2010: a difficult year for lawns and landscapes

Farming...apparently it's in my blood. While I myself did not grow up on a farm, I come from a lineage of farmers. There's a special place in my heart for farmers. My mom has joked that what we do in the lawn and landscape management field is about as close to farming as you can get without actually being a farmer. I have always noticed something about guys (and gals) that have been farming for a long time...usually they don't get riled up too easily. That's an important character trait. In our industry, like farming, you can try to do everything right: select the best blend of turfgrasses or landscape plants for our climate, use the very best, blended fertilizers and control products on the market, utilize the very best management practices such as proper mowing height and frequency, planting and pruning practices, and so on. However, there is one very important, very uncontrollable variable...weather.

Yep, good ole mother nature. What a roller coaster we have experienced this year. From a horticultural standpoint, it's been a rather dismal year. The combination of an excessively wet spring followed by a very hot and dry summer wreaked havok on lawns and landscapes all around the area. The following article from the OSU extension agency describes in detail how this year was "the perfect storm": http://buckeyeturf.osu.edu/pdf/SummerSpoilers_2010.pdf . It's a good read, and I would encourage you to read it to understand the challenges of this last growing season.

However, like farmers, we must understand the reality that although we try to do everything right, sometimes we just can't control the hand that nature deals us. Sure, we've been very frustrated ourselves, and we certainly have had our fair share of customers who have been equally frustrated with the lacklustre look of their lawns. Unfortunately, we will continue to see the deleterious effects of this last season well into next year. The good news is, there are remedies, and we will continue to offer services that will help get our lawns and landscapes back on track.

While it is probably too late to do too much yet this year, here's what we recommend for next year:
1.) Once all the snow melts in March, take an inventory of your lawn and landscape and see what needs remediated. Dead areas of turf will likely not come back with any expediency, so they will need reseeded. Dead landscape plants may also exist, so take an inventory and replace those as needed. Consider more hardy plants if one particular species seems to need excessive care that you may not have the time nor expertise to provide (we can help).
2.) While spring is not really an optimal time to do lawn reseeding, because of the poor late season growing conditions this year (continued lack of rainfall and early cold weather), it will be the next best thing. Bare lawn areas need roughed up and reseeded, or slit-seeded.
3.) An important consideration, whether you do reseeding yourself, or whether ProScape does it for you, is to withhold pre-emergent weed control (crabgrass preventer) until later in the spring. It can still be effective against mid to late season crabgrass breakthrough if properly timed, but it should not be applied in the early spring, as is the custom, if you intend to do some reseeding.
4.) Plan for proper irrigation practices for both the lawn and landscape in case we have another dry summer next year. Whether that's as sophisticated as calling us about installing an underground irrigation system, or as simple as buying some extra hoses and sprinklers to drag around the yard during any dry spells, it is very important to the overall health of your lawn and landscape. As a rule of thumb, lawns are especially needy, and require about 1" of irrigation per week in order to sustain them in any periods of low rainfall.
5.) Plan for proper fertility. For most varieties of turfgrasses in our area, the requirement is about 4-6 lbs of actual nitrogen per 1000 sq ft, per year. The bulk (about 1/2) of this should be applied in the fall, or final two treatments of the year. Again, a homeowner could do this themselves, but it is often just as cost-effective to allow a professional company like ProScape do it for you. Also don't forget about fertility for your landscape trees and shrubs. Needs are different, and this may be something you want to talk with us about getting on a program to address.

Like farmers, we realize that some years are just not going to be optimal. However, we make adjustments as we look forward into next year to ensure we mitigate the losses incurred when the weather doesn't cooperate like we hope. Even though I look out my window and see a nice cover of snow over everything, it is not too early to start making these proper preparations for next year. Let us know how we can help.