Archive for category: Blogging

It is time to start watering your landscape!  Plants use twice as much water at 80 degrees as 70 degrees and four times as much water at 90 degrees as 70 degrees.  Newly planted shade trees (planted within the last year) will show minor signs of stress like scorched leaf margins.  This is normal for a first year tree.   Regardless, the higher temps of summer make watering a necessity in maintaining healthy trees and shrubs.

It is also a good time to raise your mower cutting height.  Due to the increased effects from heat and drought, turf can handle more stress when it is cut higher.   By increasing your mower cutting height, you help the grass compete against possible weeds.  Obviously, we want the grass to win that battle!

Generally speaking, you can stop watering at the same time deciduous trees begin dropping their leaves – usually mid-October in our area. When the daily high temperatures are less than 70 degrees most plants begin to become dormant in preparation for the winter season. Normally supplemental watering is not needed after this point.

There is one exception with newly installed plants. Occasionally watering is needed if we have experienced a fall drought. In these cases, we would recommend watering weekly into mid December. Fortunately, this is not the situation this year.

For established landscaping, we recommend one watering before the end of December to prevent winter desiccation.

The best way to prevent winter injury is to have healthy, moist plants going into the more severe cold period.

Fall is a great time to blow leaves away from your shrubbery and flower beds into your grass and to mow your lawn one last time.   This will give you a head start next year.  By early spring, turf has already grown an inch or more by the time it turns green.  If you have already removed the leaves and mowed your grass, you are a step ahead at a time that can be overwhelming to homeowners .