Akron Ohio

Is Yellow Nutsedge Inundating Your Copley, Ohio Lawn?

The Invasion Of Yellow Nutsedge

Yellow nutsedge is a major weed that used to be only found in the South, but has made its way North. It is a grass like weed in the sedge family with top growth that reaches 8 to 30 inches tall. Yellow nutsedge has an extensive underground network of basal bulbs, roots, thin fibrous rhizomes, and tubers. The leaves are mostly basal and are bright green to yellow green and bears the inflorescence flower heads. The inflorescence are yellow to brown and consists of spikes borne on 1 to 3 inches of stalks unequal in length.

Dormancy in yellow nutsedge is broken by chilling at 40–50°F for several weeks. Sprouting will begin as soil temperatures rise above 55°F. Tubers can remain dormant and survive up to 4 years.

In Copley, Ohio Yellow nutsedge begins active growth in late spring. A rhizome emerges from the tuber and grows toward the surface of the soil. When the rhizome receives a light stimulus a basal bulb will then form. The shoot that formed will consist of a cluster of basal leaves from this bulb. Then a fibrous root system will develop from basal bulbs and rhizomes.

 

Plant development

Yellow nutsedge remains attached to the mother tuber for up to 10-12 weeks. Within four weeks after initial shoot emerges new rhizomes emerge from the basal bulb and grow up to 20 inches laterally. This will happen over and over again forming new basal bulbs and daughter plants. Yellow nutsedge will continue to spread exponentially in the absence of competition or control measures and will also spread by seed developed in mature plants.

In temperate zone populations of yellow nutsedge, shortening day length in late summer triggers flowering and tuber production. When day length decreases to about 14 hours, rhizome tips begin to form tubers rather than new daughter plants. While top growth slows, prolific tuber production continue to form until frost kills them. Tubers will form as deep as 18 inches.

Where does it grow?

Yellow nutsedge thrives in moist to wet conditions and can tolerate flooding. It can be incredibly prolific in temperate climates with high moisture soils. A single tuber has been observed to give rise to 1,900 shoots and 6,900 tubers within one year in Minnesota and 1,700–3,000 shoots and 19–20 thousand tubers in irrigated fields in Oregon forming a dense patch 6 feet across. Tuber dry weight reached an equivalent of about 4 tons per acre.

Yellow nutsedge tubers are killed by exposure for 1–2 days to temperatures of 113–122°F or below 20°F. Most tubers within 2 inches of the soil surface are winter killed but the weed readily emerges from tubers located 4 inches or deeper where they are protected from temperatures extremes. Yellow nutsedge has successfully spread into southeastern Canada, where snow cover has protected tubers from winterkill.

Yellow nutsedge can tolerate moderate shade with little decrease in growth or tuber production, whereas dense shade reduces total biomass by more than half. Although the weed compensates for shade by growing even taller, and can form some tubers even under 94% shade, competition for light is recognized as an important tactic that can enhance the efficacy.

Yellow nutsedge can form viable seeds by cross-pollination. As many as 1,500 viable seeds per plant and the seedlings  can establish successfully only when the soil surface remains continuously moist.

As you can see Yellow nutsedge is not a weed to ignore in your Copley lawn and should be treated immediately. A delay in the treatment can become catastrophic very quickly.

 

Mountains or Mole Hills? Identifying moles and voles in Akron, Ohio.

Moles and Voles in The Lawn

 

Moles and voles are indeed a pest that cause many problems when they live in our lawns in Akron OH and gardens with their tunnels.

They makes tunnels all through out your landscape very quickly once they are established. You will also see mounds of dirt where they exit. Many times you will only feel lumps and the lump is actually a tunnel. In mulched beds they can be extremely destructive, the tunnels will actually raise up the soil under a plant as the pest passes through, making an unsightly bed. Sometimes young plants in a flower bed will literally disappear below the soil surface. In the lawn other than the obvious ridges and hill mounds that make the lawn unsightly and kill the lawn. Even deeper tunnels can kill the roots of the turf to make quite the design in your lawn.

Other than having similar names, voles and moles have very little in common. They are two entirely different pests, yet very often confused. Moles are better known pest, but it may actually be a vole causing the damage especially in your gardens and flower beds.

