How to create a healthy lawn!

How to Create a Healthy Lawn

The first and most important part of establishing a good lawn begins with the soil it will be grown in. If you don’t have good soil it won’t matter how much fertilizer, watering or aeration you do, your grass still will not thrive. Begin by having a soil test done. You can check out: www.soiltest.vt.edu/soiltest for information on collecting the soil, cost, where and how to send it. I recommend the routine test, along with the organic matter and soluble salts tests. The test(s) will help you determine the pH level, nutrients and percentage of organic material within the soil. The more practical information you know the better decisions you can make.

Start with the pH level, which is a measure of acidity in the soil. Typically VA soils are acidic; turfgrass thrives in 6.5-7.0 range. If your soil is not in this range the grass has a hard time utilizing certain elements and nutrients that may already be in the soil. If the plant can’t absorb or utilize the fertilizer there is no sense in adding more to it. It is a waste of money and in this day and age of sustainability and going “green” you may be contributing to groundwater pollution. To change the soil pH, follow the recommendation on the test results. Usually this will require the addition of lime. Again follow the recommendations on the soil test for amount, frequency of application etc.

Another critical thing to look at in the soil test is the percentage of organics; typically I like to see between 5-8% organic matter in the sample. The more organics in the soil profile the more beneficial bacteria, fungus, mychorrhizae , etc. that improves the health of the soil. This will help to break down thatch and other organisms that can naturally build the health and provide more natural fertilizer to the turf. In fact if you can build a healthy soil there is less of a need for fertilizers and pesticides. The main thing about building good soil is that it does not happen overnight.

You must also determine the soil composition. Once you find out about the soil composition you can get a better understanding of whether you are working with clay, loamy, sandy or some combination of soils and how they react to certain situations you may need to deal with. One way to get a basic idea of the soil structure is to take a representative of soil from your sample, moisten it and knead it into a smooth, walnut shaped ball I your hand (if it is impossible to form a ball you, it is a sand soil). Using your thumb gently push a ribbon of soil of even thickness out between your thumb and crooked forefinger. A loamy sand soil will form no ribbon at all. A ribbon less than 1 inch indicates a loam; 1 to 2 inches, a clay loam and more than 2” a clay soil. While this is not a scientific test it gives you a general idea, although a soil test should also be taken to determine the soil composition.

There are also cultural practices that can help build and improve your soil profile. Regular aeration, at least twice per year will help to get air, water and nutrients down to the roots. A ¼” layer of good compost really will help build that healthy layer of organic matter. Water also plays a role in healthy soil and turf. Irrigation of ½ “ each twice a week will help keep the turf from getting stressed out and give the microorganisms in the soil the moisture needed to sustain itself. More than an inch per week is not really going to help. This is where an irrigation system really helps to make sure you get a metered consistent amount of moisture.

Not ready to tackle a healthy turf on your own? Give us a call we can help 703-544-0028.

Joe Markell

Sunrise Landscape + Design

www.sunriselandscapeanddesign.com

Crape Murder!!??

Don’t commit “Crape Murder”!


As I was running some errands this past weekend I was amazed to see the legion of men outside on a gorgeous Sunday morning armed with their saws, loppers, and pruners committing “crape murder” as their wives stood guard with a menacing smirk. I could almost hear the trees begging for me to stop them.

In all seriousness, a crape myrtle should be there to provide you with beauty throughout the year. Obviously everyone notices the showy flowers, but the unique bark should also be admired. When pruning a crape myrtle the objectives should be to maintain it natural form, produce strong branches that can hold the flowers upright, and to opens its center to reveal the smooth, multi-toned bark that forms on mature trunks and branches. If you are pruning your tree to look like a hat rack you are not fulfilling these objectives. The bark will never develop correctly. Each nub will produce a weak mess of branches too flimsy to support the flowers.

Follow these guidelines to create a beautiful specimen. Pruning should ideally be done in late winter early spring. You want to remove all suckers at the base, crossing or rubbing branches, and branches growing towards the center of the plant. Any cuts should be made at the branch collar or just above an outward facing bud. Try to remove wanted branches before they become thicker than a pencil. If you are not sure please call a professional!

As a landscaper I have come across many excuses for why their crape myrtles have been murdered.

- “My neighbors all do it.” Your neighbors do a lot of things you should research before you copy them!

- “The ‘landscapers’ do it every year.” The term landscaper is used very loosely. Check their certifications and ask for them to produce their techniques from a reputable source.

- “The dang thing gets way too big!” You planted the wrong crape myrtle. There are many smaller cultivars out there that grow to a height of twelve feet or less.

Finally, a word to the wives. The minute football season ends next year treat your husband to a drag race, strong man competition, or game of extreme welding. Do not let him near the saws or loppers! Call the professional.

Tom Kniezewski

Account Manger

Sunrise Landscape + Design

Proper Mulching: This is Very Important in Successful Landscape Management!!!

Proper Mulching
I have been in the landscaping industry for over 25 years and it never ceases to amaze me how companies that call themselves "professionals" still cannot mulch properly. If you see piles of mulch, also known as "mulch volcanos" you should question the knowledge of those individuals, their training etc. Over mulching can cause some serious long term problems to your landscape. Especially trees. This is one of my "pet peaves" as a professional. Click here for a great link from "Over Mulching" by Diane Relf from the Virginia Cooperative Extension Service.  Great insight on the effects from overmulching. I believe it is also available in Spanish.
         Sometimes you still end up with trees that have piles of mulch around them.  If overmulching has been going on for a long time; the roots begin to grow in this mulch layer and it becomes more difficult over time to get these piles down.  In extreme cases you may need to cut out some of the actual roots away from the tree.  This is not something that just anyone should do and it may not be worth doing as you can cause more harm to the tree than good.  That is why the initial planting of trees and the relationship of the root flare to the existing grade is so critical.
Professional landscapers know this!  In fact many trees are actually grown with the root flare to deep and we have to remove soil from the rootball.  As a point of refereence, if you ever walk into the woods and look at the trees naturally growing there you can usually see there root flare right as the soil and base of the tree meet.  Usually after the first year of planting you may even want to remove any excess soil that was piled on the perimeter of the planting hole which is typically done if the soil settles around the area between where the rootball and the outer region of the actual hole.  This soil should be removed, sadly this excess soil is often left and this is where the "mulch volcano" begins.
       If you are not sure if your trees were planted correctly give us a call here at Sunrise Landscape + Design.  Whether you live in Herndon, Reston, Great Falls, Ashburn, Leesburg or any of the surrounding areas it is important to make sure your trees live a long healthy life.  And we want to help.  Remember properly planted trees add value to your property, poorly planted trees can actually bring down your property value or cause great headaches as the landscape matures.  As they say "You can pay me now (to add value to your property) or pay me later (to remove the problems someone else did not appreciate).  It is your choice!
Thanks
Joe