Soil and unfavorable growing conditions can cause girdling roots.

Heavy clay soil can also contribute to girdling roots.  If the roots of the tree are not allowed to spread out, they may grow together and become bound.  Unfavorable growing conditions such as planting trees in parking lot islands or small cement planters can also cause girdling roots.  Most tree’s will not do well in these areas because they limit the expansion of the tree’s root system.  Tree installation in these areas should be inspected on a regular basis as to identify girdling roots as soon as possible.  In some instances girdling roots can be corrected and in others it cannot.  It may be necessary to replace trees that present girdling roots because of the risk potential that they present.

The post Girdling Roots appeared first on Clean Cut Property.

Grass recovery tips.

• If you plan on doing any seeding, do not apply a pre-emergent to any of the seeded areas.  Pre-emergents will keep your grass seed from germinating properly and it will be counter productive.
• Spring aeration is a good tool for grass recovery because the soil tends to be moist from spring rains.  The more moisture in your soil, the deeper core aerator’s tend to plug.  If your soil lacks moisture, you may only see 1″ plugs instead of 2″ to 3″ plugs.
• Choose the best seed for the application.  Straight bluegrass seed mixes will take about 30 days to germinate.  Make sure that you apply the seed early enough to catch some of the spring rains so that you don’t have to water as much.  Seed blends with fescue or rye will germinate in about a week and a half.  If you are looking for quicker seed germination, we recommend using a blend that incorporates bluegrass, rye and fescue.
• Water, water, water.  If you live in an area that is not seeing persistent spring rains, you might have to supplement rain water with a sprinkler.  During the germination process, it is important to keep your soil moist.
• Fertilize you lawn with a 13-13-13 blend.  This blend will provide your new grass with the nutrients it needs to flourish.

The post Grass Recovery appeared first on Clean Cut Property.

Drain tiles can be your best friend or worst enemy.

It is important to keep in mind when you are installing drain tiles, that the water re-directed must go somewhere.  It is frequently seen in new housing developments, where the contractor attached a 4″ tile to a down spout and buries the tile under ground.  The problem with this is that the water does not go away, it is only re-directed.  Since the tile is buried, the water is basically trapped in the tile.  If end of the tile is not run to a bubbler box or allowed to drain out, other problems may arise.  In the winter your tile will freeze and may break or cause ice dams.  In the summer, your ground may become saturated and soggy or erode.  Simply installing a bubbler box for your drain tiles will give the water a chance to exit the tile and evaporate or become absorbed in the ground.

The post Drain Tiles appeared first on Clean Cut Property.

How to avoid mulch wash out.

Choose a mulch products that is consistent in size and hard wood.  Most mulch will be shredded down to two-inch pieces and smaller.  Cleaner and consistent products will tend to stay in place better than finer mulch products.

Avoid using mulch products on steep hills.  Any time you install mulch products on steep hills, you are asking for wash out.  Gravity in conjunction with heavy rains will wash your mulch right away.  If it is possible, consider grading your application area prior to installing mulch.  If you reduce the steepness of the application area, you will have better results.

Install a bubbler box on the end of your down spout.  This will reduce the force of the water coming from your down spouts.  Bubbler boxes can be installed outside of the landscape bed to encourage the water to flow away. 

Landscape rock will survive longer in run off areas over mulch products.  The larger the rock, the better chance you have of it remaining in place.

Use mulch in the appropriate application such as around tree bases and flower beds.  If you over install your mulch products in these areas, you will increase the chances of mulch floating away.  It is important to only top-dress it is required.  If you have ample mulch and want to freshen it up, consider re-dying the mulch instead of re-applying it.

The post Mulch Wash Out appeared first on Clean Cut Property.

Spring fertilizer and pre-emergent products.

If you are applying spring fertilizer and pre-emergent products to an established lawn, it is important to know what you are feeding your turf.  Since spring provides the optimal growing conditions for turf grass, it is not necessary to promote additional top growth of the grass plant.  Warming temperatures coupled with frequent moisture will create more than enough top growth on your grass.  Spring fertilizer products that contain lower nitrogen tend to work best because nitrogen promotes blade growth.  Spring fertilizer that contains iron can promote darker green grass.  Pre-emergent products will help prevent crabgrass, goose grass and foxtail.  Any time you have the opportunity to reduce the population of invasive weeds in the turf, the better.  Less competition for nutrients and moisture will promote a healthier environment for your turf grass to thrive.  Reducing and eliminating weeds in your turf grass will produce better results than just fertilizing alone.  In order for pre-emergent products to be the most effective, it is important to apply them at the proper rate and time.  As a general rule of thumb, each pound of mixed product applied per 1,000 square feet of turf will give you one month residual.  Most applications call for around 4-5 pounds of products per 1,000 square feet of turf to be effective.  Don’t cheat your lawn as this will cause you weed out break problems down the road.

The post Spring Fertilizer appeared first on Clean Cut Property.

