Lawn Care Services in Milwaukee

Summer Lawn Care Tips for Keeping Your Grass Green in Milwaukee

July 22, 2018/in News, Lawn Care/by American Landscape

Summer is the most active period for your lawn. And, with the right summer lawn care tips, your lawn has the potential to look full and green all season and provide the perfect outdoor environment for you and your family. However, giving your lawn a good mow every week isn’t enough to keep it healthy. There are a number of other necessary steps you’ll need to take.

Excessive heat and drought can wreak havoc on your lawn. But there are some simple summer lawn care tips that can help protect your grass and keep it looking healthy. Here are some of the most important ones.

Use a Slow-Release Fertilizer

You may have applied fertilizer last spring, but that won’t last forever. Now it’s time for another application of slow-release fertilizer to help give your lawn the nutrients it needs to get through the summer.

Slow-release fertilizers work by releasing a small amount of nutrients each time you water. This means you won’t need to fertilize as frequently as you do with other lawn care products.

In addition to applying fertilizer, consider leaving your grass cuttings instead of bagging them when you mow. This will provide extra fertilization and help strengthen your lawn.

Get Rid of Grubs

After a wet spring, many lawns in the Milwaukee area get infected with grubs. These are beetle larvae that feed on the root system of your lawn.

There are a few signs you may have a grub problem. You may start seeing dead patches where they’ve chewed on the roots. You may also notice rodents such as raccoons in your yard foraging for the grubs.

If you have an issue, you’ll need to perform grub control as soon as possible. Garden centers sell grub control you can easily apply to get rid of the problem.

Proper Watering

You’re most likely aware of the importance of watering your lawn. However, doing it incorrectly can do more harm than good.

It’s better to perform heavy watering less frequently than it is to water on a regular basis. Of course, if you’re dealing with a serious drought, your grass will show signs of damage. In this case, you can increase the frequency.

It’s also better to water in the early morning before the sun is at full strength. This reduces the amount of evaporation that occurs in hot weather.

Regular Mowing

Mowing on a regular basis helps keep your lawn as healthy as possible. If you’ve been getting lots of rain, you may even consider mowing twice a week.

The most important thing to remember when mowing is to never cut your grass too short. Summer lawns need to protect their root system from the heat, so be sure to raise the blades on your mower.

A good rule of thumb is to never cut more than one-third of the length off your grass. This will keep your lawn looking full and green.

Perform Smart Summer Lawn Care for Greener Grass

Protect your grass from the harsh summer heat using these easy tips. Remember these summer lawn care basics and you can enjoy a healthy, great-looking yard all season—and ensure your grass is healthy heading into next fall.

Don’t have the time or energy to keep your garden up to snuff? We can help! We provide a full range of lawn care and landscaping services to the Milwaukee and Southern Wisconsin area. Contact us today.

Autumn Lawn Treatment Checklist for Milwaukee

December 10, 2017/in News, Lawn Care/by American Landscape

Autumn is here. So, what are you doing to prepare your lawn for the cooler months? When you live in a region where the weather gets cold, it’s important to have some type of fall lawn care plan. For instance, the frequency of mowing your lawn and how you manage your plants will all change. But, if this is your first time taking care of your lawn on your own, it’s not too late to learn.

Read on for some top tips for autumn lawn treatment.

Find Out What Type of Grass You Have

What most homeowners hate about fall and winter is the idea of losing their plush, green lawns. You worked hard all spring and summer to grow your lawn to what it is today, and don’t want to lose it over the winter. You can maintain it, however, by learning proper autumn lawn treatment based on the type of grass you have.

For instance, if you have warm-season turf grass, then it won’t fare well in Milwaukee. In fact, these are preferred in the South. Cool-season turfgrasses tend to thrive in colder weather. Some examples include ryegrass, Kentucky bluegrass, the fescues, and bentgrass.

Whatever the type of grass you have, you should use the following tips:

Get rid of broadleaf weeds using herbicides.
Test your soil and adjust the pH level accordingly.
Remove thatch from your lawn by raking.
Remove leaves with a rake or leaf vacuum.
Perform regular maintenance on your lawn equipment.

Adjust the Height of Your Lawn Mower

Grass still grows during autumn, but just not as quickly for warm-season grasses. However, if you have cool-season grasses, then there’s no need to adjust the height of your lawnmower. You can increase the height by a 1/2 inch. Then, to minimize the amount of work you have to do (such as picking up grass clippings), you can wait until your lawn grows between 3 in. to 3 1/2 in. tall.

Other tips include:

Avoid mowing your lawn more than 1/3 of the leaf surface.
Leave small amounts of grass clippings on your lawn. They’re actually good for the lawn, since they provide nutrients to your grass.

Following this philosophy will ensure you’re not leaving behind a large bulk of clippings. And, in a sense, it’s like mowing and fertilizing your lawn at the same time!

Get Rid of the Dead and Dying Plants

Autumn isn’t the best time to prune your plants since it will only encourage them to grow. At this time of year, your plants should be dormant. However, you still want to maintain a neat appearance, which you can do by removing dead annuals, lightly pruning your dying tree and shrub branches, and carefully removing any blossoms from hydrangea. As you do so, avoid removing dead stalks because this is where new buds will sprout during the spring.

Get Professional Autumn Lawn Treatment

Fall is when your yard work should come to a halt. However, if you want to keep your landscape looking great all year, then certain tasks must be done.

If you’d rather enjoy your lawn than work on it, we can help. At American Landscape, we offer seasonal lawn maintenance services. So, our pros can work on your yard throughout the entire year or at specific times of the year. Contact us today to learn more about our services and to see how we can maintain your lawn this fall!