Appearance: Is it a mole or a vole?

Moles are generally 5 to 7 inches in length, gray to dark brown in color. They are not rodents and have a long, naked snout, no external ears and can tunnel 1 foot per minute. Their eyes are buried in their fur to protect them. They are often seen because they live and feed underground and like moist or loose soil. Since they do not eat plants, their landscape carnage is really the incidental damage of tunnels  dug in lawns searching for food. However, tunnels may cause damage to plants when they create paths around root systems. Another objection from homeowners when mowing the lawn is dirt that is mounded up in a rounded volcanic shape known as a molehill.

Voles are indeed a rodent looking much like mice with shorter tails. Voles are usually 5 to 7 inches long also and may be black, gray or brown. Voles have eyes and ears that can be easily seen. They can either burrow or use old mole tunnels. Between burrow openings, they will create surface runways about the size of a broomstick that you can see. They stay in nests above ground, coming out to eat day and night.

 

Diet and Habits

The mole’s diet is almost exclusively earthworms and grubs, with very few insects. Voles are plant eaters or herbivores. They feed on grasses, flowers, vegetables, bulbs and seeds. In the winter when food is hard to come by, they may eat bark from trees and shrubs.

Moles are not social mammals, seeking each other out at only mating time. There are generally 4 to 7 per litter and their life span is 2 to 3 years.

Voles are prolific reproducers that can quickly colonize your entire yard. Their life span is only about 16 months, so they have to make up for it by having 3 to 6 young at a time with only a 21 day gestation period. Because they reproduce so very quickly, eat so many different things, and are good at hiding, they can do much damage before you figure out the problem.

The only beneficial thing someone could say about a mole that they consume large numbers of grubs. Although in the quest for those grubs they do severe damage to the lawn which is just counter productive. A vole has zero arguments on any benefits.

The methods of control in Akron Ohio for both moles and voles is quite similar, but there is no one & done solution.

 

Problems with Moles or Voles?

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Akron Ohio, Do you want to defeat grubs?

Defeating Grubs & Saving Your Lawn in Akron Ohio

Grubs are public enemy # 1 when it comes to insects that can damage your lawn in Akron Ohio. They can destroy huge portions of healthy lawns in a matter of days or weeks. They are larvae of different kinds of beetles, including Japanese and Masked Chafer Beetles. They feed on grass roots killing the grass in large patches. White grubs will become active when the soil warms up, and they destroy lawns from late spring to early fall. The only way to effectively get rid of grubs and keep them out is yearly treatments.

DO YOU THINK YOU HAVE THEM?

It is not hard to tell that grubs have invaded your yard. But by the time you see the evidence, it may be way too late. The grass appears to wilt and turns brown in large, irregular patches in the lawn. Brown areas of grass roll up smoothly like a carpet would. Birds and animals may be digging in the lawn. Milky white grubs from 1/8″ to 1″long, with brown heads and three pairs of legs, lie curled in the soil.
To find out if you have a problem, peel back a square foot of turf. If you see six or more of them, it’s time for immediate action. You want to apply your lawn treatment when grubs are newly hatched or before. That’s because they’re easier to control when they are small.

PREPARE YOUR LAWN FOR A TREATMENT IN AKRON OH

By taking some steps to prepare your lawn before treating it, you can make it easier for the treatment to work in the lawn. That’s why it helps to mow your lawn before a treatment.
Also, if you have more than a half an inch of thatch, it could get in the way of the treatment. You’ll want to core aerate your lawn first.

WRAPPING UP

Grubs are a formidable opponent, but with some knowledge of their life cycle and the right treatments, you can gain the upper hand and take back your lawn.

Ready to find out more?

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Coventry Ohio here are some tips for defeating crabgrass

Defeating Stubborn Crabgrass In Coventry Township OH

In the effort to have a healthy beautiful lawn, crabgrass can be a tough opponent in Coventry Twp OH. This weed gets its name from the way that it sprawls from one central root across the ground on your lawn, keeping a low profile like the invader that it is. But if you are armed with some great knowledge, a plan, and the right weapons, this stubborn rooting grass can be beaten.

