Tips For Fixing Common Lawn Care Problems

lawn careEven if there are more important things in life aside from having the perfect lawn, working towards achieving that goal will provide you with a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment. Plus, you’ll have a personal oasis that you and your loved ones can enjoy. To get there, you have to deal with the most common lawn problems and some lawn care tips on how to address them.

Lawn Care Tips For Common Problems

Thin Grass

Everyday events like games of tag, playing with your dogs, and even the harsh weather can cause thinning grass. You may have to overseed using a certain product that would provide the perfect combination of soil improver, fertilizer, and grass seed required to thicken up your lawn grass. You should mow the lawn using the lowest setting, rake it well, and then add the appropriate product to the spreader by following the directions written on the label. Water it everyday for two weeks and then continue mowing the grass at the appropriate mowing length, depending on the grass type.

Bare Spots

If your grass is in good condition but has bare spots, there’s a different lawn care Myrtle Beach tip that you can follow. You can treat the bare spots using a commercial product. Get rid of the dead grass and then loosen up the hard soil using a hand rake. Then apply the product according to the directions indicated in the label and then water it thoroughly. Water it daily until the new grass grows 2” tall, then you could go back to treating the spots the exact way as the rest of your lawn.

Brown Spots

Brown spots on your lawn are a bit more complicated because there are many things that may be causing the spots like fungus or grubs, dog urine, or weed dieback. So, before you apply the commercial product, make sure you know what the problem is.

Grubs in the Lawn

If you have seen more than a few c-shaped, and fat grubs in the soil as you dig, then you need to do something about it right away. Beetles pop up during early summer. They eat plants and lay eggs in the soil. The eggs hatch during early summer and the little critters start to eating plants and grass roots. So you have to apply the product early spring or early summer. All you need to do is fill the spreader and apply it to your lawn. Just make sure that it’s dry. Don’t forget to follow the directions indicated in the label and add water in order to activate the product.

Weeds are Out of Control

Any lawn care expert will tell you that they hate weeds. Fortunately, there are things you can do to avoid this problem in the first place. That’s by keeping your lawn grass in good health. Follow the appropriate mowing tips, fertilize it regularly, give it the right amount of water, and call a lawn care specialist if necessary.

Crabgrass

Crabgrass is a well-known trouble maker and the best way to deal with it is to stop it from growing in the first place. You should protect your grass from crabgrass using a product that can kill it down to its roots without harming your lawn.

Yellow Grass

If you can see yellow grass in your lawn, it’s probably because you incorrectly applied your fertilizer. You can make sure that you don’t miss any spot by overlapping slightly when you use the spreader. Grass that didn’t get fertilizer will turn yellow. You just have to improve your application technique in order to avoid this lawn problem.

Call Conner’s Lawn Care Service if you need help in taking care of your lawn.

Conner’s Lawn Care Service
Myrtle Beach, SC
843-504-4901
http://connerslawncare.com/

Tips To Protect A Dormant Lawn during Winter

lawn care

Winter is when people often forget about their lawns. It’s covered in snow, so there’s nothing you can do about it. Wrong! It is possible to cause severe problems for your grass in spring by causing damage to your lawn during winter. Here we will share some lawn care tips and how to prevent damage to your lawn in winter. This will ensure that your lawn is healthy and green in spring. You don’t have to deal with a huge problem.

Lawn Care Tips For Winter

What is a dormant lawn?

A lawn that isn’t currently growing is called a dormant lawn. Although the grass might be dead or brown, it is still growing. Because it is too cold to allow photosynthesis to take place, grass goes dormant in winter. It has special needs to survive. Dormant grass can be damaged and cause problems in spring, such as dead patches or decreased growth.

How to avoid damaging a dormant lawn

There are many things you can do this winter to prevent damage to your dormant grass. These are some tips to remember:

Be wary of tools

Avoid shoveling or raking snow from your lawn. This could cause damage to the grass and soil. To remove snow from your lawn, you can use a snowblower and a push-broom. If you can, try not to let snow pile up. Your lawn shouldn’t become overly saturated.

