*the protection of soil from erosion

*slows down and filters rainwater runoff

*removal of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere

*generates oxygen

*provides money saving cooling effects...each healthy front lawn has the cooling effect of nearly 9 tons of air conditioning...enough to cool 2 average homes 

*provides pollution control by trapping dust and other particlulates in the atmoshere

*makes a house more marketable

*an attractive lawn provides a psychological boost and promotes feeling of general well being    

Working with a professional lawn care company such as AgriLawn you can choose a service program that fits your objectives and budget to ensure your lawn will be healthy and beautiful throughout the year.  We are currently providing pre-emergent and fertilizer applications for our customers.  For those who are not with a lawn service provider or maybe unhappy with your current company we are happy to provide consultation and free estimates.  We also have very knowledgeable tree and shrub technicians on staff to help with a wide range of problems in your landscape.   

My dad farms wheat in SW Oklahoma and he mentioned the drought in that part of the state is as bad as he has seen in his lifetime.  Prior to a nice 2 inches of rainfall they received last week there hadn't been any appreciable precipitation since last October.  That amounted to a period of over 6 months with less than a quarter inch of rain!  Even the snow they received in Feb was a very dry snow and mostly blew off the fields before it had the chance to melt into the topsoil.  Hopefully, the remainder of May through June will provide opportunities to catch us up on the rainfall deficit.  There's always hope.  I recall in 2007-2008 an extended period of exceptionally dry weather was followed by an unusually wet late spring and summer.  The wetter than normal conditions continued for the next two years.  I join thousands of other Oklahomans praying our current drought condition will be relieved in short order.    

So, what impact will this record breaking winter weather have on our lawns and landscapes?  On the positive side, any moisture is a good thing at this point due to the moderate drought conditions we've experienced the past few months.  However, the snow we received was fairly "dry" and did not contain the moisture content we generally get with snowfall.  Out of the 20 inches of snow the resulting moisture only amounted to one inch.  That's a start but we have a long ways to go to end the drought conditions. 

The extemely low temperatures are the other big concern.  Plants vary in their ability to withstand cold temperatures.  This is illustrated by the USDA plant hardiness zone map that ranges from zone 1 in the northern United States to zone 11 in the southern tip of Texas and Haiwaii.  In central Oklahoma we are in zone 7a.  Zone 7a plants are winter hardy down to temperatures in the low single digits.  Any colder and we may see injury to zone 7a plants.  When we attempt to grow plants that are more suited to zones 8 or 9 we run into even more problems followng extremely cold winters such as we've experienced this year.  Plants that are hardy in zone 8 or 9 will have a difficult time surviving temperatures dipping into the lower teens.  I would not be surprised if we notice certain species of our landscape ornamentals failing to green up once the spring growing season begins.   

Even our most common turfgrasses, bermuda and fescue, will see some impact when temperatures dip into the single digits.  The impact is compounded if adequate soil moisture is lacking.  In fact, there was significant winter kill in both lawns and golf courses due to extreme cold periods during last winter.  I suspect there is a good chance we may see a repeat of this due to the weather conditions from a couple of weeks ago.  In fact I will be joined by the leading extension turf specialist for the state of Oklahoma later this week to examine a few lawns and determine the extent of winter damage (if any) we should anticipate.  Unfortunately, if there is areas of winter kill in your lawn it won't be readily apparent until the growing season begins and there is not much to do to speed recovery.  In bermuda grass lawns, the best solution may be to sod or sprig any areas that have thinned out sometime in mid to late May.  If fescue areas have not survived the cold temperatures these can be reseeded in March through early April.

The past two winters should serve as a reminder to us to avoid installing plants in our landscapes that are not  equipped to deal with temperatures that may approach zero.  If we do we may luck out for a few years but sooner or later we'll have a year that will cause significant damage or some cases death of landscape plants more suited to milder winters.           

