Spring is the best season of the year in North Texas for landscape updates and general maintenance. Beginning in March, most of your lawn, trees, and ornamentals will begin coming out of dormancy as the growing season starts. During this time, rainfall is more common and gives your landscape the best possible chance to thrive during Spring and Summer.
Regular Lawn Mowing Service
In Spring, most customers start the lawn mowing season by scalping. Scalping the lawn entails lowering the mower to about one inch and using the mower bag to catch all grass clippings. Scalping the yard helps remove excess thatch and makes room for new growth. Scalping also helps to remove leaves and other organic debris from the yard. After the lawn has been scalped, regular lawn maintenance should occur once every two weeks until the growth rate increases. Typically by April, the lawn should be cut once per week to keep up a properly shaped, clean appearance. Once you have transitioned to weekly lawn service, it’s a good practice to change the mowing pattern every week. One week should be horizontal passes, the next week should be vertical passes, and the third week will be a diagonal pattern. Changing the mowing pattern prevents soil compaction and visibly smothered grass.
Spring Lawn Care – Landscape Clean Up Service
Cleaning up the yard and landscape in Spring gives all plants the best chance for overall health and appearance during the growing months. A complete landscape cleanup usually includes various services that are all completed during one visit. Typically the yard clean up begins with leaf and debris removal from the lawn and flower beds. Next all shrubs and trees are trimmed. Shrubs are cut to proper shape and dead branches are removed. Trees are lightly trimmed to the proper canopy height. Once the trees and shrubs have been pruned, the next step is to remove weeds and grass from the flower beds and install fresh mulch. The most common type of mulch used is made from native hardwoods, but there is a huge variety of wood, bark, and color options. Once this work is complete, the yard is mowed, edged, and clippings bagged if the lawn is overgrown. Finally, all concrete surfaces are blown as the final touch to a general clean up.
Sprinkler Check and Upgrade
Sprinkler systems need regular maintenance to make sure proper coverage and function. During Spring and Summer, a functional irrigation system is essential to healthy plant growth. Sprinkler checks ensure all sprayers are positioned properly and working as intended. Typically, systems will need regular repairs due to broken heads, nozzles, and pipes.
In North Texas, water restrictions have become more common. Each city regulates landscape water usage and in times of drought, your landscape can suffer greatly without a proper watering plan. Water conservation upgrades can reduce drought and water restriction impact by optimizing a system to use less water with greater efficiency. Some water saving upgrades to consider are: Smart controllers, moisture sensors, solar powered rain and freeze sensors, high efficiency nozzles and rotors, drip systems, and bubblers. Modern systems incorporate some of these features while older systems can be extremely wasteful and expensive to use. Upgrading your irrigation system with modern, efficient parts will give your landscape the water it needs while saving your watering costs.
New Plants and Hardscapes
Spring is the best season of the year to enjoy the outdoors in North Texas. Many homeowners choose to renovate their existing landscape this time of the year to fully use and enjoy their landscape. Installing new plants, flower beds, and trees can quickly change the overall appearance of your front and back yard. In addition to landscaping, hardscape projects can be the finishing touch to a perfect yard. Hardscaping includes construction of decks, stone patios, stone borders, water features, and retaining walls. We can create your outdoor living space through the design and construction process. A current trend in landscape installation is the usage of native, drought tolerant ornamentals that are better adapted to high heat and drought prone climates.
Spring Weed Control and Fertilizer
As the lawn and shrubs begin to grow, so do the weeds. Weed control should be applied in early Spring to prevent and kill broadleaf and grassy weeds. This is accomplished best with pre-emergents that are designed to stop unwanted weeds from growing before they sprout. There is a specific window of opportunity to apply pre-emergents and if it’s missed, then a selective, post-emergent application is necessary to kill weeds without damaging grass.
Spring fertilizers are designed to kick-start the lawn growth and make sure it’s thick and lush going into the growing months. Spring fertilization includes both quick and slow release components that provides the necessary nutrients to the soil for plant consumption. Bermuda, St. Augustine, Zoysia, and Fescue have yearly nitrogen and nutrient requirements that must be met each year for proper health.
Lawn Rejuvenation and Sod Installation
Rejuvenating a stressed or damaged yard requires a keen understanding of grass, fertilizers, and rejuvenation methods. If a lawn is not too far gone, it can be rejuvenated with various methods. Overseeding, compost top-dressing, core aeration, and fertilization can make a quick impact on a struggling lawn. While not a quick fix, rejuvenation can be planned and executed in a single growing season if there is enough good grass to be salvaged. Once rejuvenation has been completed, regular fertilizer, weed control, and insect control should be done to support healthy turf.
In some cases, a neglected lawn has passed the point of being rejuvenated. Yards that have lost most of the desired grass and have been taken over by weeds will need replacement sod to regain control of the yard. Sod installation usually requires soil tilling to break up compact soil and remove existing weeds. After tilling is completed, fresh, nutrient rich soil is added to the property. Once enough soil is added, sod is installed, tamped level, and the irrigation system is tested to make sure all sprinkler heads are unblocked. The best sod choices for North Texas are Zoysia, Bermuda, and St. Augustine.