Lawn Care FAQ’s

Fertilizer helps to maintain your lawn’s health and vigor. Thick and healthy lawns help crowd out unwanted weeds, provide resistance against the effects of drought and disease, and – most importantly –they look great!

Our granular slow-release fertilizer lasts longer than liquid fertilizer. Granular gives more consistent feeding throughout the summer, while liquid will give a quick green-up, but only for a short time.

Weeds compete with desirable lawn grasses for water, space, light, and nutrients. Aggressive weeds can take over a lawn if not dealt with properly. Before this happens, a preventive approach to controlling weeds is recommended. It includes regular fertilization, proper mowing, and correct watering practices.

Many weeds (most notably dandelions) will begin to curl and wither in 7-10 days, but it will likely take 2-3 cuttings to completely eradicate the remnants. Other, more resilient weeds may take multiple treatments to eliminate.

Typically four to six weeks, depending on your program. See Our Service Calendar

We recommend 24 hours to give our weed control product ample time to be completely absorbed.

We will always post signs to notify you that we have treated your lawn. We recommend remaining off the lawn for up to 24 hours to allow the product time to fully dry.

A well-watered lawn means a healthy lawn; in the absence of adequate rainfall, we recommend watering to simulate an inch of rain per week (water twice, half an inch per watering, ideally between 4:00 AM and 9:00 AM).

We believe that aeration (sometimes called “aerification”) is almost always beneficial, but there are a few tell-tale signs that your lawn could really use aeration:

1) Poor drainage and water pooling up on the lawn

2) The lawn generally looks worn out

3) Your lawn isn’t turning a healthy green color after feeding.

All three are good indicators that the soil has become compacted, restricting water and nutrients to the grassroots. A fall or spring core aeration helps reduce thatch buildup, relieves compaction, and helps retain moisture in the root zone.  We offer aerations in the spring and the fall.

Overseeding builds a healthy turf by increasing its thickness, durability, and disease prevention. Overseeding is best done in the fall.  The fall rains and mild temperatures allow the grass plants to establish a strong root system. The goal is to have the grass as mature as possible before it can get overly stressed by the summer heat. Seeding is optimal when combined with aeration because the seed is deposited into the cores from where the plugs were pulled, allowing it to germinate in more nutrient-rich and cooler soil.

We put down seed at 3.5 pounds per 1000 square feet. This is the optimal amount of supplemental seeding in areas with established turf.

Generally, we use a mix consisting of Bluegrass and Ryegrass. This is the most common grass in our geographical region because it grows best in our climate.  Other varieties may be selected for areas in shade or subject to heavy foot traffic.

Our soil conditioner is similar to a pelletized compost product – it is made up of organic material that will break down into your soil and increase the availability of nutrients to the grass root zone. Soil conditioner works to strengthen the roots of the grass plant, making them more durable in situations where there is high traffic from mowers, feet, and paws. Soil conditioner must coincide with aeration. Once the aeration is done and the plugs have been pulled from your lawn, we will broadcast the soil conditioner over your lawn, and the product will drop down into the “holes” and rest in the grass root zone.

No. We offer an Organic Soil Booster Program with organic fertilizer only. Our belief driving the Organic Soil Booster Program is: The stronger and healthier your turf is, the more resistant it will be to weed pressure.  Soil Booster also increases the amount of organic matter in the soil profile, improving moisture absorption and nutrient availability.

We cannot guarantee that our organic program will control weeds due to the absence of herbicides. If you do choose our organic program, we recommend all five applications and two aerations per year, because the stronger and healthier your turf is, the more resistant it will be to weed pressure.  Weed control applications may be added to promote increased turf density.

No. We use slow-release fertilizers that are water-activated, choose nutrient mixes appropriate to the time of year when conditions are hot and dry, and adjust the quantity of fertilizer being applied to accommodate the hot dry conditions. Even though your lawn may be dormant now, the fertilizer we apply will help your grass plants to rebound and reestablish into a healthy turf when the weather conditions improve, so you do not need to worry about them burning your lawn.

No. Keeping weed pressure controlled in a lawn suffering from drought stress will help your turf recover when the weather conditions improve. Our licensed technicians are trained to spot-spray in these weather conditions, as well as to identify areas of concern and communicate those concerns to you.