Our Blog
Use our blog as a resource of information pertaining to lawn and landscape maintenance information and services for your properties.
Use our blog as a resource of information pertaining to lawn and landscape maintenance information and services for your properties.
Fertilizer and weed control application step #3
The third step of the fertilizer and weed control program will be starting next week. For most lawns, due to the amount of natural rainfall that we have experienced, the grass is still actively growing. As long as the lawn is growing and not showing signs of going dormant then this application is important and will be made.
IF by the time we come to your property to make this application the weather pattern has changed significantly (too hot, or too dry) we may adjust or skip the amount of fertilizer applied. Mike and Justin will only apply product to your lawn if it is the right thing to do—based on current and forecasted conditions, not just because your name is on the list.
When using mulch in your landscape, there is no need for the use of artificial weed barrier such as plastic or landscape fabric. These materials do not work and are not weed barriers. They are only necessary under stone. That is to prevent the soil from mixing with the stone. When mulch is maintained at an even depth between two and four inches it will properly serve as a weed barrier. Also, the mulch will naturally break down and incorporate with the soil through matters such as earthworms, microorganisms, and other insects. This adds nutrients and organic material to your plants and the surrounding soil which is very important to sustaining the health of your landscape.
In many cases when artificial material is used under mulch you can clearly see a night and day difference between what is above the plastic and what is below. The material above the plastic is soft, rich, dark, and full of nutrients. The soil below is hard and grey with virtually no nutrients. It looks as if it is suffocated. It also provides no protection against weeds proven by the fact that we see weeds everyday growing through thick layers of concrete and blacktop on commercial property. In the event that weeds do occur in your mulch they are much easier to pick out and maintain when there is not a layer of thick plastic holding them in the ground.
All day long, at the office and on the road in my clients gardens, I get the same question: are my hydrangeas DEAD??? Probably not is my answer. But most of the plants that bloom on current year’s wood lost a lot, if not all, of their old wood and are taking a long time to re-sprout. Examples include Rose of Sharon, butterfly shrubs, Caryopteris, and Hydrangea macrophylla and H. serrata species.
Hydrangea 2The first thing you need to do is scratch the bark. If it is green below the bark, the wood is alive. If the branches are brittle and dried up and there is no green wood below the bark, the branch is not alive. Continue doing this until you find live wood. If it means you have to cut the plant back to ground level, do not worry. This category of plants will regenerate an entirely new top as soon as it gets a bit warmer. A couple of years ago I took this photo before I dragged my tarp filled with butterfly shrub and crape myrtle branches to the compost. They all died to the ground and guess what? They grew and bloomed just beautifully later that summer.Hydrangea 3
Hydrangeas can be a complicated subject and I get tons of questions about how to prune them. Pink and blue hydrangeas (H. macrophylla and H. serrata) bloom on NEW SHOOTS off of LAST YEAR’S wood. It appears that a lot of last year’s wood did, in fact, die over the winter. Look for live buds as the weather warms up.Hydrangea 4 We generally refrain from pruning...
One of the first things to do each season is to start with a good spring clean-up; an all-over clean up and review of your lawn & landscape (including plants, shrubs, trees, and their beds). Fallen branches, debris that has been blown in from the neighbor’s yard, and “gifts” the snow plow delivered (chunks of sod, anyone??) all need to be removed. It is a huge part of maintaining a clean, crisp, great looking landscape.
Mulching is an important part to the landscaping, and one of the most beneficial and easiest steps. There are many reasons to mulch around your plants. The first is to retain moisture. Mulch helps to slowly release water into the soil as you water. This allows for greater soil infiltration. This results in even soil moisture levels and a healthier root system. The mulch also helps the soil to keep the water that it does absorb by reducing the amount of moisture evaporating into the air. All in all this makes it easier for you because it reduces the amount of water needed to be applied.
Mulching helps to regulate the temperature of the soil surrounding your plants. It keeps soil cool in the summer, as much as 30 degrees cooler than the air temperature compared to bare soil or soil covered with stone. It also acts as a natural insulator in the winter. It allows for a slower freezing and more uniform temperature to make for less drastic temperature changes and prolongs the plant life.
