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Not surprising…our weather conditions have been prime for rust fungus to form on lawns this year.  Most commonly, rust is noticed during periods of slow growth.  Our lawns typically go dormant during the summer months due to the lack of rain and also heat.  This summer is the first in a very long time that we have had regular rain fall through the entire summer months and also cool temperatures.  For the most part, non-irrigated lawns have kept their lovely green color all season.  Though, the rate of growth has slowed down.

Rust is noticed during periods of slow growth because the rust is not being physically removed by regular mowing at a fast rate as it would be if the lawn were growing rapidly.  Therefore, the rust has an opportunity to proliferate on the slower growing blade of grass.

Once conditions are right for the grass to begin growing more rapidly, the rust ‘problem’ will mitigate itself without any additional inputs.  Conditions can be related to weather or nutrients.

Some may advise that an application of fertilizer will take care of the rust problem.  And while it is true that applying fertilizer will probably increase the rate of growth, applying fertilizer may not be the appropriate thing to do.  If the soil is holding enough nutrients already, then these additional nutrients may just runoff and pollute our environment.  Also, given that it is the middle of summer and weather...

Disease seen in some lawns

Earlier this week, we were called to a home in Pewaukee because of some suspicious looking dead patches.  At first, we thought it was an overspray of roundup.  Once we saw the area in person we soon realized that it was a fungal disease.

How can we tell the difference?  With a fungal disease there are various distinct markings on the leaf blades and also if inspected early in the day we can often see mycelium (fuzzy stuff).  Each sort of plant disease has very distinct characteristics in how they look either to the naked eye, or under a microscope.

What should be done?  On a residential lawn, usually nothing.  As soon as conditions change, the disease progression will stop.  The damage is often very minor and the lawn will recover just fine on its own.  One of the reasons why the damage is minor is because your lawn is created from several types of grass.  Often a disease only attacks one type and the others are unscathed.

In other scenarios, such as a golf course, where there are monocultures of grasses planted, pristine conditions are demanded and because of the way the turf is maintained overall, the application of a fungicide may be necessary to halt its progression. 

For a home lawn situation however, it is not prudent to apply fungicides for a problem that is really quite temporary, likely to pass with a change in weather, and not cause significant damage.  If there is...

2012 Drought = Dead or stressed plants

Yep, we are certainly seeing the effects of the drought last year.  Established and new plants alike, many are dead or severely stressed this year.

Obviously, if it is a dead plant—it needs to be replaced.  Have you noticed a dead plant that we have not talked to you about?  Please shoot us an e-mail so we can get this replacement on our list.

Seemingly healthy plants last summer have begun to show signs of stress this year.  Most noted on shrubs and trees.  Signs to be aware of include dieback, prolific flowering or seed production (more than normal), increased number of basal shoots (suckers), off color or early fall color on leaves.  To reverse the damage done from the drought it is important to pamper your stressed plants.

Three main ways to do this includes monitoring moisture, fertilizer needs, and good pruning practices.  For shrubs, I feel that stressed plants will need to be pampered for about 2 years.  Trees may not even be showing all of the long term affects of such a severe drought, therefore I recommend pampering ALL trees for the next 5 years.  I encourage you to contact us with any concerns you have about the long term health of your trees, or contact our preferred certified arborist Dave at M&M Tree Service directly at 414-355-3420.

What about all this rain!?

Too little, too much….either can be devastating!  There is NOTHING we can do to control the weather but we can react to the effects that it has on our landscapes.  To do this most effectively and efficiently requires a partnership between you and Beautiful Blooms.  Please be observant when enjoying your landscapes and pass any notes/concerns on to us—we will respond as best that we are able to.

Things to observe, specifically—

• yellowing of lower leaves (a sign of too much water)
• spots on leaves (possible disease)
• white fuzzy stuff on plants or the lawn (probably active fungus)
• long lasting puddles (drainage issue)
• issues with downspouts

Pruning and Shrub Shaping

The spring flowering shrubs and Yew shrubs are ready for a trim!  We began shaping and trimming last week and will continue working through all properties until complete….and then we’ll start all over again.  J  For the entire month of July, there is extra time added to all of our regular maintenance visits to accommodate the additional work.

The delayed spring weather, ample amounts of rain and periodic HOT days have caused nature to be slightly off kilter this year.  My general assessment right now is that the normal sequence/progression of spring (forsythia bloom!) and early summer (shrub roses in full bloom!) that spans the time from about April 15-June 1st was shifted and consolidated to May 9-June 20th.  In addition to the natural progression of spring was the great emergence of 2013—first tree leaves fully emerged on May 19th (about 3 weeks later than normal) and just 4 weeks later the shrubs are in need of trimming.  Normally, there is a 6 week or more time frame between first full leaf emergence and trimming/shaping.  Yikes!

Normally, we begin trimming shrubs the first week of June.  By the first week of June most spring flowering shrubs have nearly completed their flowering, not this year though, the delayed spring also delayed flowering on many shrubs.  Unfortunately—at the same time leaf/shoot growth was/is in full swing.  For example, while lilacs...

Welcome, new clients!  And ‘big picture’ questions for everyone—

Whether this is your first season with Beautiful Blooms or your 8th, what is your initial impression this season?  This is important to us because as the cliché goes—this is the impression that will last the longest.

Is this your first experience working with a landscape maintenance contractor?  Are we meeting your expectations?  Have you worked with other contractors in the past—how do we compare?  Is there something that you miss about your past contractor that you wish we did or did better?

Do you appreciate the level of communication that we provide?  Is it too much, do you want more, do you want it to be done differently? 

How else can we serve you?  Do you have any questions or concerns about Beautiful Blooms and the services we are providing to you?

These are hugely important questions for me to ask and get feedback from you on.  Your honest feedback is critical to the future success of our company.  We wish to provide you with services that leave you feeling delighted and if we are not living up to that expectation we certainly want to know about it so we can correct the issue at once. 

Please take a moment and call or e-mail anything that is of concern to you….or anything that we are doing a great job of.  ALL of your responses will be used to improve our company, our entire team...