What We Did Today: Round #6
(Tree and Shrub: Round #5)

To Your Lawn

1. Warm Season lawns (Bermuda and/or Zoysia Turf) Today we applied a Dolomitic lime application that will aid in improving soil structure, improve forage quality, reduce leaching of other plant nutrients and generally improve the balance of most soil nutrients. By properly maintaining the pH levels in the soil nutrients remain available for plant uptake.
2. Cool Season lawns (Fescue) received a balanced fertilizer application that will aid in root development, plant photosynthesis and disease resistance with improving the plants water use efficiency. Half of the product applied will be slow release and continue to feed the plant for an additional 8-12 weeks. The slow release properties are degraded by microbes to provide controlled nitrogen feeding over an extended period. This slow release product provides a uniform color response and improves turf density without surge growth. Because the nitrogen is released by microbes, nitrogen is available under a wide range of environmental conditions.

To Your Tree & Shrubs (If you are a Tree & Shrub Customer)

1. Tree & Shrub Customers get Round #5 Today we applied a Dormant Horticulture Oil and Micro-nutrient package. The dormant horticulture oil performs a suffocation of eggs, larvae and nymphs of insects and adults of soft bodied insects. It also has a fungicide that interferes with the attachment of the pathogen to the host and acts as a suffocant. The micronutrient package consists of a water-soluble organic blend of metal nutrients chelated with glucoheptonates to provide the maximum uptake by the plants through foliar or soil absorption. The package is to improve root growth, color and reduce plant stress through the growing cycle of the plant. Overall it improves plant vigor while improving color. Since it is an organic form of nutrients, much smaller amounts of the nutrients are needed as compared to inorganic forms such as iron sulfates and oxides.

What you need to do until our next visit

1. You need to let your Bermuda and Zoysia begin to get to the 2½-3” range by now. This will allow adequate top cover for the roots and protect the turf into the winter months. You also will want to keep the leaves off of your warm season turf as they will mat down the dormant Bermuda or Zoysia.
2. If you have Fescue turf, then you will want to make sure that you keep the leaves off of the turf every week. As we continue to have rain it will mat the leaves down into the turf and smother new seedlings as well as mature turf. It is best to collect the leaves and discard them from your property.
3. With regard to your trees and shrubs, you will want to keep leaves off of your turf in the coming months but you do not want to pile them up around the base of your shrubs. If leaves do accumulate at the base of your shrubs they can choke out a plant over time. If we have severe spikes in low temps in the coming months ahead you will want to protect some of your tender ornamentals with sheets.
4. You will want to make sure that you have a good layer of mulch or pinestraw in your beds heading into late fall/early winter.  It aids in retaining moisture, suppressing weed seeds that are present and helps to offset extreme swings in temperature.
5. We will be back on your property in January/February to provide your first pre-emergent application. Be on the lookout for any mailers that we send out at the first of the year with regard to pre-paying for 2010 and receive a 5% discount for the entire year. Also be sure to stay tuned to the monthly newsletter and constantly updated website and call with any questions that you may have between our visits.
   
   If you have any questions concerning your lawn, trees, shrubs or our service, please call our
   office Monday – Friday, 8:00am-5:00pm at 770-534-7755.
   If you call after hours, please leave a message and your call will be returned.