CRABGRASS

Crabgrass is a warm-season annual weed that grows everywhere in Ohio. It is native to Europe but was unfortunately imported to North America as forage. It thrives in areas that absorb heat, such as right next to driveways, curbs, sidewalks and south-facing areas in the lawn. Crabgrass grows very quickly in hot and dry conditions. It loves compacted soils and clay. It usually forms into mats that smothers more desirable grasses and more often than not steals nutrients.

Crabgrass reproduces by aggressively spreading seeds all over your lawn. It germinates in the spring once the soil has warmed up to at least 55-60 degrees for a week. The weed grows through the summer, produces seeds and then drops them, then dies off with the first hard frost. In fact, before dying in the fall, a single weed can distribute thousands of seeds which will germinate in the following year.

SERVICING THE LAWN IN COVENTRY TOWNSHIP OHIO

The best weapon you have against crabgrass is a thick, healthy fertilized lawn, which will provide a dark canopy of grass blades over any crabgrass seeds and prevent them from sprouting. There are a several things that you can do achieve this other than fertilizing, like reduce soil compaction and core aerate your lawn, mow high and water thoroughly.

Reseeding & Overseed: Thin or weed-damaged areas should be reseeded in the fall. The warm days, cool nights and morning dews make this the best time of the year for putting down grass seed and will help crowd out crabgrass.

CONTROL

If you haven’t done the kind of maintenance as mentioned above, or if your neighbor hasn’t and seeds from his crabgrass spread to your lawn constantly, there are preventive steps you can take to deal with the crabgrass waiting to germinate and take over your lawn.
Most importantly, you want to treat the lawn before the seedlings have a chance to sprout. You can do this by applying a pre-emergent treatment, which is a crabgrass preventer, in the spring. This treatment creates a barrier at the surface of the soil in your lawn. As the seeds begin germinating, they take in the herbicide and then die.

WRAPPING UP

You can reclaim your lawn from the scourge of crabgrass by following the above instructions. When you start with good seed, and keep building up the soil, you’ll soon have a great canopy of green grass that will be much easier to maintain.

Ready to find out more?

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Firestone Park, Ohio Residents ask about the importance of regular mowing.

Importance of mowing regularly in Firestone Park OH

Why is mowing the lawn regularly important?

Most homeowners understand the importance of mowing and trimming to add beauty to their property in Firestone Park OH. Many do not realize the vital role maintenance plays in the actual health of the lawn.

One of the most important aspects of a well established lawn is mowing on a regular basis. When the lawn is left uncut for extended periods of time, it allows weeds to to mature. This allows them to spread seeds and produce more weeds. With a regular mowing schedule, it not only prevents the weeds from maturing and producing seeds but it allows the grass itself to flourish and assist in choking out the weeds for the nutrients the weeds need to grow.

Keep the lawn healthy with regular maintenance

Another important reason for having the lawn mowed often and on a schedule is how grass reacts when it is cut. With almost all kinds of grasses, cutting off more than 1/3 of the length of a grass blade is very stressful for the lawn. Everyone has seen lawns that has been left untamed for an extended period of time. When it is finally cut to the proper height, the lawn will turn yellowish-brown color. This will weaken the lawn severely and can stunt the grasses growth, but can also be deadly to portions of the lawn or possibly all of it.

Ready to find out more?

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Tip for Fairlawn, Ohio residents on growing grass in shaded areas

Growing Grass in Shady Areas in Fairlawn Ohio

Shade Lawns

If you have a lawn with shady areas in Fairlawn OH, you may find it very difficult to grow grass in those areas. This is one of the most common problems with lawns in Fairlawn OH. Grass needs at the very least 4 hours of sunlight a day to be able to grow. The shortage of sun on the lawn will impact on the photosynthesis process. The grass cannot get enough energy it needs to grow. This will result in reduce of vigor and the grasses cannot resist disease, stress, insects or weather condition that change.

You can improve the situation by trimming some of nearby shrubs and trees to let in more sun into the grass. Cut down tree branches as much as possible, as long as it does not destroy the beauty of the tree and the landscape. Before planting new trees, consider the number of existing trees, the density of those trees, and the light intensity decreased by the new trees planted. Keep in mind that shade trees should be planted 50 to 100 feet apart. This will also assist in getting water to the grass which is obviously another important part of its health.