In central Oklahom the symptoms of new pine wilt infections are most apparent from August to December.  Trees wilt and die in a short period of time ranging from several weeks to a few months.  If a tree is suspected and confirmed to have pine wilt it is advised the tree should be cut down by May 1st at the latest...before the beetles emerge.  It is also advisable to chip or burn the wood immediately to destroy the beetles and nematodes living within the tree's tissues.  Another very important point in controlling this disease is to avoid stress among susceptible trees.  The beetles are particularly attracted to drought stressed trees.  This may explain in part why we are now seeing a high incidence of this disease.  We have been experiencing moderate drought conditions going all the way back to early last summer.  If possible, provide water during prolonged dry periods to prevent drought stress.  Finally, avoid planting highly susceptible species of pines including Austrian and Scots.  Instead, choose pines that are more resistant to pine wilt such as loblolly and slash pines.

While it is distressing to observe the large number of pine trees affected by this pathogen it serves as a reminder of the fragile balance separating health and disease among all living things.  Most plant diseases only become a significant problem when susceptible plants are under stress.  Stress in plants, just as in humans, pre-disposes them to potential disease causing pathogens.  Trees that are absent significant stress are typically able to defend themselves from many of the common plant diseases we experience in our area.  A low level of disease can generally be tolerated by an otherwise healthy plant while it recovers.  Oftentimes the source of stress is simply "environmental", which is to say numerous conditions in the immediate environment could be causing a problem.  These poor environmental conditions can often be remedied through proper care and maintenance of a tree and its' surroundings.  This is why it is important to water properly (not too much or too little), avoid compacted soil in and around the root system of trees...keeping in mind the root system can extend twice the drip line or outermost branches of a tree, provide proper pruning maintenance, and provide proper nutrients to promote healthy growth.  Improper light levels (too little or too much) can also be a significant source of environmental stress.  If we do what we can to provide a suitable environment for the trees in our landscapes we are sure to enjoy the many benefits they provide for years to come. 

If you have pines in your landscape that have browning needles we have arborists on staff that can properly diagnose Pine Wilt as well as numerous other diseases that can affect pines in our area.  Feel free to give us a call and we will gladly set up a site visit to address your concerns.                

Similarly, our lawns and landscape plants depend on essential nutrients to promote healthy growth and development.  However, some of these  are already present in adequate amounts in our soils and it may be unnecessary to apply fertilizers containing certain of these nutrients.  Measures can and should be taken to ensure we don't supply unneeded nutrients in the process of routine fertilization.  The best way assure this is by way of a soil analysis or "soil test".  The information gathered from a soil test can be used to help determine what nutrients are needed as well as prevent supplying unneeded nutrients or "empty calories".  One of the major plant nutrients we are particularly concerned with potentially over-applying is Phosphorous.  A soil test can let us know if the amount of Phosphorous naturally occurring in the soil is adequate to support healthy plant growth.  Any extra Phosphorous applied over and above that needed for healthy plant growth has the potential to find its way to ground water sources.  This can lead to algae blooms and other negative consequences in these bodies of water.  For this as well as other reasons we encourage all our customers to obtain a soil test every couple of years.  Offering soil tests is just one simple but critical measure we at AgriLawn take to prevent any undesirable environmental impact resulting from our activities.  Unless the results of a soil test indicate a low Phosporous level, we generally avoid applying this nutrient while fertilizing.  The two exceptions to this self imposed practice is when we are (1) fertilizing newly seeded areas and (2) fertilizing landscape beds containing ornamental flowers and flowering shrubs.  Phosphorous encourages root growth in newly germinated grass seedlings and good bloom set of flowers and flowering shrubs.    

The other major benefit of obtaining a soil test is to determine the pH level of the soil.  When the soil pH is not at the optimum level, nutrients supplied in fertilizers are not fully utilized and taken up by plant roots.  If a soil test indicates that the soil pH is either too high or too low there are corrective steps which can be taken to bring the pH in a range that ensures efficient uptake and use of plant nutrients.  When plant nutrients are used efficiently by the plants they are supporting, there is less risk for excessive build up of these elements in the soil. 