Take care when you tread

If your lawn is covered in frost/ice, don’t walk on it. This can cause the soil to compact and damage the grass. This can lead to dead patches in spring. Instead, you can walk on another area of your property without any grass.

Don’t use salt

Avoid using salt or any other de-icing agents on your lawn in the winter months. This can also cause damage to the soil and slow down growth in spring. To make walking safer for your loved ones and you, when there is ice on ground, you can use sand or sawdust.

Don’t water the lawn

Avoid watering your lawn in winter. This can cause it to freeze and eventually die. You don’t need to water your lawn if there is snow on the ground. Overwatering your lawn can cause damage to its fragile root system. Let nature take care of your lawn!

Protect Dormant Grass

You can also protect dormant grass by taking steps to prevent it from being damaged. To protect your lawn from cold weather, add a thin layer of mulch. Mulch will keep your soil warm and moist and prevent the growth and development of weeds.

How to start a new life after destroying a dormant lawn

There are a few options if you’ve already damaged your lawn. You have three options: repair, reseed, or replace.

Repair Damage Yourself

You have two options here: either hire a professional lawn care specialist to fix the damage or you can do it yourself. You may be able to repair the damage yourself if there are just a few damaged areas.

Reseed the Lawn

You may have to reseed your entire lawn if there are significant damages. This can be time-consuming and costly so it is worth hiring a professional lawn care specialist. The process of seeding your lawn involves removing the old lawn and preparing the soil for planting. You will then need to water your lawn until it takes root.

Install New Sod

It is possible to replace the seed with new sod. The benefits of sod are that it is quicker and healthier than seed. Installing sod can be more costly than installing seed. To avoid problems next winter, make sure you choose sturdy turf if you decide to install new sod.

Do not damage a dormant lawn – Here’s the bottom line

One of the most common mistakes homeowners make is to disturb a winter-dormant lawn. You could end up spending your time and money if you aren’t careful. These tips will help you avoid damaging your lawn during winter. If your lawn is damaged beyond repair, you can always replace it with lush, dense sod.

Call Conner’s Lawn Care Service now if you need the help of a lawn care expert to help protect your lawn during winter.

Conner’s Lawn Care Service
Myrtle Beach, SC
843-504-4901
http://connerslawncare.com/

Summer Lawn Care Guide

lawn careSpring lawn care is all about keeping your lawn green and healthy. Summer lawn care is all about keeping it healthy during high temperatures and infrequent rainfall. It is also about keeping your lawn healthy and able to withstand the many activities that summer brings, such as running, playing, and eating out. These are some ways to keep your lawn looking great during the long, hot summer days.

Lawn Care Guide: Summer Lawns

Lawn grasses are subject to a lot of stress after the spring growth season. The heat and drought can be very damaging to lawn grasses. We are also not as patient in summer as we were in winter. Our lawns should be lush green and healthy for outdoor activities. We try to combat nature by fertilizing, watering, and encouraging new growth no matter the weather. You can care for your lawn gently by learning and understanding the seasonal changes in turf grasses.

Cool-season grasses like bluegrass, fescue and rye thrive if the temperature is in the 60s F.

Warmer season grasses, including Bermuda, St. Augustine and Centipede (all part of the warm-season grasses) love temperatures in the 70s.

Lawns will start to struggle when temperatures rise into the 80s. Cool-season grasses have the most difficulty. As they are less capable of recovering from traffic stress and growth, lawns may experience a slowing in growth and color fade. Cool-season lawns can even go dormant during the summer and become brown and brittle by early fall.

Water Properly

A lawn needs at least 1 inch of water each week. Lawns may need more if it is extremely hot. To keep track of how much water is being received from rain and irrigation, use a rain gauge.

