Are You Seeing Red In Your Lawn?

We are seeing a significant amount of Red Thread disease from Norristown to Flourtown.  Red Thread is typically the first disease we see in the Spring.  It's pretty easy to identify, once correctly identified, knowing how to manage it will help your lawn recover and reduce the likelihood of future red thread outbreaks.

Red Thread may appear first in areas with nitrogen deficiencies.

The disease spreads throughout the lawn in the form of spores. These spores are spread by wind, air, water and humans. The disease may be caused by improper mowing and watering.

Red Thread attacks most types of grass but is generally found on lawns that contain high proportions of the fescue species.

Applying additional nitrogen can help grow the disease out, however, too much nitrogen can cause a litany of other disease problems that could be far worse.  Apply the proper amount is important.  Also, taking a light leaf rake to the red patches can help dry the area out which will help slow down the process.  As always, maintaining a proper thatch level and using resistant varieties is a good long term strategy for the fall.

Grub Hub

Seventeen years have passed since the last swarm of cicadas, and this summer it looks like Montgomery County will have some old visitors at their doorstep.  While they can be a nuisance, these insects are not your biggest concern this summer. 

Each summer, Japanese beetles emerge from the ground from Elkins Park to Royersford and begin to lay eggs in the soil. These beetles are notorious for damaging trees and shrubs, especially fruit trees, but their larva can actually do a substantial amount of harm to your lawn. 

Grubs are the larva of the Japanese beetle. These subsurface insects enjoy feeding on the roots of your lawn’s grass roots. Throughout the summer, they mature and continue their underground cookout which features the grass roots and other nutrients in the soil.  Despite their abundance, there is a simple way to cutoff their buffet.  Applying a preventative is the ideal approach to neutralizing pests.  Most stores carry a grub preventative product, but the most effective products are only offered to licensed lawn care technicians.  Also, most lawn care companies guarantee the effectiveness of their products.  Those who skip this vital service are often left with questions once the grubs reach maturity.   

Every year around September, we receive calls about brown patches throughout the lawn.  Last September, I visited a beautiful property in Phoenixville to discover the once pristine turf turned into a field of dead grass.  Grub damage is quite easy to identify; simply pull up the edges of brown patch, and it should start to roll back like a rug.  It becomes clear quickly that the roots of the grass plants have turned into the grub’s dietary choice.  This disaster could have been avoided if a preventative grub control was applied to the lawn.  While the damage spread throughout the lawn, there are curative measures that can be applied to eliminate the grubs once they are active.  This typically requires costly products and it becomes a large process to remove dead grass and seed the damaged spots.

It's best to control grub activity before it starts

Turf pulled back to inspect for grub activity

To avoid this in the first place, contact your local lawn care experts and visit our website for helpful tips to keep the lawn in tip-top shape this summer!  

                                                       Contributed by Harry Bambi, Sales Supervisor

 

Insects Don't Tell Time

As we head in the latter part of May, the temperatures are finally warming up throughout Montgomery County, PA.  While we had a very cool March this year, average temperature are finally back to normal, however, don’t tell the insects that attack your trees and shrubs.

Neither insects nor plants have a calendar posted in their kitchen telling them when it’s time to emerge.  That’s why our sister company, Parkside Tree & Shrub Care, uses Growing Degree Days (GDD) to time our insect and disease application in the landscape.  Growing Degree-Days (GDD) takes into account the average daily temperature by calculating the number of heat units received. Thus, this system can he more accurate than the calendar method for estimating insect development and timing management strategies.

Several mathematical equations, such as the Average, Triangulation, and Sine, can be used for calculating GDD based on minimum and maximum temperature.   In towns from Elkins Park to Hatboro, we use a base temperature of 50°F.  For each day that the average temperature is one degree above the base temperature, one degree-day accumulates. 

 

A healthy landscape requires properly timed applications based upon Growing Degree Days.

Depending on the species, the base temperature can vary. Cool weather organisms will have lower base temperatures while other types of organisms will have higher ones.  This allows our tree and shrub applications to effectively control insects and diseases throughout the year.  For more information about how Growing Degree Days work or information about Parkside Tree & Shrub Care’s program,  contact our office.

Mow, Mow, Mow Your Lawn

Practical Mowing Tips from Harry Bambi, Sales Supervisor/Senior Technician:

 

This has been a relatively mild spring for Montgomery County, but despite the cooler weather, the lawns are pushing new growth, given turf in Southeastern PA is the ideal climate for cool season turf grasses, like tall fescue, Kentucky bluegrass, and perennial rye.  Whether you are taking care of the lawn yourself or have a company servicing it, your lawn will grow at a fast pace this time of year.  This can be a challenging time for homeowners as it may require more frequent mowing than usual. 

From Flourtown to Collegeville, most of us are accustomed to a ritual of weekly mowing.  The burden of mowing every four or five days is more than many of our packed schedules can accommodate.  The good news is that the reproductive growth spurt is short-lived and may only require more frequent mowing for a period of two to three weeks. A few extra cuttings over the month of May will certainly pay dividends in terms of a reduced incidence of stress-induced summer lawn problems. 