Whew!  All this writing about nutrients has gotten my appetite worked up.  I think it's time to raid the fridge.  What's it going to be?  A soft drink, a bit of the rice krispy treats a couple of my nieces brought to us this weekend, a stalk of broccoli or perhaps a nice, plump orange.  Just this once I believe I will opt for one of the latter snacks.  Hopefully, the nutrients contained in these will add to something other than my waistline.   

I know I have been very fortunate to have personally benefitted from the success we have enjoyed after nearly 20 years in business.  Not that it has always been easy (is anything ever as easy as it looks?).  We have encountered all manner of challenges throughout the years which have resulted in every imaginable emotional response...laughter, tears, hope, sorrow, clarity of vision, confusion.  There were many times when each of these emotions was experienced on the same day!  We've always viewed challenges as an opportunity to improve.  Our mission speaks to our intent to commit to excellence.  We do this in part through recognizing those in our organization who demonstrate positive character traits.  We understand and strive to operate from a set of time proven values which have served us well up to this point...friendliness, integrity, honest communication, willingness to help, innovation, trustworthiness, reliability.  Regarding my blogging habits, it is this last value, reliability, I hope to pay more heed to going forward.         

One thing we deal with in our line of work is the fact that weather conditions have a direct impact on our ability to serve our customers.  At the time of this writing we have received close to 20 inches of snow during three major winter storms beginning with the Christmas Eve blizzard and most recently the snow storm that hit us in the final week of January.  As a result we find ourselves somewhat behind schedule in our field work.  However, this inability to perform our normal duties has provided other opportunities for our organization.  While our trucks and field personnel were necessarily grounded during these weather events we turned our efforts to helping others.  Due to the nature of our work (working outdoors servicing a route while working at a quick pace) a large portion of our staff tends to be young, healthy and in shape.  During our “weather days”, these able bodied employees gladly devoted time to volunteering at local organizations ranging from the Regional Food Bank to Feed the Children to the Salvation Army.  It is my belief that time spent in productive endeavors is much more preferable to remaining idle at home.  Therefore, we were happy to continue paying our work force during the bad weather conditions provided they volunteered at these agencies.  Much of the volunteer work consisted of filling boxes with non-perishable food items to be provided to school children from low income families as well as other needy citizens in our community.  This turned out to be an eye opening and uplifting effort for all who participated.  We were proud to help and were especially proud when informed by one agency that our team broke the single day record in terms of the number of boxes filled and pounds of materials prepared for delivery.  The very next day our group broke its’ own record set just the day before!  I am personally very proud that we were in a position to pay our employees who obviously worked very efficiently and diligently and used their abilities to help out organizations whose mission is to provide assistance for those in need.           

Follow this like for photos and more details. http://www.agrilawn.com/2010-charities

With the rain you may have noticed the arrival of mushrooms in your lawn the past few weeks.  Mushrooms are any number of fungi that may appear under the ideal conditions of warm soil temperatures, abundant soil moisture, and moderate air temperature coupled with overcast skies,  all of which we’ve had a good portion of time from late August through the present.  The mushrooms “feed” on decaying organic matter such as old dead tree roots or other sources of wood underground.  Sometimes the mushrooms will grow in a circular or semi-circular pattern, a phenomenon known as Fairy Ring.  The grass may be a darker green in the immediate vicinity of the mushroom growth pattern as a result of a release of nitrates and other nutrients as organic matter is broken down.  There is really no practical means of controlling mushrooms and in fact the portion of the mushroom we see is only a small part of the overall fungus.  Most of the mushroom producing fungus is underground. While some of the mushrooms in lawns are edible others are poisonous.  Never eat any mushrooms unless you are sure of their identity.  Many of the mushrooms are spectacular in size and color and we should simply enjoy their seemingly overnight appearance knowing they will often disappear just as abruptly.               

Have you ever noticed how our lawns and landscapes seem to really perk up following a good rain?  The response is much better compared to when we provide water through a hose end sprinkler or in ground sprinkler system.  One of the reasons could be that rainwater is "softer" than many of our water sources which tend to be "hard" in nature.  Hard water contains high amounts of dissolved inorganic minerals including calcium, magnesium, and iron all of which can form chloride salts.  These salts build up in the soil over time and interfere with healthy  plant growth.  Abundant rainfall helps leach the salts through the soil profile below the root zone of our plants.  Another reason rainfall seems to help could be attributed to the organic material found in rain drops. 

