Fall Update
Heat:
2016 has been a very tough year on many lawns. We had a record breaking August for heat and September proved to be a very hot month as well. Some of us may love these hot temperatures, but cool season grasses don’t. High temperatures put stress on lawns and the grass is more susceptible to disease and insect damage. Many lawns will bounce back from the heat but there may be some damaged turf.
We are still seeing above average temperatures in to October which creates more opportunity for seeding and aeration. The window is closing on seeding, however, as temperatures begin to fall and soil temperatures also fall, seed may not germinate as quickly.
Fungus:
The high temperatures also contributed to above average fungus incidents. Fungus loves the heat and humidity and we encountered numerous issues on many lawns with our without irrigation. There are numerous types of fungus. We saw dollar spot, summer patch, fairy ring and other types of fungus.
If your lawn is irrigated and you are watering too much, the environment is right for fungus. The goal should be 1 to 1.5″ of water per week. If there is more water being applied, fungus may occur. Fungus comes from your soil or can be blown in and can spread quickly.
Insects:
Insects such as chinch bugs can take over a lawn very quickly. While we did not see significant insect surface damage this year we did see an increased level of grub activity which is detailed below.
Rainfall:
We had early periods of heavy rain in April and high temperatures in May. In the summer, there were extended periods without rain which impacted non-irrigated lawns. As the temperatures rise and rainfall is minimal, your lawn usually goes dormant and weeds thrive.
Mower Maintenance
During the winter your lawn mower sits idle. Why not allow us to do some work to get it ready for the spring. We call this our Winter Mower Maintenance Program in which we change the oil, spark plug and air filter. In addition, we also sharpen and balance the blade. For riding mowers with fuel filters, we change this as well.
Our service is $99 for push mowers and $149 for riding mowers. Perhaps the best feature of all is that we pick up and deliver as part of the above pricing. We will start the mower before we take it away and start it when we deliver to your home.
Providing this service to you is very important as your lawn mower plays a huge role in caring for your lawn. Mowers that have dull blades can dramatically impact the quality of the lawn. Dull blades don’t cut grass, the grass is torn. Torn grass is susceptible to disease.
We recommend at least sharpening the blade annually. We are your partner in your lawn care and your lawn mower is the most important tool you have. Let’s work together to keep things running smoothly.
Our mower maintenance program also funds keeping our technicians employed during the winter. Our goal is to not have to lay them off during the winter. We are hoping that we receive enough work during the winter on lawn mowers to keep them on payroll, versus unemployment.
Winterization
As winter approaches there are several things you can do to help prepare your lawn for next year. We are aerating many of your lawns this fall. If you have not signed up for this service, please give us a call, there is still time.
It is very important to remove leaves from your lawn so that your grass receives adequate sunlight to continue to grow while the temperatures are favorable. We recommend composting your leaves in to your soil If you have a mulching mower, you can simply mow over the leaves, provided not too thick, and let the leaves decompose in to your lawn which provides carbon to help fuel the grass.
We recommend cutting your grass at 3″ during the entire year except for the last cut. Lower your blade to around 2″ for the last cut to reduce the chances of snow mold.
Late Fall is also the perfect time to trim shrubs and trees as trimming promotes new growth in the spring.
We will be doing our part to help during winter with our late Fall fertilization application which helps provide nutrients for your grass which is stored during the winter and helps your lawn take off in the spring. For this reason, in the spring, we do not apply too high of nitrogen in our fertilizer for the first spring application.
Grub Control
Grub populations continue to rise as do the beetles which the develop into such as Masked Chafers and Japanese Beetles. In a few cases, there has been breakthrough where grubs caused damage despite using grub control. We recently met with industry experts to discuss this issue. The primary takeaway is that we need to apply grub control later in the year in July versus June.
It is also very important to note that the grub control we apply must be watered in to be effective. The sun will break down the active ingredient, Imidicloprid, if not watered in within few days after application. If we applied the product and it is not watered in and we have a long, dry weather pattern, there is a good chance its’ effectiveness will be compromised.
Below is an illustration of the life cycle of grubs:
Many of our customers have purchased grub control as way to protect their lawn. If you do not have grub control and the grubs damage your lawn, the cost of reseeding can be quite expensive.
For this reason, we recommend you get grub control as a modest insurance policy for your lawn, if you have not yet done so with Lawn Doctor. Give us a call for a quote.
Fall Core Aeration
Fall is the best time for aeration. Many of you take advantage of this service which pulls cores of dirt out of the soil and creates more space for grass roots to grow while also allowing more nutrients to get to the roots. Further, aeration provide more space for rain to work in to the soil and reduce run-off.
If you would like an aeration, please give us a call. We have plenty of time to get your aeration done before winter.
Please give us a review on Facebook or Google+
As you know, review are great ways to tell people about your experience with Lawn Doctor and they help us on our page ranking for search results. We appreciate you taking the time to do so.
Lawn Doctor provides a variety of services for your home and yard:
Lawn Doctor Alliance Services
We have a great network of trustworthy companies with whom we refer business. Below is a list of these services. Give us a call for information.
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- Firewood
- Snow Removal
- Lawn Cutting and Edging
- Tree and Shrub Pruning
- Landscape Bed Maintenance
- Leaf Removal
- Landscape Design
- Irrigation
Thank you for taking the time to read our October 2016 newsletter. We look forward to working with you to meet your goals for your yard and home. Please call us with questions about our services or issues you want to address on your yard or home. We are partners with you and your lawn. Together, we can work toward a healthy and lush lawn.
Take your yard back.
Contact us today for more information.
