It should be no surprise that we
begin the newsletter talking about
the Winter of 2013-14; one of
significant snow fall and cold
temperatures. For example,
someone with a standard 20 x 40
driveway given this season’s snow
fall would have moved about eight (8) semi-trailers full of snow!
If you’re concerned about your lawn, think of the challenges faced by Roger Bossard the famous Sod-Father (Groundskeeper) of the White Sox as he tries to prepare for opening day…
"I've been in this business for over 45 years and I have seen a lot of snow and certainly that is not hard to handle," Bossard said. "This weekend I had my whole crew in and they took off 400 tons (of snow). "My problem is the permafrost. I have actually never run into 30 inches of permafrost."
If you’re concerned about your lawn, think of the challenges faced by Roger Bossard the famous Sod-Father (Groundskeeper) of the White Sox as he tries to prepare for opening day…
"I've been in this business for over 45 years and I have seen a lot of snow and certainly that is not hard to handle," Bossard said. "This weekend I had my whole crew in and they took off 400 tons (of snow). "My problem is the permafrost. I have actually never run into 30 inches of permafrost."
IF YOU HAVE EXPERIENCE, WE ARE INTERVIEWING FOR LAWN CARE & LANDSCAPE CREW POSITIONS FOR THIS SEASON. Contact us if you are interested
What does all this mean for your
lawn?
In most cases it’s too early to tell. You need to be patient and observe, it will take time to identify what will or will not recover. Tips…
Due to the prolonged snow cover this winter, chances are there will be more damage from pink and grey snow mold than experienced in recent years. The focus should be on recovery. From Ohio State:
-Lightly rake the grass to promote air circulation and light to penetrate the canopy and encourage new shoot and leaf develop.
-If there is any dead and matted material, rake and remove. In the case of dead turfgrass renovation of the site would be recommended as soon as possible.
-If the site did NOT receive appropriate fertility in the fall a modest application of starter fertilizer would be recommended
LAWN: If you plan on doing repair seeding, do NOT apply pre-emergent crab grass control to your lawn as it will interfere with seed germination
Long irregular trails across your lawn may be from rodents
During the Spring, all grasses do not grow at the same rate, it is not uncommon to have patches of grass that grow faster or slower than other grasses in the lawn. Don’t be concerned if you don’t see even growth across the lawn. They will even out with time.
Patches of warm season grass will take longer to turn green than those of cool season grass
LANDSCAPE: Extreme cold, drying winds, sudden drops in temperature are all common causes of winter injury for your ornamental plants. This is too big of a subject to address here, but a source of further information is Purdue publication BP-2-W “Winter Injury of Ornamentals” Google it! A good place to start is with a proper fertilization program for your turf and ornamentals; call us for information.
Speaking of Purdue, a special thanks to Dr. Aaron Patton, turf specialist and Kyle Daniel, landscape specialist, each taking time out of their busy schedules to meet with us to discuss and review our fertilizer and maintenance programs for 2014.
Matt and Jim
Lawncare and Landscaping