Shade Tolerant Grass

Fine fescue and bluegrass are very tolerant shade species of grass. Fine fescue can grow good in shaded areas that are dry. Bluegrass prefers a constantly wet soil. For moderately shady areas, tall fescue may tolerate the conditions also.

Growing grass in shady areas is very possible if the basic requirements for its growth is known and clearly understood. The competition of the 3 factors being water, nutrients, and light. The fundamental cause of grass growing failure under shady conditions. To improve grass in shaded areas, please follow all the guidelines above because they are all important and have a critical role in keeping the grass in shaded areas looking good and healthy.

If there are areas that are just too challenging to get sun and water to, they could always be turned into a flower bed. Then plant drought resistant plants that enjoy shade or even go with a shade loving ground cover plant..

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Proper Mowing Techniques for Akron, Ohio Residents

Scalping the lawn will harm the grass-blades in Akron Ohio

Proper Lawn Mowing

Mowing your lawn properly is an easy ways to fight off weeds and diseases in your lawn. When you mow the grass at its recommended height it helps get the sunlight and vital nutrients needed to be lush and healthy. Mowing it too short and scalping can have some pretty serious repercussions. Scalping can weaken and even kill off your lawn. Additionally, mowing too short will limit the grasses nutrient supply, giving weeds free reign to move in.

How Scalping Will Affect Your Grass in Akron OH

Grass is able to survive thanks to photosynthesis, which is the process of taking the sunlight and using it as the energy it needs. Cutting too much of the grass blade limits the ability of the lawn to store this energy, restricting its nutrient supply and ultimately choking the grass. Not sure if you are scalping your grass? If your lawn is so short that its grass stem is exposed, it is too short.

What Will Make Scalping Worse

One of the worst contributing factors to scalping and damaging the grass is mowing with a dull lawn mower blade. The next time you mow, take a look at your grass after. If it looks torn or frayed, your mower blade will need sharpened. You can buy a blade sharpener at most home improvement or garden centers. Additionally, scalping the grass in the heat of summer will seriously hinder the lawns ability to recover. Since hot and dry weather already stresses lawns, scalping will most only make matters worse.

Mowing Tips for Akron OH

It's better for your grass to be too long than too short. It is also helpful to leave grass clippings on your lawn instead of bagging them. Decomposed grass clippings will return precious nutrients to the soil. Overlap your mowing path by one to three inches, as this will keep the lawn at a consistent height and ensure that it all gets mowed.

Repairing the Lawn

If you realize you have been scalping your lawn, let your lawn grow gradually back to its proper height, never removing more than 1/3 of the grass blade at a time. Additionally, you will want to water deeply and infrequently to help the grass recover.

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Fall Lawn Care In Copley, Ohio

Very Important Steps for Lawn Care Success in the Fall

Fall may not always seem like an ideal time to think about lawn care, considering that your grass will go dormant for the winter season in Copley Ohio. However, fall is the opportunity to groom your lawn for beautiful growth next spring. Cool and wet weather helps grass roots develop much better than in summer, and taking advantage of this growing period will pay lush dividends. Here are some lawn care steps that help make your lawn dazzle next year.

Lawn Mowing in Copley Ohio

Keep mowing the lawn. Grass doesn’t stop growing until it frosts over in winter, so there is no reason to stop mowing in autumn. Cut your grass at its normal height until it stops growing. Once you call it quits for the season, you will need to winterize your mower and other equipment. This includes sharpening the blades, changing the oil and spark plugs, inspecting the mower for damage, and replacing any filters.

Watering

Water when the lawn needs it. Rain in Autumn results in less evaporation, providing plenty of natural moisture for the lawn to sustain itself. Even so, you should keep tabs on how much water your grass is receiving. If the grass isn’t getting one inch of moisture per week, then you should water it.

Leaf Clean Up

When leaves fall on the lawn, they block out sunlight and can prevent plants from making food for itself. Additionally, the moisture they hold can lead to lawn fungi. Even after the leaves stop falling, you should continue to rake as the wind blows them into your property.

