Controlling Crabgrass Effectively

The very wet summer we've experienced throughout Montgomery County this year has increased weed and crabgrass breakthrough from Dresher to Spring City.  Here's some tips to help reduce the outbreak of crabgrass.

Crabgrass control combines reducing numbers of crabgrass with strengthening the overall health of your lawn. Application of crabgrass control material in the spring before the crabgrass seeds germinate is important.   It will form a barrier to stop crabgrass seed roots as they germinate and remember, following application, this barrier must not be broken by raking or digging or edging, which can weaken and nullify the crabgrass barrier.

Ongoing proper maintenance is also an important step to help rid your lawn of crabgrass.  Crabgrass in the lawn can be reduced over a few seasons of special care by improving the overall density of your lawn through core aeration and seeding with more drought tolerant, updated varieties of turf.  One of the easiest maintenance steps is to remember not to mow your lawn to low. Taller grass will shade the soil and make it less hospitable for many weed seeds, like crabgrass, to develop. Most grasses do well at a mowing height of 2 inches to 3 inches, and some varieties even higher.

The fight against crabgrass requires patience and a commitment to creating and maintaining a healthy lawn. It will take some hard work but a thick, dark green, crabgrass-free lawn is well worth the patience and special care.

Keep Your Lawn Healthy When The Temerpatures Soar

Regardless if you live in Blue Bell or Phoenixville, the temperatures throughout Montgomery County have been near recording this week.  We thought we'd offer some answers to some common questions related to the scorching temperatures.

 Will the fertilizer hurt my lawn when it is so hot and dry?

Many homeowners are under the misconception that fertilizer will burn a dry lawn.  The key is to use a quality, slow-release fertilizer.  Certain types of fertilizer contain a special polymer coating that allows the fertilizer to release as needed based upon temperature, moisture, and microbial activity.  When it rains, the grass plants need nutrition immediately to support their new growth.  The slow-release fertilizer remains in the soil, making those nutrients available as soon as possible for a quick recovery. 

What are the proper watering instructions when temperatures consistently reach 90°?

Avoid light, frequent watering. A more thorough watering helps turf roots to grow more deeply.  With the soil types in Southeastern PA, 30-45 minutes per section is required 4-5 times per week when temperatures are above 90°. Check your soil moisture by pushing a screwdriver into the ground.  If you meet little resistance, the soil is wet. If it does not push in easily, more water is needed.  Early morning is the best time to water.   

What if I cannot water? Will the grass die?

No.  That’s fine.  The turf will not die.  Cool season turf simply goes dormant in excessive heat as a defensive mechanism.  As the temperatures cool and moisture return, the nutrients available will be released to the turf and your lawn will recover.

Heat stress on cool season turf.  The weight of the mower stressed the turf.

What else can I do?

Ensuring your lawn has the proper grass types, especially in areas of the open sun will help.  Core aeration and seeding this fall with drought tolerant varieties of turf will help improve overall color, vigor, and density.  Drought tolerant grass types also recover more readily than inferior types of grass seed.

 

Dollar Spot...It's Not What You Think

Though the name may suggest a positive connotation, dollar spot  is something to be avoided.   Visiting properties throughout Plymouth Meeting and Jenkintown, disease activity is on rise this summer, given the warm, damp conditions throughout Montgomery County.

Occurring in lawns most commonly during warm weather, dollar spot is a fungus that enters grass plants when they are wet. Infected grass blades are riddled with large, tan-colored wounds that result in damaged patches the size of silver dollars in the lawn. If the disease becomes more serious, the patches can expand and damage the entire lawn.
The best method for controlling dollar spot is to alter present lawn care practices. Promoting a healthy lawn in all aspects bolsters your yard’s defense and ability to fight off a fungus like dollar spot.

Hourglass lesions are a common indication of dollar spot disease

Dollar spot is a nitrogen deficient disease, proper fertilization can help manage the disease.

Watering should ideally be done in the morning. Waiting until later in the day allowing standing water to accumulate overnight is not at all beneficial to your lawn’s health. Overwatering is not necessarily the answer, and in fact watering less frequently could be of help.

Additionally, try raising the height of your lawn mower and, if possible, avoid mowing in the evening. Keep your lawn clear of debris and all trees adequately trimmed in order to facilitate air movement. Also, be sure to maintain the thatch layer at ½ inch or less.

If the symptoms of dollar spot persist, contact a lawn care professional.

The Storm's A-Coming

The past ten days have been a surprisingly wet time for Montgomery County.  Usually the first week of July marks the beginning of the drought season from Spring City to Hatboro, but this year has brought record amounts of rain in our area.  While you may think this will help to cut down on the water bill, there are actually some issues with flash storms that bring a large quantity of rain in a short period of time. 

