Spring is a great time for some lawn mower maintenance. Follow these 6 steps and you will be ready to mow! Change the oil. This is one of the most important steps. Also, check the oil periodically during the season to make sure it’s at the correct level. Check the air filter. The air filter […]
Each spring, we receive questions regarding an ugly, wide-bladed grass growing in lawns. Customers are mistakenly identifying this grass as crabgrass. It is a easy mistake to make because they look so similar, but this ugly grass is actually quackgrass, not crabgrass. Quackgrass is a perennial grass that is one of the first grasses to […]
Mole or Vole Damage? Over the winter months, moles and voles continue to work in your lawn. These two pests damage a lawn in different ways and identifying them is key in controlling them. Click here for more information on identifying Voles vs Moles
What are the gray or pink spots in my lawn? Snow mold. There are typically two kinds of snow mold: Gray and pink. This disease is usually noticed as the snow melts in the spring. It is commonly found in those turf areas of greatest snow accumulation, such as along driveways or over the brink […]
-This is a part of the article entitled “Mowing in the heat” by Dr. Kevin Frank. “Last year I witnessed several incidents of tire tracks on turfgrass simply from mowing during the hottest part of the day. Typically tip burn happens when mowing occurs on heat or drought stressed turf. When the turf is close […]
As spring warms, bee activity will begin to pick up. Paper wasps will begin their nest building activities. We have begun to see the European paper wasp and our native paper wasp on their small, newly constructed, nests this past week. These are the queens working hard to build their nests so that they can start laying eggs. […]
Mowing is one of the most important cultural practices performed in lawn maintenance. Regardless of whether the lawn is fertilized, irrigated , in sun or shade, proper mowing practices are essential if a high quality lawn is to develop. Properly mowed lawns will have fewer weed populations, better moisture stress tolerance and generally better quality […]
Seedheads are starting to appear in big numbers in lawns this week This is a normal occurrence that happens every May across Michigan. Most of the common turfgrasses found in lawns produce seedheads including Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass and of course Poa annua (otherwise known as annual bluegrass). Seedheads not only detract from the appearance […]
It’s time to put away your snow blower and shovel and dig out the lawn mower! Now is a great time for some lawn mower maintenance. Follow these 6 steps and you will be ready to mow! Change the oil. This is one of the most important steps. Also check the oil periodically during the […]
The reason turf performs so poorly in shaded are-as is because of a of lack of sunlight. Grass is like most other plants, it does best with an abundance of sunlight present. Densely shaded areas are often characterized by: 1) Thin, patchy areas of grass 2) Bare soil 3) Tree roots 4) Moss 5) […]