How to not tear up grass on a wet lawn.

If you are operating equipment such as riding mowers, make sure to make your turns wider.  Allowing for more room to turn your equipment will reduce tearing grass.  If you have hills, you might want to consider mowing with a push mower instead.  This way if your mower slides, it will not tear up the ground as much.  As always, make sure to alternate your mower lines to avoid rutting.  Avoid mowing areas that consist of a lot of bare areas.  Chances are the grass in these areas is weak and may get tore up easier.

If you are fertilizing, consider using a manual push spreader.  Any pull behind fertilizer spreaders will just increase the chances of damaging your lawn because of the additional weight of the fertilizer.  When applying fertilizer, it is important to make sure that your spread is uniform.  If the weight of fertilizer in your hopper weighs your spreader down too much, consider filling your hopper only half full.

The post Wet Lawn appeared first on Clean Cut Property.

For landscape enthusiasts, spring marks the beginning of a busy season ahead.  Getting your lawn and landscape back in shape is of the up-most importance in the spring time.  Some of the beneficial things done to your lawn and landscape in the spring will pave the way for a successful growing season.  By now your lawn is just starting to show signs of life after a long winter.   New grass growth is noticeable and existing blades are starting to regain their color.  Spring aeration is a great way to wake up your lawn from a dormant winter.  Aeration will encourage new root development and it will also relieve compaction from piles of snow.  De-thatching on the other hand will help comb out your grass.  If you have matted down grass from piles of snow, de-thatching can help give your lawn new life.  Removing old thatch will instantly make your lawn look greener.  Thatch from last fall is hiding new grass growth. 

Spring time landscape tips.

• Topdressing mulch beds is always a way to instantly dress up your property.  Mulch also helps reduce weed growth in your landscape beds.
• Prune dead or damaged branches on trees and shrubs before they start to leaf out.  Most plant material can tolerate minor spring pruning.  Some plant also benefit from spring pruning.  Checking your plants and trees in the spring time before they leaf out allows you to see any visible damaged branches.  When foliage returns to your plants and trees, it may be harder to see damage that needs attention.
• Fertilize your lawn and plants.  Spring is a great time of year to fertilize your lawn and plants.  Your lawn will instantly react to the infusion of nutrients.  The right amount and type of fertilizer will also encourage your plants to have larger and more colorful blooms.

The post Spring Time appeared first on Clean Cut Property.

Spring planting should start in May.

When considering when to start spring planting, the most important thing to keep in mind is frost.  Frost is the worst enemy of annual flowers.  If you install your flowers too early in the spring, you risk the chance of sustaining frost damage.  There is no real way to know when the frost is done, all you can do is pay attention to the weather.  In Iowa, early to mid May is the optimal time to for spring planting.  Annual flowers especially do well when the are planted around this time frame.  Perennials on the other hand are much hardier and can be installed earlier if need be.  If you get your flowers in the ground too early, you might have to spend some time covering the plants to keep the frost off of them.  Make sure to uncover your plants during the day so that they do not suffocate.  We have had several customers in the past that forgot to remove the coverings and the plants started to wilt.  Once sun breaks, it is usually fine to remove the cover on your plants.

The post Spring Planting appeared first on Clean Cut Property.

Prepping mulch beds with plants.

Prepping your plants is also important when getting your beds ready for a fresh layer of mulch.  Depending on the time of year and plant, it may be possible to prune the plant prior to mulching.  This allows you to keep the pruning clippings out of the fresh mulch.  Perennials and grasses should also be cut back at this time, if they were not done in the fall.  Removing old plant growth will allow for fresh new spring growth.

The post Prepping Mulch Beds appeared first on Clean Cut Property.

Turf grass damage on the other hand was quite more obvious.  It is not uncommon to see large areas completely killed out or patchy remains of a once lush lawn.  Some varieties of turf grass fared better than others.  If your lawn consists of a blended variety, you may notice obvious damage.  In eastern Iowa, most lawns consist of a bluegrass or fescue lawn or a combination of both.  Unirrigated lawns definitely felt the brunt of mother nature last year.  If your lawn has a mix of perennial fescue and bluegrass, you may notice some patchiness or clumpiness.  Bluegrass did not fair too good last year.  surprisingly, perennial fescue did sustain itself quite well during the drought last year.  You may notice green clumps of perennial fescue thriving all over your lawn.  The areas between the clumps of green fescue were presumably bluegrass.  Since bluegrass may have completely died out in sections of your lawn, it may be necessary to aerate and overseed or slit seed these areas. 

Drought damage repair tips for turf grass.

• Rake the dead grass areas out to expose the soil.
• Add a light coating of soil or compost or break up the existing soil.
• Add seed to the soil and rake it in.
• Water several time a week for the first couple months or until established.
• Aerate and over seed the lawn to help boost turf density.
• Slit seed the bare areas to establish new grass growth.

The post Drought Damage appeared first on Clean Cut Property.