Time to review your lawn program

The winter months bring back not so distant visions of once green lawns and surrounding trees.  As odd as it may seem, scheduling any kind of lawn program while snow is on the ground is actually a sound process.  There are many good reasons to activate a lawn or plant health care program during the winter to insure prompt service once mud season arrives.
The weather plays a large role in the spring as to what and when certain treatments can be done- mostly due to temperature and moisture.  High heat speeds up insect, weed, and disease development- in some cases by weeks not days.  While this may not seem of great importance, temperature plays a huge role in advancing or retarding certain pathogens, ultimately affecting your landscape.  If you do not have a program “online”- ready to go- this timeframe can easily be missed.  Cold weather can slow down the ability of your lawn to recover and green up fast.  The later the first application of fertilizer, compost tea, or lime is applied, your grass is missing vital time for improved color and recovery from winter damage.
I have seen several years where the temperature rose into the high 70’s to lower 80’s in April and May- making some types of weed control applications harmful to turf without proper precautions.  The same can be said about not scheduling early plant health care sprays- you simply miss the window of opportunity for obtaining decent results on a variety of insect and disease issues.
Moisture content can wreak havoc on turf and shrubs in the spring- especially if the spring is cold and rainy.  Such weather greatly advances snow molds and leaf spot on turf while creating apple scab on fruit trees.  Low moisture can reduce seed germination without proper irrigation if aeration and overseeding are done in May or June.  Having overseeding or aeration already scheduled during the winter insures they can be completed at the proper time frame in the spring since they are already booked.  A great green care company will watch weather trends and activate services during the appropriate time frame- you deserve this kind of service.
Timing is the third reason to have your program already setup during the winter.  Many applications have a narrow window of opportunity and if missed, results suffer such as pre-emergent crabgrass control or broadleaf weed control.  Soil temperature and timing are very important on these kinds of applications.  If you think you may remember to call- it may already be to late- spring is a crazy time of year.  Another fabulous reason to schedule your green care treatments during the winter includes a signing bonus if available or a prepay offer for sending in the contract early.  Look for these kinds of financial incentives in addition to a high quality- diversified green care company.
If you have not read the “researching a lawn care company” series on this blog- be sure to check them out since they were statistically the most read in 2010!