Most people have beautiful landscaped spaces that they enjoy in the summer. Here in Minnesota we only have summer for eight months, those remaining four months some landscapes become rather drab. Have you ever thought about designing your landscaping to be appealing even during those winter months? Here are some great idea plant ideas to add interest to your winter landscape.

Red Dogwood – Evergreen Holly – Tall Perennial Grasses – Winter Berry Holly – Birch Varieties

These plants continue to add interest to your landscape after the summer months have faded. If you are interested in learning more about how to keep your landscaping looking beautiful year round please contact us today!

Everyone has noticed that this January has been particularly warm, and some of you have also noticed the trees have buds on the trees and flowers beginning to appear. Some of you may be wonder how this affects your trees and if this can damage or kill them.

Trees do have buds during the snowiest winters, but with all the snow and ice, you cannot see the buds.  If there are many warm days in January, in the spring the trees may be a little slow to start new growth. The tree potentially would use up energy breaking the buds in the winter that it would be better off using in the spring.

The lack of snow can also cause some problems. Minnesota trees are used to having their root systems insulated by the snow cover. In the short term, this is not too big of a concern.

Crabgrass and Quackgrass – what are they? What is the difference between them? What do they look like? How can we treat them? These are all questions we have been recently receiving and I would like to answer for you today!

What exactly is crabgrass? Crabgrass is an annual grassy weed. It is broader than typical grass and has a rougher texture. It spreads out in clumps and can be easy to spot as it usually grows faster than normal grass and has a lighter color.  Crabgrass germinates in the spring and develops during the spring. These plants are easy to pull out, but once you pull them out they leave behind seeds.

That leads us to what is quackgrass? Quackgrass is a perennial with a very tough root system. If you can easily pull out a clump, it is probably crabgrass. Once this plant is established, even if you pull it out the tough root system will remain. It has long and tapered blades. Quackgrass grows more upright than crabgrass.

Neither crabgrass nor quackgrass will get disappear on their own. We have a chemical that we spot spray on these weeds to kill the plant. Even if the plant is killed there is still a chance that next year you may need to have crabgrass or quackgrass that needs to be sprayed again. If you ignore the problem, quackgrass and crabgrass have the potential to spread and can even take over your lawn.

Call the office at 651-247-1444 with any questions or if you think you may have crabgrass or quackgrass and would like it to be taken care of. Even healthly lawn can get these grassy weeds and the sooner we can address the problem the better.

Enough sitting inside on your computer – time to get outside and enjoy your beautiful lawn before the summer slips away!

“Ah, summer, what power you have to make us suffer and like it.”  ~Russel Baker

With this recent extremely hot weather we have been suffering and so has your grass. It is important to take extra care of your lawn during hot weather like we are currently facing. I have provided some summer lawn care tips below that will help your lawn look great, even when it is suffering.

·         Heat and stressed summer grass will recover if it is properly maintained

·         While water is necessary be careful not to over water as it will create a shallow root system

·         The best time for watering is early in the morning

·         Leaving grass clippings on the lawn helps provide nutrients when these break down

·         Keep your eyes out for any diseases – if you see anything give us a call

·         Proper lawn mowing and fertilization are the best ways to have a healthy lawn

I hope you have been out enjoying this beautiful weather and your beautiful lawns. Some of you have been calling asking what has been done thus far with the fertilization program and when will weeds be sprayed. Our first application of fertilizer, which is described below, has been applied! Currently we are also out in your yards applying our liquid weed control, which will take care of those pesky dandelions which have been popping up.

Fertilization promotes early spring greening of your lawn, plus recovery from the stresses or winter. Our first application of fertilizer will promote a healthy green up with new plant and root growth. This is a time release, granular fertilizer with Crabgrass control (pre-emergent), plus iron also added.

We apply a liquid weed control to eliminate dandelions, creeping Charlie and other problem weeds. This application also improves the density and color of your turf.

Hopefully the rain holds off and you are able to enjoy your lawn this Memorial Day weekend! If you have any fertilization or weed control questions please call us at the office 651-247-1444. We would be happy to help answer any questions you may have or put you on the list for fertilization and weed control if you are not already receiving these services.