Broadleaf Weeds

OHIO LAWN CARE

When thinking of Ohio lawn care here in our local communities in Northeast Ohio there are many factors to consider.

  1. Our grass species – There are many different kinds of fescues found in our neighborhoods, some of the most popular are fine fescue, tall fescue and creeping fescue. Other species found include zoysia, bentgrass, ryegrass and kentucky bluegrass.
  1. Soil types and conditions – We have many different soils found in our area but many if not almost all of us have at least some clay soil. Clay is a soil that is made of mostly clay particles. There is no doubt that Northeast Ohio communities were built on top of a huge mounds of clay that becomes stone like hard, cracks when dry and nothing much likes to grow in it. Among other negatives, clay soil is very slow draining and takes more time to warm up in spring than other soils. In winter it heaves and it leans towards alkalinity in ph. Clay soils are so very compacted that plants root systems are unable to access essential oxygen required for growth.
  2. FertilizationFertilizer has three major components nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, The three numbers you always see on bags of fertilizer indicate the levels of these components on the bag in that order. Certain times of the year and different species of turfgrass require different levels of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.
  3. Weed control – Here with Ohio lawn care we have thousands of different kinds of invasive weeds. Many weeds we find in a lawn are hard to kill and require specific types of weed control instead of a broad spectrum application. To name a few of these weeds that require specific products: thistles, wild violets, knotweed, prostrate spurge, plantain buckhorn, ground ivy, foxtails, wild onions and yellow nutsedge.
  4. Climate zone – Here in Northeast Ohio we span across three different climate zones: 5b, 6a and 6b. For this amount of land area in Northeast Ohio it is unique to have that many different climate zones. For example in Central Ohio in The Columbus area they only have one zone 6a. It is due to our varying elevations we have, lake effect and the jet stream. It is very important to know your zone in relevance to lawn care and landscaping. So you will have the knowledge to understand what to plant and how to care for it.
  5. Soil ph – Soil ph is the alkalinity or acid levels found in your soil. Certain plants and grass thrive in different levels of soil ph. Applying the right or wrong products to certain ph levels can make all the difference for your lawn or landscape.
  6. Weather – When it comes to weather in Ohio lawn care products. There are certain products that need to be applied when the turfgrass is wet or dry. Also there are applications that would not be effective when it is to cold. Applying certain products when it is to hot or dry can damage or kill your lawn.
  7. Core AerationCore aeration is a popular practice here with Ohio lawn care. It pulls cores of soil from your lawn. Pulling these cores with a core aerator will allow water, nutrients, air and fertilizer reach your lawns root zone. Other benefits include alleviating soil compaction and thatch in the lawn. For a terrific lawn practicing core aeration is a must in Northeast Ohio and is recommended to be done once a year.
  8. Lawn pest – Lawn pests can destroy a lawn and one of the most popular everyone should know is grubs and there is many different species of grubs found locally. Other lawn pests found here people do not here often about, but remain to still be a large problem in our lawns are: billbug, sod webworms and chinch bugs. The best action against these pests is proactive treatments instead of reactive treatments.
  9. Watering – Proper watering of your lawn and proper drainage is a must for a beautiful lawn. To little or to much water for your turfgrass can cause damage or even death.
  10. Lawn diseases – The are many lawn diseases associated with Ohio lawn care such as: red thread, dollar spot, yellow patch, necrotic ring, pythium blight, melting out, fusarium blight and many other diseases. The best way to fight lawn diseases is with cultural practices and proactive treatments. Many diseases once established can be very difficult to eradicate.
  11. Soil temperatures – Soil temperatures are very important in Ohio lawn care, they tell you when to or not to plant grass seed. Soil temperatures also dictate when to apply fertilizers, weed and insect control products.
  12. Timing of treatments and proper rates – Having the proper timing of treatments is very important here in Northeast Ohio. Since we have a shorter season than most of the United States it makes the windows for applications smaller and harder to hit. Proper rates with applications can be the difference in a great looking lawn or much worse.

So in review all the variables of performing Ohio lawn care can be a difficult task. It's always a great idea to leave proper lawn care to a state certified lawn care specialist if you do not have the time or knowledge. Many times hiring a professional can be very comparable in price as doing it yourself and they have access to products that a non state certified person wouldn't have.

Reasons why Portage Lakes residents should fertilize their lawns

Reasons Why It Is Important To Fertilize A Lawn in Portage Lakes OH

It can be very tough to keep your lawn looking as fresh as you would like in Portage Lakes Ohio. Between pests, weather, and other foes, you’ll want to make sure that your lawn looks as healthy as it can. Homeowners in Portage Lakes Ohio have used fertilizer on lawns for centuries, but do you know the reasons why fertilization is so important? Keep reading for some great reasons why lawn fertilizer is important!

1. Lawn Fertilizer Will Work With Important Nutrients in Soil

In order to have a healthy lawn (or any healthy plant life) you will need high soil quality. Using a fertilizer for a lawn is the best way to do so. Over time, your soil will naturally lose many of the important nutrients it needs to survive. If you really want a lush, green lawn, you are going to need to replace them. Fertilizer replaces and replenishes the essentials your lawn needs for a great look.

