NOVEMBER 2011 LAWN DEPOT NEWSLETTER

As the 2011 growing season draws to a close, we need to remind all of you that there are several very important jobs that must be done on lawns and with shrubs and trees before the ground freezes solid.  I’m writing this Newsletter on November 6; I expect it’ll be close to Thanksgiving before it’s delivered to all of you.  At this writing, we’ve (in one week) had our first killing frost (October 27), our first significant snowfall of the season (October 29), and a very quick melt that confused both plants and homeowners.  Hopefully, the snow will not be repeated for at least another month (or 3) so we can all get out in the yards and properly put lawns and landscapes to bed for the winter. 

Hopefully the October snowfall didn’t do too much damage to your trees and shrubs in your yards.  That being said, if you had bent or broken branches, try and get them cleaned up, and the bushes and trees pruned back to healthy wood before winter.  Cleaning up the mess will greatly help the damaged plants to recover and fill in next spring when next year’s growing season gets going.  Removing the branches and other debris will not only make yards look better, it’ll allow you to get to the feeding of lawns, trees and shrubs, and the winterization of vulnerable plants.

Winter may begin officially on December 21st, but from our perspective, it begins when the ground freezes solid for the first time.  Until that takes place, lawns will continue to grow, albeit much more slowly from now till then and should be fed (WINTERFEAST TURF FOOD) and mowed right up to the freeze; can be limed and/or core aerated for better soil percolation and neutralization; and MUST have leaves removed regularly until the grass goes dormant.  Also, you’ve still got time to feed trees and/or shrubs if you haven’t already done so this fall.  Remember, trees and shrubs need to be fed in the spring AND fall for best performance and beauty.  And, before the ground freezes, remember to protect vulnerable trees and shrubs from burning winter winds and hungry animal pests with anti-desiccant sprays, burlap fences on northern and western exposures, and repellents.  Do all these things immediately; there’s no reason to wait.

Our Turf Management division has continued to work 6 day weeks (whenever Mother Nature has permitted) and, although they’re not yet finished with their late fall work, they’ve pretty well caught up, and are confident that all work will be done before the freeze.  It has been a trying year from a working schedule standpoint, but it has been a truly magnificent growing year for lawns and landscapes alike.  We surely hope all your lawns reflect the good weather we’ve had all year.  In January, after the dust has settled from the holidays, we’ll be sending out our proposals for the 2012 year.  We hope you’ll all be looking for them in the mail early next year.  Any of you who’ve not used The Lawn Depot Turf Management in the past and might consider using us for either regular application work or other “special” application activities (liming, seeding, core aeration, pesticide application, and more), please give us a call at 215-348-5553 or shoot us an email.  We’ll be out to look at your property, discuss your needs and wants, and provide you with a quote for the work on a timely basis.

The Lawn Depot is now on our winter schedule: Monday through Saturday 9-5, Sunday 9-3 until Christmas.  In January and February, we’ll be open Monday through Friday 9-4, and closed over the weekend.  This has been a truly “unique” year from a growing perspective, a year of extremes from January through November; we have no reason to believe it’ll change in December.  From a business standpoint, it’s been another terrific year for all of us at The Lawn Depot.  This continues to be the best business in the world (a personal opinion) because we’ve got the best customers in the world.  We sincerely thank all of you who have patronized The Lawn Depot over the years and hope it will continue in 2012 and beyond.  Wishing all of you a really great holiday season, and let’s hope this economy will get moving in the right direction for 2012. 

                                                                                                                Bob Button

LAWNS IN LATE FALL

Fertilization with LAWN DEPOT WINTERFEAST TURF FOOD – Late fall, when most of nature has gone to bed for the winter but before the ground freezes solid, is the most important time of the year for feeding lawns.  We’re no longer mowing regularly (only to even up the lawn and to get rid of leaves that have blown in from around the neighborhood), but the lawn is still producing good roots in the warmer-than-air soil.  Deeper and denser is the phrase we use to describe root growth in December.  These deeper and denser roots will help new grass plants establish, will help damaged grass plants recover, and will help healthy grass plants multiply.  The best-looking lawns in the early spring are the lawns that were WINTERFEASTED the previous November-December.  Do it anytime now; there’s no further benefit in waiting.

Late Fall Seeding – Right now, soil temperatures are still in the mid-40s (11/6/11).  By Thanksgiving, we expect they’ll still be well above freezing, but probably in the 38-40 degree range.  At this soil temperature, only ryegrasses will germinate; therefore, the only seeding recommended (and even this should only be for emergencies) is with our EVERGREEN MIX of hybrid perennial ryegrasses.  We’d prefer that you do seeding with EVERGREEN MIX now than at any time next March or April, when the soil will still be cold and germination will be slow and inconsistent, but this is still in the “only in emergencies” category.  Another reason we don’t recommend spring seeding is that it really messes up your ability to control broadleaf weeds and crabgrass.  Better to spot seed areas now, wait until next April before applying annual or perennial weed herbicides, and remember to seed earlier in the fall in future years.

Late Fall Weed Control with TRIMEC Herbicide – The only perennial weeds that are now actively growing are (among others): ground ivy, wild violets, wild onions, chickweed, and veronica.  If you have any of these pests in your yard, spot spray them now.  They’re the cool-season perennial weeds and winter annuals.  As a category of plants, they’re also rather difficult to eliminate from your lawns and beds, and they spread rather quickly at this time of the year and in the early spring.  We recommend that you mix up a small quantity of TRIMEC liquid herbicide and go around your properties spot treating all weeds you see actively growing at this time.  Spray them in the middle part of the day for maximum absorption, and keep an eye on them for a week; if they begin to shrivel, you got ‘em, if no effect of the spray is evident, re-spray at a 10 day interval until you see shriveling of the leaves.   Next March, repeat the inspection and apply TRIMEC again.  These weeds are persistent.

