Apple Blossom Landscape Concepts

Apple Blossom Landscape Concepts

P.O. Box 714

Saint Charles, Illinois 60174

630-365-3210 630-365-1064 (FAX)

July - September News Letter

The hot days of Summer are upon us or soon will be. Many of your plants will experience a seasonal slow down in growth. They slow down in growth, to protect themselves, but it doesn’t mean that they don’t require care now. You still need to be encouraging and protecting them this time of season. You can help your landscape with some of the helpful ideas below.

Lawn Maintenance in the Summer has many elements. One of the most important items is watering your lawn. Existing lawns that have been healthy can be allowed to go dormant if so desired. If the root system is deep, traffic is kept to a minimum and you have been cutting your lawn at higher settings then normal the turf will be OK. If you have been irrigating regularly and you suddenly cut off the water supply this will cause stress on the lawn and may damage it. Regular light watering intervals, while being great for a green lawn, promotes a shallow root system. When watering your lawn the best method is to water deeply, but infrequently. One inch of water will soak approximately four inches of soil. When watering, aim for one inch. The use of a rain gauge is highly recommended to see how much water is being applied, or to measure rain fall. If you receive half of an inch of rain over night you may want to supplement by adding to that half inch for deeper soil penetration. Remember to review your proper maintenance for your lawn covered in the written information we left when your project was completed.

Lawn mower cleaning, blade sharpening and maintenance should be an on going item. Make sure your blades are sharp. Check your oil every time before you start your machine. Pick up any hazardous items in your lawn before you start mowing and check that the machine is in safe operating order. More information on safety procedures can be found in your equipment owners manual.

Summer-Fall Landscape Planting & Hardscape Work. Maybe you have been thinking about adding some additional items to your landscape garden investment. Allow Apple Blossom Landscape Concepts to finish the next phase of your landscape project. Please call soon to set up an appointment so you won‘t miss out on the Summer-Fall planting season.

Check the overall health of your plantings. You may wish to water you plants deeply and infrequently as was described in “Lawn Care”. Be careful not to over water however, this can be just as bad as under watering them. Check with Apple Blossom Landscape Concepts if you have further questions about the irrigation of your plantings.

Check for Summer-Fall pest & disease problems. Those pesky little problems that popped up in your landscape last season might be back again. For more help on this see our “Landscape Technologies” section and click on Horticultural Tips. If you are a client, contact us and we will be more than happy to help you find a solution.

“My mulch has fungus“. During the season we receive many call on yellow or black fungus in landscape mulch beds. “It looks disgusting” is what most clients say about it. Generally this does not hurt the plantings and will soon dissipate. If it is an eyesore, then it can be removed and disposed of.

Fertilization of plantings and turf during this time of season should be continued but must be done with caution. Why fertilize? Your plants deplete their food source in the soil. Farmers, for thousands of years, have fertilized their crops to feed and protect them. A properly fed landscape or crop will reap many dividends. The first step for you to take is to decide who’s going to do it. Will you do it yourself or hire a professional. If you choose to fertilize, please don’t forget to water according to label instructions. Watch out for high temperatures when applying weed control or fertilizers as this may be detrimental to the health of your turf. If you choose to hire a professional, water according to how your specialist recommends. However, even though your lawn care is being handled by a professional, you must still be mindful of the high temperatures when weed control or fertilizers have been applied. Unfortunately, weather conditions can abruptly change or prolonged hot temperatures can be hard to anticipate and while lawn care companies attempt to take these changes into consideration, you must still assess your current situation when it comes to the timing of an application. If you have any fertilizing questions, please call us.

This is only a small sampling of some of the items you need to be doing for your landscape investment for the Summer-Fall growing season. I hope you find these helpful and I look forward to seeing you this year.

New e-mail address ….. TheAppleBlossom@comcast.net

I would like to again thank all of you for helping us grow our business. If we can be of any landscape assistance to you, a family member or a friend, please call. We pride ourselves on always trying to give the best service possible.

Sincerely,

Harvey Willey