Aerating

You should think about aerating. Over the summer, your lawn has probably suffered from some degree or another of soil compaction and heat stress. These two problems often cause the brown or thinning grass you may have experienced last season. Aerating is the process of removing soil plugs from a yard in order to free up passageways for precious nutrients, water and air to reach the grass roots. Nutrients they often struggle to bring in under compaction or stress. This task is most effective when professional commercial machinery is used.

Fertilization In Copley OH

Applying a nitrogen-rich fertilizer. If you want your lawn to look better and be healthier, fertilize in late Fall. This process will give your lawn plenty of nutrients to get it through the Winter and help the grass grow stronger and wake up quicker in spring. As a result, Fall is the single most important time of year to fertilize your lawn. If you decide to aerate in the Fall season, you should fertilize soon after in order to ensure that the nutrients will reach the roots.

Plant seed to fill in any bare and burned spots.

As we’ve mentioned, many patches of lawn can die during the Summer months, so it’s a good idea to reseed those areas. Keep in mind, however, that seeds that do not touch the soil will not grow, and it can be difficult to cover an area of grass thoroughly. Keep up with your lawn pest control. Insects that live in your lawn now can cause serious problems once it starts growing after the winter. If you notice a pest problem on your grass, take care of it in early Fall to limit the damage it causes to the lawn. All these Fall lawn care steps must be performed like clockwork. If you seed and fertilize too close to Winter, the soil will not be able to take in all the nutrients.

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New Lawn Aeration In Bath, Ohio

Core Aerating in Bath Township Ohio

For decades now professional greens keepers at golf courses have known that the secret to beautiful, dense, lush grass is core aeration.

Core aeration is a lawn care practice that are hidden in plain sight in Bath Ohio. Aeration probably sounds familiar to you or maybe not, but most people have seen core aeration before. Think back to your sports fields in school. Remember all the little plugs of dirt scattered all over the field? Core aeration.

Core aeration is the process of making thousands of small holes and removing plugs from your lawn in Bath OH. The holes greatly reduces thatch and eliminates soil compaction in your lawn. Core aeration allows fertilizer, nutrients, water, fertilizer and air to reach the roots. The holes also create room for new grass seed to get under the surface of the lawn. The result will be new grass growth, as well as dramatically increased root development for the lawn. This creates a big difference in having a thicker, greener, healthier lawn. Core aeration also reduces water runoff, improves resiliency in the turf and improves drought tolerance.

Thatch is healthy and natural occurrence in the lawn. When it becomes over a ½ inch thick it becomes a major problem. Core aeration removes the plugs of soil and thatch from your lawn and deposits them back on the lawn. By plugging holes in the lawn it completely removes thatch in those areas and begins to thin the other areas of thatch in the lawn. As the core plugs melt back into the lawn, the soil mixes with the thatch and speeds up the process of decomposition. The Microbes in the plugs breakdown and start decomposing the other thatch on the lawn that are left behind.

Though some homeowners will try to aerate with spikes, core aeration is done with a gas powered core aerating machine. According to all major studies, using spikes will not work because the process doesn’t pull the plugs out. It just makes small holes in the soil, which doesn’t relieve pressure on your lawn or help with any thatch issues. The small holes will close very quickly and never allow much nutrients, water, air or fertilizer into the soil.

New Lawns And Core Aeration

New lawns need core aeration. Often, because builders just throw down grass seed without doing any prepping your soil. Then you are left with a lawn that has been trampled by heavy machinery and is compacted immediately. If your lawn is compacted, your lawn will be thin and not healthy. It's recommended to aerate your lawn twice a year. Golf courses at the very minimum core aerate at least twice a year and more than not aerate almost monthly.

Should Homeowners Hire a Lawn Care Service for Core Aeration?

In this case, unless you are set on sweating it out on your own lawn, it’s easiest to just hire a lawn care company to do this. If you want to do a DIY, you can rent a core aerator from $100 to $200 plus. To purchase one would cost you more than you want to spend plus the high maintenance they require can be a lot of work. It is best to let the lawn care professionals take care of aeration with their commercial equipment while you sit back and enjoy your beautiful lawn.

Ready to find out more?

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(330) 933-2222 
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