A well-maintained lawn can help to provide a healthier, more pleasant environment for you, your family and your community. Here are some interesting facts about lawns that you may not be aware of:

Establishing a good watering and mowing schedule can be difficult when you are busy, but this year it is especially important. Helping lawns and landscapes fully "bounce back" from last year's stress will take time, effort and a teamwork approach with your lawn care company. Use the following guidelines for a good start on a great season.

Although warm season lawns are somewhat tolerant of the summer heat, cool season lawns can struggle with the heat, humidity, and periods of drought. Since Fescue lawns cannot spread and repair themselves like warm season lawns, they must be aerated and over-seeded to thicken and repair damaged areas.

Fire ants, which were introduced to the United States from South America over 70 years ago, have now spread throughout the southern United States. These aggressive ants can be 1/8″ to 1/4″ long, with reddish-brown to black coloring. In general, they build their large, mounded nests in sunny, open areas (often visible along sidewalks and driveways). However, nests may also be constructed around trees and stumps or even under buildings. 

Nothing takes the fun out of an evening outdoors like a bunch of bloodthirsty mosquitoes biting you and your family. Mosquitoes pose a significant health risk since they can transmit diseases like West Nile Virus, Encephalitis, and the Zika virus.

Having a quality lawn involves promoting healthy soil, adding plenty of the right nutrients, and using proper lawn maintenance techniques. Proper lawn maintenance is an integral part of having a beautiful, healthy lawn. 

With the arrival of summer also comes the arrival of a couple very destructive pests: June bugs and Japanese beetles. While very similar and often confused, June bugs are brownish, nocturnal insects, while Japanese beetles are a shiny green and active during the day. In their larval stage as grubs, these pests feast on turf roots. As adult beetles, they focus on the foliage and fruit of over 400 plant species. After emerging from lawns in late June and July, Japanese beetles start to chow down. They have a tendency to cluster in big groups on some plants more than others, and they can completely skeletonize a plant in no time.

Soil compaction and thatch build-up are two of the biggest obstacles we face in Georgia. Compacted soil restricts the movement of air, water and nutrients into the soil. This can lead to excessive thatch build-up. 

When you do all the things necessary to achieve a healthy and robust lawn, you also make your lawn incredibly attractive to some of its biggest enemies. Turfgrass needs thick, juicy roots in order to thrive, as well as robust top growth. The healthier the turf, the more attractive it is to grubs and armyworms. 

Spring Lawn Maintenance – Scalping your warm season lawn (Bermuda / Zoysia Lawn) 

Having a quality lawn involves promoting healthy soil, adding plenty of the right nutrients, and using proper lawn maintenance techniques. 

Even healthy-looking trees and shrubs could be providing a home for some of their worst enemies at this very moment. Below the bark's surface, your trees and shrubs could be hosting insect eggs and/or pupating larvae. These juvenile insects are posing a very real threat to the health of your landscape plants. 

The most common reason homeowners and property managers call in a tree or lawn expert is because they are concerned something is wrong with their plants. Trees and shrubs decline over time, insects and diseases attack, and the weather often works against us. Sometimes, a problem can be addressed quickly and easily. At other times, a more complex program is needed. Unfortunately, a plant's health has sometimes declined so far that it is beyond repair. 

Now that your lawn has been seeded, you may be wondering what you can do to help the new seed germinate. The first step is to provide plenty of water. With new seed, you should always use light, frequent watering (at least once a day). You should water enough to keep the top 1″ to 2″ of soil moist, but not overly saturated. If the seedbed dries out, germination can be reduced considerably. You should see the first signs of germination within 7 to 14 days if you water properly and continue to see germination for 4 to 6 weeks. If you only notice germination only in the holes left by the aerator, you may not be watering enough. 

 Late summer and early fall can be particularly hot and dry in this part of the country. Now more than ever, your turf needs thorough and consistent watering.

Your lawn needs water in the root zone, not just at the surface. How long it takes you to water correctly is determined by what kind of soil you have and how long it takes to get it properly saturated. Your soil can be classified as: clay (dense soil with few air spaces and very small, tightly packed soil particles); loam (an open mix with adequate air space for water and nutrients to move); or sandy (very loose and open with little water-holding ability). The type of soil makes a big difference in how often you should water.

If you didn't see a single, ugly crab plant, it doesn't mean you're immune this spring. The strength of crabgrass is in its numbers. Each plant that grew in your neighborhood last year produced as many as 4,000 seeds before it died. Those seeds may have found their way into your lawn on the soles of shoes, by being blown on the wind, or by birds.