2. Your Lawn Needs Fertilizer as Much as it Needs Sunshine and Water

Grass needs the correct amount of water and sunshine to be healthy and dark green, but don’t forget to feed it, too! Your lawn needs nutrients to thrive and to survive. For soil to be as rich as possible, it needs 3 elements:

  • Phosphorous
  • Nitrates
  • Potassium

Think of this as the trinity for a lawn. If you do not have even one of these, your lawn will look shriveled and browned. You feed your body, but your lawn needs food also.

3. A Green Solution

Pardon the pun, but fertilizer is a fantastic solution when used right. Since it uses natural chemicals and vitamins, it is a lawn care solution you can feel good about using. Not only are you taking care of your lawn by using fertilizer, you are taking care of the environment. No need to worry about excess waste since fertilizer just dissipates into the soil. In fact, you can even use your own lawn clippings for a cheap, eco-friendly fertilizer solution!

4. It is Easy to Use

One of the best reasons to use fertilizer is that you do not necessarily need a green thumb to use it. If you’re not interested in using the aid of some great local services, you can always spread the fertilizer yourself on the lawn. All you have to do is carefully spread it evenly and follow the instructions. It’s simple with the right equipment, but your lawn will look better than ever.

5. Your Grass Will Grow Faster

You already know that fertilizer is an important part of the diet of your lawn. But did you know that it will actually help your grass grow faster? You can’t rely solely on the soil for great, healthy plant life. You’ll get much better results by using fertilizer.

6. Lawn Fertilizer is Very Cost Effective

Like most homeowners, you are probably worried about the cost. Well, there’s a bit of good news! Using fertilizer is usually quite cost effective. Following fertilization, all you have to worry about is the basic maintenance.

Ready to find out more?

Call Akron Canton Lawn Care Now for your Free Estimate on any of our lawn care services
(330) 933-2222 
or click the Contact Us button to send us an email.

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?

Call Akron Canton Lawn Care Now for your Free Estimate on any of our lawn care services
(330) 933-2222 
or click the Contact Us button to send us an email.

Massillon Ohio residents, want to know the proper way to sharpen your mower blades?

Sharp Lawn Mower Blades

Sharp Blade Equals A Healthy Lawn in Massillon Ohio

This is common problem with homeowners that do not realize that mower blades dull over time in Massillon Ohio. Blades need to be sharpened at least 2 or 3 times during a mowing season. Mowing with dull blades will tear and damage the grass. When mowing the basic rule of thumb is to not remove more than 1/3 of the grass blade. Cutting more than that can stress the grass and reduce root growth. If you mow to short and with dull blades it will spell out disaster for your lawn in Massillon OH.
Mower blades need to be sharpened every 8-10 hours of actual mowing time. One of the easiest ways to tell if the blades should be sharpened is to look at the lawn after it has just been mowed. If the tips of the grass look torn, frayed, or yellowed out, it is time for the blades to be sharpened. The grass blade should have a nice clean cut and should remain green in color.

Mowing with dull blades can contribute to lawn disease, discoloration, and even death to the lawn. Grass with a clean cut will recover quickly and help eliminate the chance of any disease. Sharp blades will also reduce the amount of time it takes to mow your yard. Dull blades tend to pull at the plant rather than cutting it.

Ready to find out more?

Call Akron Canton Lawn Care Now for your Free Estimate on any of our lawn care services
(330) 933-2222 
or click the Contact Us button to send us an email.

North Canton, Ohio residents ask, what can a healthy lawn do for me?

In North Canton Ohio You will be surprised what a healthy lawn can do for you

A well maintained lawn can help to provide a healthy, pleasant environment for you, your family and your community in North Canton OH. Here are some interesting facts about lawns that you may not be aware of and will be glad you learned about in North Canton OH:

• A 50' x 50' healthy lawn will produce enough daily oxygen for a family of four.
• Grass is a natural air conditioner by absorbing the suns heat it creates.
• Grass cleans the air, absorbing pollutants and returns pure oxygen in exchange to the air.
• A healthy green lawn naturally deters allergy-causing weed pollen.
• Biting and stinging insects are found less often in lawns that are in good health and are free of weeds.
• Noises are reduced in areas where lawns are present. Because soft surfaces absorb sound, while hard surfaces reflect it.
Thick turf filters surface water before it returns to ground water supply.
• Grass is as a natural barrier for soil erosion caused by wind and water.

Ready to find out more?

Call Akron Canton Lawn Care Now for your Free Estimate on any of our lawn care services
(330) 933-2222 
or click the Contact Us button to send us an email.

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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How To Help Your Lawn Over-come Heat Stress And Drought In Stow, Ohio

Stow Ohio Summer heat stress and drought

Beating the heat in Stow Oh

During the Summer when we all love to spend time enjoying the outdoors, hiking, biking, spending time at the beach or by the pool, having picnics, we rely on the weather to cooperate and to allow us to enjoy the outdoors in Stow Ohio. During the summertime when the hot weather comes there are a few things you should know about your lawn. Your plantings and grass can react to the heat by either wilting, browning, or even dying. Some facts to know about your lawn and your landscape are that they can have and show a negative reaction to heat stress and drought like situations.

