Lawn and Landscaping Tips & Advise - Louisville & Lexington, Kentucky

Lawn & Landscaping Tips & Links

A Lifetime of Satisfaction

1. When a tree, shrub or grass dies, and you replace it only to see the new plant material die, the problem might not be the plant or your dirt. The culprit could be an underground natural gas or water leak. Check with your utility companies to see if leaky lines buried nearby have created a dead zone.

2. Wildflower patches can be a colorful highlight in any landscape plan, but for best results sow the seed in early spring or late summer, when natural rain is more plentiful. And to fool the birds, cover the area lightly with crumbled peat moss instead of straw. Unlike straw, which can rot the new shoots, peat adds nutrients and is gradually absorbed by the soil and new plants.

3. Cheap mulch is no bargain – it can actually harm your plants because it may contain harmful chemicals or bacteria. Some hardwood mulches actually contain shredded industrial pallets! We only use superior grade quality cedar, cypress and hardwood mulch because it lasts three times as long as common hardwood mulch and restores its rich appearance with each turning. In the end, the best costs less.

4. The best time to plant a tree, especially a tall or large diameter one, is late fall, after the leaves have fallen and the sap is fully contained in the root ball. Without the leaves, the dormant tree has little need for water and the root ball enjoys extra time to heal. As weather warms, the tree simply wakes up in its new neighborhood and creates new feeder systems for spring growth.

Lawn & Garden Tips by Season

Fall
	1) Begin aerating, overseeding, and fertilizing lawns
	2) Inspect turf, trees, and shrubs for insects and disease and treat as necessary
	3) Prune shrubs as needed
	4) Mow, trim and edge lawn
	5) Flower maintenance as needed
	6) Leaf removal
	7) Install fall flowers
	8) Shut down and winterize irrigation systems
	9) Apply post-emergent weed control to lawns and shrub beds as needed

Winter
	1) Continue leaf removal, if required
	2) Winter pruning shrubs to open up and allow light and air penetration
	3) Prune trees
	4) Apply mulch to shrub beds
	5) Apply post-emergent weed control to lawn and shrub beds as needed

Spring
	1) Complete pruning trees
	2) Complete mulch applications to shrub beds
	3) Begin inspecting trees and shrubs for insect and disease and treat as needed
	4) Begin mowing, trimming, and edging lawn
	5) Begin pruning shrubs as needed
	6) Begin turning on and inspecting irrigation system
	7) Start spring flower installation

Summer
	1) Apply a round of slow release turf fertilizing
	2) Prune shrubs as needed
	3) Perform flower maintenance
	4) Mow, trim, and edge lawns
	5) Inspecting trees and shrubs for insect and disease and treat as needed


Helpful Lawn & Garden Websites

Lawn & Gardening Tips
Garden Web
Horticulture Magazine