To encourage drought-tolerant roots, water deeply and less often.

Water the lawn early in the morning to prevent evaporation and fungal growth.

You can either water your lawn frequently and deeply or you don’t need to water it at all. Do not let your lawn become brown or dormant. Instead, “water it back into life.” Your lawn should remain dormant from summer to fall. Don’t worry, it will recover when the weather turns.

Mowing tips

In the summer, there’s one mowing tip you should remember. Raise your mower blade. Higher grass is more resilient to drought, has deeper roots and shades the earth, which helps prevent weed seeds from germinating. Cool-season grasses should mowed at 3-4 inches in the summer or as high as you can get your blade to go. Warm-season grasses should mowed at 2-3 inches.

Mulching grass clippings keeps moisture levels stable.

Keep your grass cut to 1/3 of its original length. This will keep your grass healthy and prevent the clippings smothering it.

Keep mower blades sharp. To reduce stress in hot weather, make sure that your mower cuts your grass and not tears it.

Don’t Over Fertilize

Avoid fertilizing your lawn if it is looking unruly in the middle of summer. It’s better to stop fertilizing 30 days before the summer heat hits your area. Extra fertilizer applied in summer heat can cause lawn to become brittle and burn. Do not fertilize lawns that are still dormant. Wait until the autumn to fertilize them.

High-Traffic Areas

Many lawns start to show signs of wear by the end of summer, particularly along some popular paths. To minimize grass damage, consider installing stepping stones. Also, try to limit traffic to brittle or dormant lawns. To help your lawn recover quicker, apply some fertilizer to areas that are receiving a lot of rain and active growth.

Control Weeds

This is the best time for an important routine for lawn care in Carolina Forest. Remove weeds that are growing and spread seed for next year. The targeted post-emergent herbicides can be used to kill broadleaf grass weeds but must be used when temperatures are below 85° F for a few more days. Remember that any product can cause damage to lawn grasses in the summer heat.

Insects & Diseases

Insect infestations can occur in summer lawns that are not being used or are under drought stress. While minor infestations can be treated easily, more serious problems will require treatment from pest control experts.

Fungal diseases such as brown patches and powdery mildew can also be a problem in summer. To keep nighttime moisture to a minimum, apply fungicide as needed.

Over the summer, grubs will start to hatch on your lawn. You can apply grub control to your lawn if grubs are a problem.

Call Conner’s Lawn Care Service now if you need help in taking care of your lawn.

Conner’s Lawn Care Service
Myrtle Beach, SC
843-504-4901
http://connerslawncare.com/

Lawn Care Tips For Warm Season Lawns

lawn careKeeping your lawn healthy and lush needs attention all throughout the year. Knowing what you can do and when you should do it is an important part of lawn care.

BahiagrassZoysia grass, Bermudagrass as well as other warm-season grasses thrive well in the southern regions. During winter, they become dormant and then in spring, they start to become active again. Meanwhile, they peak during the dry and hot summer season.

With this monthly guide, you could keep your warm-season lawn grasses in good condition. Always remember that seasonal changes within a region can happen over several weeks and the trend in weather conditions always changes. So, refer to your local conditions and your landscaping for the last word but use this guide as your starting point.

Monthly Guide For Your Lawn Care

January

Keep the blades of the mower sharp and make sure that your lawn tools are always ready. You should also take note that spring arrives early in the south. You should clean far south and dormant lawns with midwinter edging and give them a good trim. Take yearly soil samples in any problematic areas. Soil should be thawed and dried. Test other areas of the lawn every three to four years.

February

You should battle winter weeds using post-emergent herbicides as well as spot treatments. An expert in lawn care in Myrtle Beach will tell you to inspect your lawns for twigs, debris, and stones before spring comes. You should also treat established lawns using preemergent herbicides before crabgrass and summer weeds germinate.