You may have a beautiful, thick, lush dark green lawn in the Spring and after a few warmer weeks in the late Spring and Summer you may begin to notice brown patches forming or what looks to be “dead” sections of the lawn. These reactions are the beginning of a sign of heat stress.

Another, is that when the lawn is being weakened by stress it is more susceptible to damages caused by insects, weeds, or diseases. Insects, weeds, and diseases are all very active in Summer, this is the time of year to help your lawn defend itself against these issues. As a defense mechanism to the stress of drought and heat the lawn will sometimes go into what is called the dormant state to help protect its health and longevity. Extended periods of drier weather and high temperatures will take a toll on your lawns health especially if you do not provide the lawn with a proper water schedule.

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Hudson, Ohio Did You Know Gardening Can Help Your Health?

Five Health Benefits Of Gardening At Home In Hudson Ohio

Whether it would be gluten free dining out options in Hudson Ohio or farm to table restaurants, with every new health movement that emerges, one truth always stays the same. Nothing ever beats vegetables grown in your very own garden. Homegrown produce offers an incredibly high nutritious alternative to the processed foods we encounter everyday. What you may not know is that gardening itself can offer a wide array of health benefits also. If you have been looking for the motivation to start your own garden, then look no further. These surprising benefits of gardening can have for your health should give you the perfect excuse to start a garden today in Hudson OH.

1. Boost your brain

Gardening involves and strengthens many of our most critical mental functions like dexterity, problem solving, and mental awareness. Multiple research studies have suggested that daily gardening not only has a large positive impact on dementia patients, but that it can also reduce the risk of dementia and Alzheimer's by as much as fifty percent.

2. Stop stressing today

We have all had experience struggling with the everyday stress in life. Stress can take many years off your life and severely effect your happiness. Getting out in the garden at the end of the day can greatly reduce stress you feel daily. Studies have shown that growing plants from seeds encourages positive thought and improvement to your self esteem. It will even reduce the levels of stress creating hormones in your blood.

3. Healthy heart

Gardening will help keep you active for more time during the week while you do something you enjoy. Not only that, but because it reduces stress and keeps your heart pumping healthily, gardening can decrease your risk for a variety of heart related issues including heart attacks, heart disease, strokes and diabetes.

4. Strengthen in your defense

Not only does gardening allow you to soak up more of the sun strengthening Vitamin D, but the soil will help improve your immune system to fight off sicknesses. From getting dirt under your fingernails to breathing healthy bacteria, the nutrients of your garden can help to alleviate symptoms of allergies and asthma that are associated with an over-stressed immune system.

5. Sound sleep

Spending time out in your garden tires you out and allows you to use up the extra energy you have. When you combine the hard working of gardening with it’s stress and anxiety lowering benefits. Then it comes down to you getting a better night sleep and more relaxing dreams. When you sleep better, you’ll feel more alert and enjoy a more positive attitude and who couldn’t benefit from that?

Gardening is can be hard work, but gives you something you can ultimately be proud of. Having beautiful landscaping and lawn to match your new garden ensures your home will give off a great first impression to visitors. With all the hard work you put into your gardening, you might consider hiring a professional to keep your lawn perfectly manicured, so you can relax and enjoy your beautiful landscape!

Ready to find out more?

Call Akron Canton Lawn Care Now for your Free Estimate on any of our lawn care services
(330) 933-2222 
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Cuyahoga Falls Residents Rid Yourself Of Nuisance Weeds

Do Not Feed the Weeds in Cuyahoga Falls Ohio

One of the less glamorous lawn care chores is dealing with unsightly weeds in Cuyahoga Falls Ohio. Nuisance weeds are more than just a pest in your landscape, they can do some serious damage if left unchecked. Follow these tips to help eradicate weeds in your lawn and landscape, so you can spend less time on in the dirt and more time enjoying a weed-free landscape in Cuyahoga Falls OH:

  • Most of your lawn includes weed seeds that just have not germinated yet. Avoid tilling your soil often to avoid putting these unseen weed seeds into fertile soil to keep more from popping up.
  • Making mulch your friend can be important. Besides the fact that mulch is gorgeous to look at, did you know that it can also help with controlling the weeds? Weeds need the sunlight to germinate and grow, and covering portions of your landscaping with mulch stops weed seeds from getting that light. Bonus with more mulch means less grass to mow and treat!
  • When you keep your plantings closer together in your landscape beds. You reduce the space between the plants in your garden, the weeds will have less space to grow and more competition for nutrients, water and sunlight.
  • Hiring a professional to provide lawn treatments to your grass can eliminate the hard work of combating weeds and crabgrass in your lawn. It will also guarantee a professional job of the treatments is performed with no hard work on your end. Usually at a price comparable or cheaper than buying the products and equipment yourself. Using proper weed control is crucial for the health and beauty of your lawn.

Ready to find out more?

Call Akron Canton Lawn Care Now for your Free Estimate on any of our lawn care services
(330) 933-2222 
or click the Contact Us button to send us an email.