This page will answer some of your frequently asked lawn, tree and landscape questions. If you have a question and the answer is not listed here, please feel free to E-Mail us and one of our lawn/tree specialists will be glad to give you an answer or point you towards the right direction to get the right answer.

Most Recent Questions

I received an email about "bad mulch" from Louisiana and Formosan Subterranean termite infestations?

In summary, this is not nearly as much of a problem as the chain email makes it out to be.

The National Pest Management Association says that the likelyhood of Formosan Subterranean termite infestations by mulch from southern Louisiana is unlikely.

Check this link for a full answer regarding
Formosan Subterranean termites.

General advice for mulching around your property is to keep ALL mulch away from your home’s foundation if possible.

Try to divert water from collecting around your foundation if possible as termites are attracted to moisture.

Do not bury any wood in the soil around your home and any stored lumber or wood must not be in contact with any soil if possible.

Spring Questions

Why are you out spraying trees and applying fertilizer and
pre-emergent to lawns so early? It's only February?

If it is early in the year and the weather is nice, it is the perfect time to get out and start performing these applications. The pre-emergent's we use on your lawn are listed as being effective applied as early as November of the previous year. Around the middle part of February is an excellent time to start spraying dormant oil for scale insects or performing the Spring Rootfeeding for trees and shrubs as well.

Soon, the weather will start changing and the wind and rain will keep us from being able to effectively apply fertilizers and pesticides in as timely a manner as we would like. Therefore it is good to get out early in the year to make sure these are taken care of while the weather is cooperating nicely.

I have 'Crabgrass' growing all over my lawn!?

If the date is before May 1st, then you are probably not seeing 'Crabgrass' all over your lawn, more than likely it is a different type of grassy weed or another type of grass entirely. Crabgrass does not start germinating until the soil temperatures reach above 65 degrees for a 48-72 hour timespan. It is quite possible that areas of turf near concrete and other structures may foster Crabgrass germination sooner than the rest of the lawn. This is due to the fact that concrete areas such as walkways or driveways heat up faster than the surrounding soil in the Spring. The most effective controls for Crabgrass are the Pre-Emergent type controls that keep Crabgrass seeds from germinating at all, but once Crabgrass has germinated, there are products that can control it Post-Emergently as well.

Why am I seeing so many weeds appearing in my lawn in the Late Spring when you sprayed in February or March?

The weed control used to most effectively control broadleaf weeds, such as Dandelions, Henbit and Chickweed, is a contact herbicide. What this means is that the spray must come into direct contact with the weed to penetrate into the root system and kill the weed plant internally. When our first application is generally done in February and March to lay down the first barrier to prevent Crabgrass, most of the broadleaf variety weeds are not actively growing then. Therefore those particular weeds are not affected by the weed control at that time. Once those weeds start appearing, the contact weed controls present in our Late Spring application and future applications will take care of them effectively.

At this time there is no cost-effective Pre-Emergent that is 100% effective in preventing broadleaf seeds from germinating. Broadleaf weeds still need to be controlled the old fashioned way, either by pulling them or spraying them whenever they are noticed.

You were just out to spray my lawn and now more weeds are appearing!?

The broadleaf weed control that we use is called an 'Auxin'. An Auxin is a growth hormone that actually causes weeds to grow too fast at a cellular level and burn themselves out. It is not uncommon to see more weeds appearing or the weeds that were just sprayed to appear to be growing faster than normal. Soon after seeing them growing faster, you should notice them turning brown or shrivelling up. The general rule for weed control is to wait 10-14 days to see what kind of results the weed control is going to acheive. If you still see weeds after that point, be sure and contact us.

Why does my Bermuda or Zoysia look like it is dead in the Spring/Late Spring?

Warm season grasses, such as Zoysia and Bermuda take more time than other types of grass to green up in the Spring. It is not uncommon to see Bermuda not greening up until around the middle of April. Rain we receive can make a lot of difference too on the appearance of some lawns.

Some areas of the lawn may appear completely dead. Usually these are caused by winter injury or freeze damage to the grass. Bermuda is very adaptive at spreading into bare areas of the lawn, so once you start your regular mowing program, mow the bermuda very low and that will promote it to spread into those areas of the lawn that are bare.

Zoysia can sometimes die out without any warning or reason, this problem is called 'Zoysia Decline'. Any areas of Zoysia that are not filled in will need to be plugged with Zoysia or have sprigs of Zoysia planted from other substantial areas of Zoysia.

Summer Questions

Why is my lawn looking so brown all of the sudden in so many areas and how should I be watering my lawn?

Coping with Heat Stress

Cool season grasses generally look exceptionally good in spring during cool, moist weather. But when sudden record breaking heat follows cool, rainy weather, the turf can decline rapidly in only a few days, despite continued watering.

One of the reasons watering does not make the turf look as nice as it does after a good rain is because generally when there are rain showers, the temperatures are cooler as well, which benefits the appearance of your lawn as much or more than just watering. Watering does replenish soil moisture and provides some temporary cooling within the canopy of the turfgrass foliage, but it does not cool down the entire atmosphere as with rain shower activity.

Cool season grasses generally are more severely affected by droughts than warm season grasses. Turf also wilts more quickly where the soil is poor or shallow, or where sprinklers don't overlap as much as they should. Thatch buildup can contribute to premature wilting as well.

