St. Louis Landscaper – Final Tips for March

Now is the time to stop weeds before they start by applying weed preventer to all of your planting and mulch beds now. We recommend Preen Weed Preventer. Preen is a company we have come to know and trust for the high-quality and effective products that they sell.

They also offer weed preventers that have plant food too, mulches that include preventer, weed control for both vegetable gardens (that is also organic) and for law

ns. You can also head over the Preen website for a handy weed identification database too. We can also come and inspect your property to help you erradicate weeks in your lawn and mulch beds too with a simple call.

Apply new mulch to your planting beds and tree circles. The depth is really important if you want to retain moisture and prevent week growth. Aim for at least two to four inches. Be sure not to mulch right up against plant stems of tree trunks. Leave a margin of about four to six inches so the plant can breathe, and to help prevent moisture depletion or water-logging problems.

St. Louis Landscaping Consultant Tip: Getting Ready to Mow Your Lawn

Next up is getting the mower out of hibernation and getting her ready for the season. First, add fresh gas (you should try to run the lines almost clean in the fall), the higher octane might work best for this first cutting. Then check the oil level as well and add as needed.

Inspect the rest of your mower to see if anything needs to be adjusted or replaced, and set your mower to the correct settings. Every grass has an ideal mowing height. Don’t fall for the myth that cutting the grass shorter means you’ll have to mow it less. This misguided mindset lays a foundation for a problem-prone lawn. Grass that’s cut too short is susceptible to weed invasion, heat and drought – especially in the potentially scorching heat we have here in the St. Louis region.

Get Your Mower Ready for the Season!

However, let your grass grow too long between cuttings and you create an ideal environment for mosquitoes and other insects, and other varmits like voles and mice, or snakes. Grass that’s too long is difficult to mow and the extra-long clippings create more work as well, since they usually need to be raked or bagged. It’s worth the extra effort to mow a lawn frequently enough to maintain the ideal height. Even during peak growth, you’ll probably only be mowing every five to seven days-at most. Your mowing frequency ultimately depends on your lawn’s ideal height, which varies during the growing season and depends on growing conditions.

Cool-season turf, which includes fescues and Kentucky bluegrass, grows the most during the cool temperatures of spring and fall. While specific heights vary, the typical range for cool-season grasses falls between 1 and 4 inches high. Warm-season turf includes St. Augustine, Bermuda, centipede and zoysia. These grasses achieve their peak growth when summer hits its stride. Specific mowing heights vary by grass type and can even be different for different versions of the same grass.

The general rule of thumb for mowing is never to remove more than one-third of total grass blade length at a single cutting. The best way to do this is research your turf’s ideal height and let it grow one third higher before mowing. Sharpen the blades of mower too, to make the job that much easier in the weeks and months ahead, and add line to your trimmer as needed. You should plan on mowing around the first week of April for best results, for a lawn and property that will do you proud this year!

At Environmental Landscaping, the first thing we want to grow is our relationship with you, and we’d love to meet with you one-on-one to discuss your landscaping and the other components of a beautiful property with you first hand, and share our advice and suggestions on what you can do to make your outdoor spaces really shine! When you are looking for a landscaper in Webster Groves, Wildwood or Brentwood, or anywhere in between, we hope you’ll give us a call  (636) 225-3848 or contact us to learn more!

Tory Catanzaro, Owner – Environmental Landscaping