While inspecting lawns last week, each day was very similar.  The early morning was warm, but an iced coffee staved off the heat pretty well.  Soon after, the afternoon became brutally hot followed by clouds and ultimately an intense but brief storm.  These types of storms bring enough rain to help the lawn if it were spread out throughout the day, but the brevity of the rainfall usually doesn’t bring enough benefits for the lawn to pass on its regularly scheduled watering.  The lawn needs to be well hydrated in the early morning to stay in tip-top shape through the afternoon heat.  Imagine skipping that iced coffee in the morning…how do you feel? Even with a quick shot of energy later in the day, you feel something missing.  So even with the afternoon showers that have passed through Montgomery County recently, make sure to keep your sprinklers set for watering in the morning to keep the lawn hydrated. 

          Another common issue with flash storms is the appearance of mushrooms throughout the lawn.  In most cases, these fungi are not a cause for alarm and rarely need fungicides to cure.  Mushrooms form from naturally decaying wood and given the right climate and environment, typically dark, wet, and damp, they will sprout up after a storm.  The easiest way for you to control these new additions to your lawn is to simply practice your golf swing with a broom and send them flying.  More than likely, they will not reappear in the same spots unless there is a more serious issue such as fairy ring.  In the case of fairy ring or any other disease activity, your local lawn care technician can apply a fungicide to control the fungus and offer additional cultural recommendations to help remedy the situation.

Fairy ring disease with mushroom activity, however, mushrooms and disease activity are not related.

 Contributed by Harry Bambi, Sales Supervisor

What's Bugging Your Lawn?

Last Friday marked the official first day of summer in Montgomery County, whether you’re by the pool in Cheltenham or Plymouth Meeting, the summer heat is upon us. With this type of weather we know the lawn is in for a challenging few months.  The season long hurdle is the lack of rainfall which can quickly turn a lush lawn into a barren desert.  During the drought season, it’s easy for other lawn issues to get set aside until the lawn returns to its green state. Most people think once the lawn enters its dormant stage during a dry spell, nothing can go wrong.  Quite the contrary! Insect damage is very common during the drought season. From chinchbugs to grubs, these lawn insects can be feeding on the lawn while you’re enjoying the new Superman movie at the Movie Tavern in Collegeville. 

The first pest your lawn will face this summer is the chinchbug. The chinchbug is an extremely tiny insect that is usually difficult to spot with the naked eye. As someone who inspects lawns for their activity, I will rarely see them in action, since an adult is about 1/6 of an inch long. Chinchbug damage will be the first type of insect damage that you will see this summer.  By early July you will notice areas starting to turn brown at a different rate than other drought stressed lawns.  Chinchbugs usually target lawns with a dense thatch layer that is exposed to constant sunlight from dawn to dusk.  Unlike turf that enters its dormancy period during a drought, this turf will not bounce back after a few strong mid-August storms.  Keep an eye out for irregular patterns in parts of the lawn that are in the sun all day such as in the picture bellow and call your local lawn care technician for advice on how to handle the damage. 

Helpful tips to avoid chinchbug damage

-Use endophytically enhanced grass seed when seeding in the fall. Chinchbugs and other insects avoid this type of grass.

-Maintain a healthy level of thatch throughout the season.  Aerate at least once per year to reduce any excess thatch.  The insects love lawns with a thick layer of thatch!

-Be careful when applying an insecticide.  Most products that you will find in stores are not the same quality as the products that a licensed technician can apply for you.

 Blog Post Contributed by Harry Bambi, Sales Supervisor

It's Tick Season in Montgomery County!

Bites from fleas and ticks are an annoyance for you and your pets.  Currently, more than 25 species of ticks have been identified in Pennsylvania.  Of these, four species account for nearly 90 percent of all submissions to Penn State for identification. The four ticks are: 1) the American dog tick, 2) the blacklegged tick, 3) the lone star tick, and 4) the ground hog tick.  Ticks can be found in most wooded in the area. They are especially common in areas where there are deer trails or human tracks. Specifically, Montgomery and Chester counties have particularly high tick populations. Ticks are especially abundant near water, near meadows, and areas brush or other plants provide woody surfaces and cover.

The Blacklegged Tick can be a common carrier of Lyme Disease

To more effectively control ticks at your property, regularly treat your pets, treat the areas your yard where ticks are most likely to populate.  These include tall grassy areas, along wood-lines, and moist, shady areas.

An effective tick control program, with properly timed visits based upon when ticks are most active, not only follow IPM (Integrated Pest Management) guidelines, but will be a more efficient application.