It has been a brutally dry year overall for grass. Two years of record wet summers followed by a record dry Spring in decades has been followed by unseasonably high temperatures and humidity. The few long rains we’ve had were welcome, but they didn’t make a big dent in our water debt, and the fast rain from thunderstorms just runs off. People are having a lot of trouble watering their lawns enough to keep them healthy. So lawns are getting sick right now, both from dehydration and a summer fungus called blight or summer patch. You can fix both problems yourself.

Drought injured grass

Blight damaged turf exacerbated by activity on lawn

Think about how rough you feel after working in this heat. After cutting your grass you are dying for a drink of water, and the humidity makes you feel sick. Your grass is out in that same heat and it can’t come inside to cool off.   The drought is bad enough, but the thick humidity and well-meaning attempts to fight the drought are also causing blight. Blight thrives between 24°C and 32°C, sending out spores to infect more grass when the temperature is above 21°C. Infected grass first turns light green, then reddish-brown, then tan, and finally straw-coloured. Many homeowners mistake blight for drought and frantically water the lawn in the heat of the day. But that just makes blight worse.

Here is what you can do

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Hazard Alert: Giant Hogweed spreading in Ontario

July 14, 2010

Giant hogweed, (Heracleum mantegazzianum), is an invasive new weed that is colonizing in some parts of Ontario, eastern Provinces and Western Canada. Locally, it has been found in Ottawa, Halton region, Waterloo, Markham and the Don River valley in Toronto according to a report in The Globe and Mail. Giant hogweed is very dangerous. Its sap [...]

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Magnolia trees & sap-sucking scales

July 13, 2010

 
Magnolias are always recognized as the harbinger of spring.  Their flowers are grandiose and magnificent.  Magnolia scale threatens these trees and is one of the stranger insects you’ll see.  Becoming noticable at the end of June and all through July, it is normally only noticed once the tree is infested.  Scale covers itself in a whitish [...]

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Chinch bugs spotted

July 8, 2010

Our technicians are finding adult chinch bugs emerging from thatch as well as their young,  commonly called ’nymphs’.  We started finding them earlier in June which is earlier than we normally see them appearing. The hot, dry weather is to blame.  Adult chinch bugs emerge, mate and lay eggs when the ‘bird’s foot trefoil’ weed is [...]

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Necrotic ring spot appearing on lawns

July 1, 2010

The hot weather and frequent rain are creating ideal conditions for fungus to thrive. 
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Want to install an inground irrigation (sprinkler) system?

June 25, 2010

The idea of an in-ground irrigation system appeals to a lot of people. An automated machine to water your lawn so you don’t have to! And a well installed irrigation system really does take a lot of the worry and hassle out of watering, which can only result in better grass.
So let’s assume you have decided [...]

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Sawfly Emergency

June 21, 2010

Yellow-headed sawfly are attacking spruce trees right now. 
 
 These voracious eaters strip needles from spruce, and those needles will NEVER grow back. In three years, they can kill a tree. If your spruce is under attack DO NOT PRUNE the stripped branches. The bud at the tip is still alive, and will produce new needles next [...]

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Bentgrass and drought mean dead patches on lawns

June 15, 2010

The unseasonable heat and terribly dry Spring we have been having  are causing bentgrass and other annual weedy grasses in lawns to brown out much earlier than we normally see it. If you are seeing areas on your lawn yellowing or browning right now, there is a good chance it is Bentgrass (Agrostis stolonifera),  or one f its [...]

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Are you mowing your lawn often enough?

June 5, 2010

I had an unexpected, but not unwelcome job to do this Tuesday. I had stepped out, as I usually do, to quickly patrol my lawn to see if any dandelions had come up, so I could pull the flowers to stop them from seeding. To my surprise, the grass blades were up over my ankles! With [...]

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GTA Watering alert!

May 31, 2010

We are finding lawns that are suffering acute drought stress. This whole spring has been terribly dry, and the heat and wind is only making it worse. The rain that is expected this week is welcome, but it just is not enough.
Large patches of many lawns are browning out, especially those with bentgrass in them. [...]

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Fiesta Time – LawnSavers’ new weed killer

May 18, 2010

I am excited to be able to let you know about our brand-new  and effective natural weed control product. 
Called Fiesta, this new liquid gives us the power to reliably control broadleaf weeds on your lawn, and reduce them to a manageable number as part of our promise to give you a green, healthy lawn you can [...]

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What do I do with all these spruce needles?

May 4, 2010

I got another interesting question recently. We handle tree care as well as lawn care, and you’d be surprised how much overlap there is.
“Spruce needles (lots of reddish brown needles) have fallen from very old trees onto my lawn, the trees cannot be saved, but what do I do with the lawn?  Can I leave [...]

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“Help, the raccoons & skunks are tearing up my lawn!”

May 1, 2010

This is the common call of thousands of frantic homeowners every spring as the soil warms and the turf begins to emerge from slumber.  We hate that we have to say ‘we can’t stop the raccoons’, but it is true. Raccoons are smart, stubborn, and have good memories. They will keep flipping up grass so long as [...]

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Sir, step away from the fertilizer NOW! Astounding do-it-yourself lawn care results!

May 1, 2010

Sure, anybody can take care of the lawn right? Well, some of your neighbours have chosen to roll up their sleeves, and tackle lawn care head-on by themselves. The results have to be seen to be believed! How many of the following techniques have you seen in your neighbourhood?

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A question about dethatching

April 2, 2010

I recently received a good question about dethatching in my email.
“Is dethatching a lawn necessary or even advisable with sandy well drained soil?”
Only if you have extreme thatch. We consider it an emergency service for lawns that are being starved of moisture and air because of the build-up.

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