Mulch can come in many forms. They can be organic or inorganic materials. Organic materials are ones in which they used to be a living plant form (i.e. bark nuggets, shredded wood chips, pine needles, and hay or straw). Inorganic materials include anything that would be considered man made. The natural or organic materials are best because they naturally decompose to add nutrients to the soil beneath. These nutrients are carried deep into the root systems by earthworms. These earthworms also ...
How many times have you said “learn from your mistakes.” Well, that is exactly what Nick Christians, a research at Iowa State University did. His mistake was spilling corn gluten meal (CGM) while working in the research fields. He was using the CGM as an ingredient in fertilizer. He noticed that in the spot where he spilled the CGM, no seed would germinate. Aha! He learned from his mistake that CGM is not only a great source of nitrogen for plants but may also work as a pre-emergent weed seed control!
Corn gluten meal is a fine powder that is a byproduct of the corn milling process. Traditionally it had always been used as a supplement in hog feed. There is a natural protein in CGM that is a good nutrient for lawns and gardens and also an effective at suppressing new weed growth. Although we cannot refer to CGM as Organic because it is not made from organically grown corn, it is non-toxic and safe.
How does corn gluten meal work? The Nitrogen-Phosphorus-Potassium (N-P-K) ratio of corn gluten is 10-1-0, or 10% nitrogen by weight. The reason why it is a natural weed suppressant when applied at 20 pounds per 1000 square feet is because as soon as the seed germinates, the tender root is dried out. Combined, these qualities make CGM an ideal weed and feed product.
Does corn gluten meal hurt my plants? When applied at the recommend rate of 20lbs/1000 square feet, CGM only works by inhibiting root formation at the time of germination, it does not harm ...
Groundhog Day is celebrated on February 2nd, each year in the United States and Canada. For a nice welcomed break during the winter, on this day the groundhog awakens from his nap and goes outside to see if he can see his shadow. It is believed my many that if the groundhog sees his shadow that there will then be six more weeks of winter. If this is so, he then retrieves back into his den and goes back to sleep. If he is not able to see his shadow, the groundhog remains outside to play and people celebrate believing that spring is just around the corner.
As the Germans settled in the hills of Pennsylvania, they brought this tradition with them. The tradition was based on Candlemas, which is the day that is the midpoint between winter and spring.
Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania has been chosen as the site for the annual Groundhog day event. Thousands of people come to the town of Punsxutawney on Groundhog Day for this day of celebration.
Although already a well known day, Groundhog Day received widespread attention as a result of the 1993 film Groundhog Day, which was set in Punxsutawney and portrayed Roger Rininger as the groundhog.
Road runoff contains dissolved salts that not only injure plants directly but also can change the structure of the soil, causing it to become compacted. This condition restricts the nutrients, water,and oxygen available to the plants, putting them under stress. Shoot tips and young leaves usually receive the most damage. One of the salt-damage-bigsymptoms of salt damage is dried, burnt leaf edges.
How do I prevent it? Salt burn has a simple solution. Don’t pile snow containing salt around plants or trees or put it where runoff might reach plant roots. Ask road-maintenance workers if they can direct salty runoff away from your property. When selecting species for a new roadside planting, minimize the potential for salt damage by planting salt-tolerant selections. Install a low wall or hedge of salt-tolerant evergreens, which can deflect salt spray away from sensitive plants nearby.
Before I started working with Beautiful Blooms, I had never really paid attention to frost, I just knew that my lavender plants would get fussy after a harsh winter. During the beginning of spring, we typically start an hour later than we would during the summer. The crews come in on time, load up their trucks, and are eager to head out to fulfill their tasks for the day. One morning, after our daily “morning meeting”, Loriena gave a little lecture on frost. She explained to the crew why it’s important to stay off our client’s grass until the sun has come up and melted the frost. She explained how frost can form and how to avoid damaging lawns and other plant material. Continue Reading…
Post to blog article on website: The temperature can be perfect for frost, she explained, but if it’s overcast and windy, frost either won’t occur or it will be light. But this doesn’t mean the grass cannot freeze, or form ice. It is important to keep off grass that has a heavy frost, especially when the height is kept short.
Here’s the easiest way I can describe why it’s best to keep off frozen lawns. When you walk on frost or frozen grass, you can literally break the grass blades. It is no different than if you dropped a full glass of water on a hard floor. The glass breaks and all the contents leak out. In the case of turf we break the cell membranes which causes internal damage to the plant. This typically results in...
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