March

Mow the lawns when the grass begins to grow. Cut it slightly lower than the regular mowing guidelines a few times. Be sure to gather the clippings when you suspect disease. Treat any unwanted moss, which is at risk during peak lawn growth during cool damp months.

April

You should plant brand new lawns and then overseed thin warm-season lawns with the premium grass seed. Mow the lawn at normal heights and then leave the clippings so that they could decompose.

May

Dethatch and aerate your lawn during active spring and during early summer growth. This will reduce compaction, improve drainage, and reduce the risks of lawn disease.

June

Feed the grasses every four to eight weeks during the period of active summer growth.

July

You should mow the height to about one inch above the normally recommended heights. Taller blades will shade the soil, decrease water evaporation, and then fight off competing weeds.

August

You should mow the lawn only when required to keep the taller seasonal heights. Fertilize the lawn to boost energy stores for the winter season. You should plan the last feeding six to eight weeks before the first expected frost in your area.

September

Decrease the water of warm-season grasses. Do this once rainfall increases. However, don’t let turfgrass be stressed due to lack of water or it would affect the spring green-up. You should treat good lawns with preemergent herbicides before the germination of the winter weeds.

October

Test the soil and make corrections before the winter season. Mow the warm season grasses until they cease growing. Make the last cuts a bit lower than normal.

November

Fertilize and maintain cool-season grasses in overseeded lawns. Don’t forget to spot treat current weeds with post emergent, target herbicides. Get rid of mulch leaves that have fallen to enhance airflow and decrease disease risks.

December

At the end of the year, there are some lawn care Myrtle Beach tips you need to know. Water the lawn regularly especially for overseeded lawns. You should water as required to supplement rainfall.

Call Conner’s Lawn Care Service if you need expert help in maintaining your lawn.

Conner’s Lawn Care Service
Myrtle Beach, SC
843-504-4901
http://connerslawncare.com/

How Lawn Care Help Keep Kids Safe In Your Front Yard

lawn careA lot of homeowners tend to ignore that their front yard is a safe place where their kids can play. After all, your home must be a safe haven where your family can live safely and comfortably. But when people have kids, they soon find out that it is crucial to be vigilant regarding safety in all the areas where their kids play, even if that means their own lawn or home. There are some methods you can use to make sure that your kid is safe when playing in your yard. But it all boils down to proper lawn care.

Supervision Is A Must

When kids play outside, they only need a few seconds to run from your yard and down to the road. Even if you live in a quiet street that does not get that much traffic, nobody really knows when a careless or inexperienced driver might be on the road. Loose stray dogs and child predators can also pose danger to your kids as they play outside. Parents have to protect their kids by making sure that they supervise all of their outdoor activities. If your kids are responsible and older, then you can enforce the buddy system. You may also improve the safety of your yard through the installation of a fence or by creating a specific area where they can play.

Lawn Care Is Crucial

A yard that’s unkempt can create different kinds of risks for your children. There could be a snake hiding in a wheelbarrow that was left outside or perhaps just trying to conceal itself in tall grasses. Lawn care Myrtle Beach is crucial. You can do it yourself or you can hire a company that can do it for you.

Lawn care professionals can offer landscaping advice that will help improve your yard while keeping your children safe.

Check The Trees

Apart from the obvious hazards outdoors like spare wheelbarrows or standing water, the plants may also cause risk to your children. Be sure that all trees remain in good health to lower the risk of falling branches from hurting kids. Lawn care experts can check out the overall root system of the tree as well as the conditions of the surrounding soil, and many other things that play a role to its health. You can be assured that children can play under a tree or explore its trunk without any risk. This is only another example of how total lawn care includes evaluating not just the beauty of your landscape but also its safety.

Call Conner’s Lawn Care Service if you need professional help in taking care of your lawn not only to improve its visual aesthetics but also its safety.

Conner’s Lawn Care Service
Myrtle Beach, SC
843-504-4901
http://connerslawncare.com/