall but perfect timimg is crucial for this to work. I can see improvement on the lawns that got this treatment last year; however, this does not give 100% control right away. It takes several years of this process, as well as promoting healthy turf, to eliminate poa annua.

Henbit

Chickweed

Upcoming Lawn Care Treatments

2012-02-01T15:21:39Z

Here are the treatments going on this month:

Liquid Fertilizer and Broadleaf weed control– Premium Program. All of the broadleaf weeds that run rampant in the springtime have already germinated and are lying low in the grass. If you look closely, you will see chickweed, henbit, and other cool season broadleaf weeds at their beginning stage. This treatment will knock out these weeds before they start to really grow, bloom, and produce seeds as the weather warms up over the next few months. Those in the Premium Program will also have an excellent fertilizer product mixed in to maintain some color now help your lawn green up quickly as the growing season begins.

Liquid Broadleaf Weed Control– Basic program will get the liquid weed control described above without the extra fertilizer. We will also follow up during the spring with spot weed control spraying for any areas where weeds pop up for both Basic and Premium Programs.

Pre-emergent crabgrass control– Premium and Basic Program. I will be using a combination of pre-emergent products this year. We will start out in late Feb/early March (timing depends on soil temps) with a premium pre-emergent called Barricade that provides 6 months of crabgrass control. This will be followed up with an application of Dimension pre-emergent that also provides post-emergent control in case there is any weed break-through.

If you are on the Basic Lawn Care Program and want to receive any of the extra treatments, please contact me to discuss.