Watering is often thought of as the only solution to heat stress, but severe changes in watering can lead to other problems later on. Excessive watering increases the chances of weed seed germination even when pre-emergent chemicals have been used earlier in the season.

The moist, humid environment created by watering during hot weather also increases the chances of disease development. A scalding effect can occur when there is excessive moisture at the soil surface during hot weather. Excessive watering can contribute to thatch buildup and other problems as well.

One of the cheapest ways to lessen the impact of heat stress on your lawn is to simply raise the height that you normally mow your lawn letting your grass grow longer/higher. Having grass that stands taller results in deeper rooting, reduces soil surface temperature and provides more leaf surface for the plant to manufacture the nutrients it needs to maintain its health and vigor. Taller grass is also better able to resist weed invasion, which is more likely to occur during hot weather as well.

It is recommended that the watering schedule during hot dry weather be altered to allow more efficient and more beneficial watering. You should water less frequently for a longer amount of time each watering. This allows the water to penetrate deeper into the ground. When grass is watered more frequently for less time, the root system of the grass does not have to go very deep to get the water it needs, therefore it is more susceptible to disease and stress due to a shallower root system. The equivalent of 1" per week is fairly standard for most lawn types.

How do I know how much water my sprinkler system is putting on my lawn?

You need to put out some cups or cans in various locations of your lawn where your irrigation system reaches. Then you need to run your system for the usual time that you water. Once the watering cycle is completed, you can examine the cups that have collected water and measure how much water was put out in that amount of time. You can use this measurement to figure how many times and/or how long you need to run your sprinkler system for to adequately water your lawn. Remember, the usual rule of thumb is 1" per week.

Also keep in mind, it is always better to water more/longer each time you water, but water fewer times per week. This allows the water to seep lower into the ground and makes the roots of your grass and plants to reach lower into the ground to get at that moisture. Therefore your plants will be stronger because of a more developed / healthier root system.

When you water more times for shorter durations each time you water, you are letting your grass and plants become 'lazy' and the roots do not have to reach down very far to get adequate moisture. Then once the hot weather hits, the roots are so shallow that they are affected by the heat much more and are very suceptible to dying off.

Grass that has developed a deep root system may still turn brown when the weather gets hot, but the roots are still intact and still taking in moisture provided by your watering. Once the weather cools off again, the grass plants will snap out of their dormancy and start growing green again for the second part of their growing season.

Fall Questions

Why are my Pine Trees turning brown?

Most pine trees naturally shed 1/3rd of their needles every season. The older a Pine tree gets, you will notice the interior of the tree is fairly bare while the exterior portions of the tree have nice dark green needles still intact. A season of severe stress or the new candles/growth being affected by Pine Tip Blight disease may not readily noticeable on a Pine until a year later after 2 seasons worth of needles are shed. Fall is the normal time when Pines start to shed their needles. The needles falling should be on the interior of the tree. If you notice brown needles or areas of needles on the exterior of the tree falling off, there may be another problem happening with your Pines. We would advise you have them checked out by one of our tree care specialists in that type of situation.

Why are areas of my Bermuda or Zoysia grass turning brown in the fall?

Your grass is starting to go dormant at this time. Being warm season grasses, Bermuda and Zoysia enjoy the hot/sunny days of summer and thrive well during that time of year. When the weather starts getting colder, the warm season grasses start to shut down for the season. When you mow, you may notice that the lower portions of the grass blades are more yellow or brown than usual. This is normal for these types of lawns.

Why do I notice dandelions and those types of weeds showing up 4-6 weeks after you sprayed weed control on my property during the Spring/Summer/Early Fall?

Broadleaf weeds can be troublesome at times. When broadleaf weed control is applied, it is generally sprayed only where the weeds are actively growing. When broadleaf weeds first begin to appear, we sometimes do what is called "blanket spraying".

That is the only time of year that weed control can be applied over a majority of your turf area as it could harm other desirable turf if blanket sprayed later in the season. The residual for most broadleaf weed controls is only 4-6 weeks under average climate conditions. After that period of time, any weed seeds blowing in from a neighbors property that happen to land in your lawn, will more than likely start to germinate.

This is the primary reason why it is nearly impossible to get good control of broadleaf weeds with only 1 or 2 applications in a year. For adequate weed control, we recommend taking at least 3 applications and preferably the full 5 lawn applications for best results. We do not guarantee our weed control applications with less than 4 applications being taken per season.

As always, if you still notice weeds present that are not dying, or new weeds appearing 10-14 days after an application has been applied, contact our office @ 838-3375 to set up a service call or to see what we can do for you.

Why are you doing the Winterizer application so late it seems? my sprinkler system has already been shut off!

If you have a cool season lawn, the winterizer application is a final round of special fertilizer to help your grass overwinter better and have a quicker more responsive "green-up" in the following spring. This type of fertilizer does not require a "good watering" to become active. Weather conditions will take care of the watering of this application just fine. Therefore it is not necessary to keep your sprinkler system on any later in the year than you feel necessary.

If you have a warm season lawn, the final application for the year is actually applied AFTER the grass has started to go dormant for the season. The winter application on warm season grass generally is not applied until the first week or so of November (depending on the weather). A special type of weed control called "Simazine" is applied to control several types of weeds from germinating the next spring. This is probably one of the most important applications of the year we provide for a warm season lawn. Many weed problems in warm season lawns can be controlled with this application.

Have a question? E-mail us and let us know