Spring Clean Up Archive

Lawn Winter Damage Waukesha Milwaukee

Winter Lawn Damage Repairs

As the temperatures start to rise, you may notice your lawn is not looking as well as it did in fall. Most lawns experience winter damage in one way or another, some worse than others.  The good news is most damage is easily rectified.  The first step is for you or a lawn specialist to determine the cause and then come up with the appropriate solution. Over the years we have noticed the top three concerns and causes of winter damage are salt, voles and snow mold.

 

Salt damage: Salt damages your grass because the salt draws the moisture away from the roots and dries out the turf area. Salt damage is typically on the edges of the road, driveway and sidewalks.

salt damage

 

What can be done: A professional can apply a organic Gypsum product to the salt damage areas. It should be applied only when the area has dried out and temps are averaging around 40-50 degrees. Gypsum is a calcium sulfate that replaces the salt with calcium and sulfur to help heal the damaged grass. It will then help retain the moisture in the soil to promote healthy grass. Once applied it should be watered in well.  If the lawn has been severely damaged by salt, shoveling and plowing damage, a top soil and seeding is recommended. If you are looking to prevent the damage from returning every year in areas that are prone to salt damage, a salt tolerant seed can be applied. A salt tolerant seed is a wider blade grass and can withstand the salt.

 

Voles: Voles are small rodents with short tails and legs. They like to feast on lush grass under the snow.  They can leave tunnels of dead grass in their path’s and this is typically what we see when the snow cover melts. When the voles chew on the grass leaves they typically leave the root system in tack.
Voles Smaller file

What can be done: Once the grass and soil dries out from the melting snow, rake away the dead grass and you can let nature take its course. The grass will grow back in, filling in the tunneled areas. If the damage is significant a spot seeding can be done to promote more grass growth. Voles can become a nuisance and a consistent problem, a professional can help with safely applying repellents to remedy the problem.

 

 

Snow Mold: Snow mold is a fungus that appears on the lawn area after the snow has melted. Snow mold appears in circular, matted down patches that can be gray or pink in color. A lawn specialist from Central Services can help identify your snow mold. Gray snow mold can be rectified on its own, however pink snow mold is harder to treat.

Snow mold 1

What can be done:  Gray snow mold will typically clear up on its own once the weather starts to warm up. It is only active up to temperatures that reach approximately 45 degrees. Pink Snow Mold can interfere with the root system of your grass and do permanent damage if not treated. The best solution for pink mold is to have a professional treat the areas with a fungicide. Pink mold is active when temps are between freezing and 60 degrees.

 

 

Spring is also a great time to have a lawn specialist from Central Services to evaluate your lawn condition for weeds and fertilizing needs. The sooner a yard is treated the better the outcome. Spring is a good time to put down a pre-emergent so that you can prevent any new weeds from seeding in. A spring application must be done in early spring before the temperatures start to rise. Here at Central Services we recommend having our horticulturists meet with you at your property and go over your concerns, and they can recommend solutions for you landscape maintenance needs.

 

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Preparing for spring –Early Spring Clean-Up

 

 

Preparing for Spring –Early Spring Clean-UpSpring 2015-3

 

 

Spring is right around the corner. March is a month where the weather is unpredictable, one day it can be snowing and cold, when the next day it is 50 degrees, the sun is shining and the snow is melting.  These days are great days to get outside, walk around your landscape, do a little early spring yard work, or contact a contractor to do the job for you.

Early spring is a great time to rake out any leaves, dead foliage, and debris from your landscape beds. Cut back those ornamental grasses, and any other perennials left standing thru the winter, this will prepare for the new growth. Ornamental grasses and other perennials should be cut back 4” to 6” from the ground.

Early spring pruning is a good time to prune away any winter killed branches to make new room from new growth. Do not prune any spring flowering shrubs. Their buds start to appear /form in late winter, by now their buds have been set for blooming, and pruning them would eliminate them from flowering.

As the ground starts to thaw and your trees and shrubs start to bud, it is a good time to give them a long soaking of water, especially for newly planted items from the previous year.

As the weather starts to warm up, there are other beneficial landscape maintenance services for your yard. April and May, are great times to start your weed and fertilization programs, core aeration for your lawn, seeding any areas damaged from the winter, fertilizing trees and shrubs, mulching planter beds, edging of beds and sidewalks.

Central Services offers a variety of spring clean-up, spring maintenance, and landscaping services. Contact us today and get your free quote!

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