A dull blade will tear the turf and promote disease activity and additional stress

 

 The golden rule of mowing is to remove no more than 1/3 of the grass blade per cutting.  By removing more than this, the lawn can become stressed, which will show by the lawn appearing to be a faded color of green.  Most people want their lawn to look like a golf course (understandable!) and think that cutting the lawn extremely low will have their front yard looking like Augusta.  While it will bear a resemblance to a putting green for a short time, the reality is the lawn will be much more susceptible to insect and disease activity as well as the cultural stress of scalping the lawn.  The golf course superintendent applies a variety of fungicides and curative products to eliminate these hazards and they still have outbreaks despite a full crew focusing on the beauty of the turf. 

Some other tips to give your lawn the perfect cut:

•  Sharpen your blades before the mow of the season

  

  A properly cut lawn with a sharp blade means a healthy lawn!

•  Set your mower to its highest setting

•  Never remove more than 1/3 of the grass blade

•      Leave your mulched grass clippings on the lawn

For more helpful tips on maintaining a beautiful lawn and landscape, visit http://montgomery.weedmanusa.com/

Controlling Clover & Oxalis In Your Lawn

If you see a little white flower with four leaves in your lawn, it doesn’t necessarily mean you have found a lucky charm – it means you have clover.   In fact, customers often call in and refer to “clover with yellow flowers”.  Actually, they are referring to an entirely different weed, known as oxalis or yellow woodsorell.

Oxalis

Both are perennial weeds which grow easily in lawns from Elkins Park to Phoenixville and are common throughout Pennsylvania. It became so widely found because grass mixes in the 1940s and 1950s commonly included a dose of clover and it stuck around.

Clover attracts bees because of the nectar in the flower and anyone who has experienced a bee sting on the bottom of their foot knows it isn’t a pleasant experience. Clover also reduces the uniformity of the grass because its texture, color, and growth rate are different from that of grasses.

The most commonly encountered form of clover is white clover. It is a shallow-rooted weed that grows easily in overly moist areas of your lawn as well as areas that are nitrogen depleted.  It is also a weed that actually competes with the existing turf and works to smother your desirable grass if left untreated. 

In some cases, Weed Man rotates in a specific product that specially targets clover and oxalis as well as other tough weeds, such as wild violets and ground ivy.

Clover Management Tips

• A healthy lawn is a clover-free lawn – consistent fertilization and basic maintenance practices are musts.

• Don’t let areas with excess moisture persist.

  

  White Clover

• Keep phosphorous levels low.

Consistent application of a nitrogen based fertilizer to your lawn will help create a healthy, thick lawn and is one of the best deterrents of clover. Keeping the pH and nutrient levels consistent are important steps for keeping unwanted weeds out. Clover is especially fond of phosphorus in lawns so keep that in mind as you fertilize.

The Root of the Problem

Harry Bambi, Senior Technician, will contribute his findings throughout Montgomery and Chester Counties and provide additional timely content for our blog.

A beautiful landscape cannot stand on a lush lawn alone. A weed-free lawn will win the approval of the neighbors, but the key to the ideal outdoor oasis is a combination of maintained grass, a variety of shrubs, flower beds, and last, but certainly not least, trees.  Nothing rings in spring quite like a flowering dogwood or the majesty of a mighty oak tree that brings back memories of playing outside as a child.  While trees can differentiate a typical suburban landscape from a memorable outdoor paradise, there are several factors to consider when deciding which tree is right for your lawn, whether you live in Collegeville or Conshohocken.  

          One of the most common lawn issues Weed Man has found in this area actually goes back to trees, not the lawn itself.  Some trees have a natural tendency to produce a large amount of surface roots as the tree matures that emerges above the soil level.  This can spell disaster for a lawn if it is not properly maintained. Last week, I inspected a lawn for thin spots in Glenside, Pennsylvania.  In this area, we’ve noticed a great deal of mature trees that have withstood the test of time, however, that does not always bode well for the lawn underneath the canopy.  The main cause of the lack of overall density for this particular lawn can be traced back to the surface roots pushing through the grass roots.  Grass needs a soil bed in order to properly grow; when a large tree root enters its space, the grass clearly loses this battle.  The tree is simply growing and doing what nature had intended for it, but the lawn can suffer if adjustments aren’t made. 

While it may seem like a daunting task, there are some relatively quick ways to resolve the problem.  In some cases, we’ve advised customers to plant pachysandra plants around the tree roots.  This will addition will certainly add a new flavor to the landscape.   Or if you would like complete grass coverage, you’ll need to bring in topsoil to create a bed for the grass to properly grow.  As I mentioned, the turf needs a soil bed in order to grow to its fullest potential, and introducing topsoil can be a quick and easy fix.  Once the topsoil is introduced, use a mix of Perennial Rye and Kentucky Bluegrass.  This blend, also known as a shady blend will be blend well with all types of lawns, and can survive in shady areas.  

Next time you’re outside, take a look under your trees.  If the lawn is thin in these areas, think about some of these great options to spice up your landscape!