Mowing and Leaf Removal in Late Fall – I’ve been preaching on this subject forever; it’s that important.  If you want a nice, healthy lawn, you MUST continue mowing until the grass stops growing in the fall.  There continue to be leaves falling and/or blowing in from other yards and the grass is still growing slowly.  From a healthy lawn standpoint as well as from a pretty lawn standpoint, you have to keep the grass clear and upright until it goes dormant; so, you have to continue mowing, at least until after Thanksgiving.  (I’ve mowed through December in years when the weather remained mild.)  When the lawn is upright, relatively short, and free of leaves when it goes dormant, it’ll stay green longer into the early winter, green up faster next spring, and you won’t have to rake up matted spots next spring.  Newly germinated grass will NOT survive with wet, matted down leaves on it.

Liming and Core Aerating Lawns in Late Fall – As long as the ground is soft and unfrozen, it is a great time for liming (to sweeten or neutralize acidic soil) and aerating with plug-pulling core aerators (to enhance soil percolation).  We are in a constant battle to improve growing conditions in Southeastern PA, with our heavy, acidic soils.  Regular liming and aerating are absolutely critical in fighting this battle.  When the soil is neutral (regularly limed @ 15 lbs./1,000 sq. ft. with Pelletized Lime), all fertilizers work better, their nutrients are more readily absorbed by the growing plants.  When our dense, heavy soils are regularly core-aerated while the ground is soft enough to pull 2-3 inch long plugs, rain enters deeper into the soil, which helps grass roots to grow deeper and denser, which in turn makes the turf healthier.

LANDSCAPES IN LATE FALL

Pruning Trees and Shrubs – All of us suffered damage to tree and shrub branches with the early, heavy snow on October 29.  It is vital to clean up these damaged trees and shrubs now, before the ground freezes.  In most cases, if broken branches and boughs are immediately removed and the breaks cleaned up (even off breaks and remove torn bark; DO NOT PAINT WOUNDS WITH TAR OR PAINT; it’ll retard healing), the plants will begin filling in the new voids next spring.  If you leave wounds ragged, you’ll be leaving the trees and shrubs vulnerable to insect and disease damage.

Dormant Feeding of ALL Landscape Plants – Because of the incredible moisture this year, most trees and other landscape plants have produced prodigious growth in 2011.  This additional growth actually magnified, or increased the damage done by Oct. 29’s storm.  The plants didn’t have enough time for the new growth to harden off, and with the leaves still on the plants, the cumulative weight was just too much for branches to bear; they either bent or broke.  Bent branches must be bent back and supported over the winter; broken ones must be trimmed and cleaned.  Then the damaged plants need to be fed heavily so that when growth resumes next spring, the open areas will be filled in with new growth.  Feed trees and large shrubs with tree spikes (The Lawn Depot has 3 kinds of fertilizer spikes: fruit/flowering trees, evergreens, other deciduous trees.)  Use 3 spikes for every 2” of tree caliper (3’ above the ground) or 1 spike for each foot of shrub diameter.  For shallower-rooted shrubs, perennials, and ground covers, liberally apply a slow release, granular fertilizer (HOLLY-TONE, BULB-TONE, bone meal, etc.) under the branches of the shrubs or over top of ground cover plants and water in thoroughly.

Winter Protection – When the ground is frozen solid, we are vulnerable to 2 types of winter damage: broad-leafed evergreens (azaleas, rhododendron) are susceptible to winter burn, or desiccation from cold northern or north western winds which dry the leaves. The plant can’t replace the moisture because root zones are frozen.  The result can be badly burned leaves in the spring after the thaw.  The savior can be 2 or 3 applications (every 4-6 weeks when the temperature is above freezing) with WILT-STOP ANTI-DESICCANT SPRAY. It works well. Another option is wrapping these evergreens in ShrubGuards or burlap.  We carry all of these options in the garden center.  Also in the frozen tundra time of our winters, particularly when there’s snow on the ground, many landscape plants are susceptible to damage from deer, rabbits, and even squirrels that chew on valuable shrubs and trees when they can’t forage in the woods due to the snow cover.  The Lawn Depot sells several liquid and/or granular repellents that should be applied directly to or under the target plants.  These products are entirely safe to use around the home; they repel by using odors or tastes that the pests don’t like.  Re-apply once a month for best results.

Bird Feed and Bird Feeders – I feed the birds all year long because I love the birds hanging around.  Bluebirds, finches, cardinals, chickadees, blue jays, sparrows and lots of other birds will readily feed at your bird feeders all year long, but particularly in the winter when Mother Nature makes it harder for these birds to find what they want in the woods.  The Lawn Depot sells many types of bird food: sunflower seed, several types of mixed feed, suet cakes, Niger seed for chickadees and finches, and more.  We also have a wide variety of feeders, from hangers to window mounted feeders, post mounted feeders, and several kinds of squirrel baffles and repelling feeders.  Bird feeding is fun, and it helps our feathered friends when they most need our help.  And remember, if you need an idea or two for holiday gifts, bird feeders and feed are reasonably priced and will be welcomed by their recipients.

The entire staff of The Lawn Depot would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you for your loyal patronage in 2011.  We look forward to seeing all of you before the winter arrives, as well as during the winter and next year.  And we’d like to wish all of you a happy and healthy holiday season.