Dos Amigos Landscaping and Grounds Management

Quality Lawn Care and Landscaping Services, Charlottesville, Virginia

Pruning Trees for Health and Beauty

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pruning trees charlottesvillePruning is the most common tree maintenance procedure. Although forest trees grow quite well with only nature’s pruning, landscape trees require a higher level of care to maintain their safety and aesthetics. Pruning should be done with an understanding of how the tree responds to each cut. Improper pruning can cause damage that will last for the life of the tree, or worse, shorten the tree’s life. Proper pruning, with an understanding of tree biology, can maintain good tree health and structure while enhancing the aesthetic and economic values of your landscape.

When to Prune Trees

Trees that shed their leaves annually are classified as deciduous trees. Pruning deciduous trees and shrubs at different seasons triggers different responses. In the Charlottesville area, late winter or early spring, before bud break, is a good time to prune many tree species because callus tissue forms rapidly. When pruning flowering trees, take care not to cut off flower buds. Some trees, such as cherry, plum, and crabapple, form buds on old wood. Others, such as crape myrtle, bloom on new wood. [Read more…]

Why Aerate Your Lawn?

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Aeration Coreing
A machine removes plugs (or cores) from the turf.

Why Aerate Your Lawn?

Lawn aeration involves the removal of small soil plugs, or cores, out of the lawn. Typically, this process takes place in late August and throughout September.  On many occasions, your lawn can be aerate/over-seed even later in the year provided the soil temperature stays high enough to get your new seed to germinate. There are numerous reasons to aerate your lawn. Here are some of the benefits of aerating:

•    Aerating reduces your dependency on water. Why spend more money watering your lawn than you have to? In neighborhoods or cities where water is very expensive, nearly everyone will aerate their lawn.  The aeration process allows water to get into the soil before the water has a chance to run off.
•    Aerating reduces compaction.  Over time, your lawn becomes compacted.  Whether it is from you walking on your lawn, your children playing on the lawn or just general use, the soil becomes compacted.  Soil that is compacted cannot absorb water, air, nutrients, seed, etc. that it desparately needs to stay healthy.
•    Aerating encourages your roots to grow deeper. Within two weeks of aerating, you’ll notice that the holes left by the aerator start to fill up with plant roots or from the new seed that is normally used during the over-seeding process in the fall of the year.
Lawn Aeration Benefits•    Aerating holes help to absorb water. Rather than water having to start penetrating from the surface, it can start penetrating from one to 2 ½ inches below the surface. Not only will the holes made by the aerator hold the water, but they will also help the water to sink 2 – 4 inches deeper into the soil.
•    It encourages thicker turf. As your roots grow down, your grass will grow quicker and also thicker, creating a thicker turf.
•    Aerating helps build organic material in the soil. Compacted soil just doesn’t have nearly as much organic material in it.  The aeration process allows organic material and other nutrients to enter the soil.

Let Dos Amigos Landscaping aerate your lawn this fall, for a beautiful green healthy lawn next spring! Call us to schedule: 434-465-0075

Prevent 3 Summer Lawn Diseases

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Prevent Summer Lawn Diseases
All lawn diseases have their peak seasons, and some in particular are more prone to show during the summer months. Here are three to look for as the weather warms up.

lawn care charlottesville
Photo credit: University of Minnesota Extension.

1 Lawn Rust

Lawn rust typically occurs during the summer and early fall months and is caused by a lack of nitrogen in the soil.
How can I identify it? 
Look for an overall lawn appearance of yellow, brown, or red. Examine your grass carefully and pick-up a few blades. The spore residue from rust has a tendency to rub off when touched. You may even be tracking the dust into the house.
What causes it?
 Lawn rust is the result of inadequate nitrogen and moisture in the soil. Most likely, you haven’t been watering deeply or frequently enough, or you might be cutting your grass too short. Heavy rainfall and sudden changes in humidity can also contribute lower nitrogen levels. And lawn rust is easily spread by people, lawn equipment, wind and rain.