Heavy rainfall on an area of bare ground can cause soil erosion especially if the ground is sloped.  That is why it is good to establish turf or some other ground cover on bare areas.  Even on a severely sloped area the soil can be held in place if thick, healthy turf or some other groundcover is in place.  If you have a difficult time getting grass or groundcover established in bare, sloped areas another option would be to apply mulch over the bare area.  Or you may choose to build a retaining wall to create a more level, less sloped area in front of the wall.  Our soil is a precious resource and we should take steps to prevent its' loss through erosion.

Once the spring rains move out there is often an ideal environment for mosquito populations to rapidly increase.  The mosquito larva develops in areas of standing water.  If mosquitoes make it hard to enjoy being out in your yard in the evenings there are some pyrethrum based insect control products which can be applied to provide a quick knockdown of existing populations.  You may need to do this once a month during May, June and July for long term control.  Mosquitoes have become more of a concern in recent years with cases of the West Nile Virus being reported in many urban areas around Oklahoma. 

If your lawn has been fertilized or has had a pre-emergent weed control application recently the rains are doing the job of getting the products into the soil where they are effective.  There have been numerous university studies on the impact of rainfall on fertilizers and weed control applications.  On areas of good turf cover there is very little if any loss of the fertilizers and pre-emergent products due to heavy rainfall.  Instead a dense turf will prevent their loss and once they are moved into the soil either by rainfall or watering they are held in place by soil particles.  So unless you actually see soil loss through erosion, any fertilizer and/or pre-emergent weed control application will benefit from a good rainfall.

The rain has stopped for now.  If the forecast holds true we can expect more later on today.  I think I will empty out my rainguage before the next wave gets here.

All heat loving annual and perennial flowers as well as all summer vegetables can be planted with little risk of a potentially damaging late freeze.  This should be done within the next 2-3 weeks.  Also, if your lawn hasn't received a pre-emergent to minimize crabgrass and other summer weeds this too should be done within the next couple of weeks.  Some pre-emergents can be safely applied to landscape beds to help with weed control in those areas also.  With all the rains we received last fall and through the early spring period there is an abundant crop of weeds in many lawns.  Existing broadleaf weeds can be treated and controlled fairly successfully at this time. Fertilizing of both warm and cool season lawn grasses should occur during the March through May time period.  This also is the beginning of the mowing season.  Fescue lawns grow rapidly with the ideal combination of warm sunny days and mild nights.  Bermudagrass on the other hand requires much warmer temperatures and will grow very slowly until overnight low temperatures remain above 65 degrees.  Maintain fescue at a 2-3 inch height and bermudagrass at 1-2 inches.  Mow often enough so that no more than 1/3 of the leaf blade is removed during the mowing process.      

In the world of ornamental plants, our technicians have reported  fairly high populations of aphids on roses and daylilies.  Aphids and other early season insect pests can be controlled at this time.  Roses should be pruned just before new growth starts and a regular disease control program may be needed to take care of black spot.  Photinias should be treated to prevent leaf spot diseases as the new foilage begins to grow.  Crabapples and hawthorns can be treated to control cedar-apple rust.  As the candles on pine trees begin to elongate they should be treated with copper based fungicides to control needle blight and tip blight diseases.  Many Austrian Pine trees in the Oklahoma City area have succumbed to the pine wilt nematode over the past few years and unfortunately there is not much that can be done except replace infested trees with a different species of pine.  As fleas and ticks become active in the landscape these can be controlled with a pyrethrin formulation of insect control.  If your plans call for adding a tree or shrub to your landscape be mindful to soak the new transplants regularly unless rainfall is abundant.  

These are but a few of the items that can be found on a lawn and landscape maintenance schedule for the spring season.  Here's hoping you have a safe and enjoyable spring.