How to solve Lawn Rust? 
Don’t mow as often, and adjust the blade height of your lawn mower to the highest possible setting. Never trim off more than one-third of the grass length when mowing. Water your lawn with about an inch of water per week and apply a low-nitrogen fertilizer to your lawn. Normally, rust will fade away by early fall. Most cases will not need the application of any type of fungicide for control or prevention.
Photo credit: University of Minnesota Extension [Read more…]

How to Mow to Grow

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Tips for the Best Lawn Mowing Results
Proper mowing of your lawn and turf areas is critical for healthy turf grass. Cutting height and mowing frequency are the two most important mowing factors for a healthy lawn.

proper mowing technique
Cutting the grass too low, or scalping, reduces turf density and provides opportunities for weeds and disease. Follow the one-third rule to encourage turf density.
Image courtesy of Michigan State University, Department of Crop and Soil Sciences.

Mowing Height
Cutting the grass too low reduces root growth and plant vigor. Optimal cutting height depends on the time of year and the type of turfgrass you are mowing. Raise the cutting height during hot, dry weather when grass is more stressed, such as in late summer or the “dog days” of summer.

Higher cutting height reduces drought stress by increasing the humidity and keeping temperatures at the soil level cooler. Higher mowing also shades germinating weeds, depriving them of the sun they need to grow. Proper mowing encourages deeper rooting and denser turfgrass, which reduces weeds and other problems that people encounter with their lawn.

Mowing Frequency
Grass should be mowed often enough so that each mowing removes no more than one-third of the leaf blade. This may require mowing every four to five days during rapid growth in the spring. For example, if the established mowing height is 2 inches, the turf should be mowed when the leaf canopy reaches 3 inches. Scalping, or cutting grass too short, weakens the turfgrass and makes it more susceptible to disease and other stresses. If a stand of grass is too tall, it may be wise to gradually reduce the height over several mowings versus one cutting.

Additionally, to ensure the best lawn mowing result, be certain that the blades on your mower are sharp.

Tired of mowing the grass? Dos Amigos Landscaping offers quality lawn mowing services for commercial and residential clients. Annual contracts available. Contact us today to get a free estimate.

The Proper Time for Preemergence & Postemergence Herbicides

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The Proper Time for Preemergence & Postemergence Herbicides

With the spring season just around the corner, now is the time to utilize preemergence and postemergence herbicides.  In most normal lawn care circumstances, there are usually two applications of preemergence and postemergence.  In early March, many turf grass managers apply preemergence and postemergence to the turf areas they are trying to keep weed free.  The second application of preemergence and postemergence is accompanied with fertilizer to help the lawn get off to a great start.  This second application normally occurs in late April or early May in the Piedmont region of Virginia.

Many times, landscape contractors receive requests from clients to “get rid of all of my weeds” and the majority of the time, the requests come at the wrong time of year.  After the ambient temperature of the soil rises above 50 degrees or so, crabgrass and many broadleaf weeds will begin to grow and thrive.  Therefore, it begins to be easy to understand why the first application of preemergence and postemergence take place early in the year.  This is not to say that there are no effective ways to remove weeds from your turf grass later in the year but a well thought out plan would include starting in the spring of the year.

The use of herbicide(s) should not take the place of a sound Intergrated Turf Management program.  A good turf management program includes the proper nutrients for your lawn, correct mowing techniques, a well timed aeration program later in the year and proper watering and drainage.  In addition, when it is time to plant any turf area, it is important to use certified seed and a seed type that is recommended for your lawn and the conditions that are present (shade, high sun, etc.).

It is important to note that when weeds and grass compete, weeds are going to win.  Many weeds have the ability to emit poison that will actually kill most types of grass.  Broadleaf weeds many times create shade, etc. that most grass varieties do tolerate well.

 

WHAT CLIENTS SAY…

“We wanted to let you know what an outstanding job your people have done on our lawn. It has never looked better in the 30 years we have lived here.”

—Diane P.

“I could not be happier with the work your guys did. The terraces look absolutely fantastic, better than I imagined. The Dos Amigos crew was always considerate and conscientious. I’ll definitely recommend you guys to anybody in need of landscaping work.”

—Victoria C.

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