Is your lawn a little ‘Rusty’?

October 4, 2010

A lawn infected with rust fungus Rust, a fungus of the Pucciniaceae family, is starting to stain lawns. Rust is ugly on a lawn but is usually harmless to grass. It does work as a good indicator of your lawn’s current overall health and care regimen though, since it does not appear on grass that is [...]

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Craneflies and leatherjackets – the new pest in town

September 12, 2010

Lawns in the Greater Toronto Area have been harassed by chinch bugs and white grubs for a long time. In the last few years though, a new pest has appeared and it is becoming more common. Craneflies (Tipula paludosa, Tipula oleracea) are large, long-legged flying insects, sometimes called mosquito hawks because of their similarity in [...]

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“It’s like two more months of spring” – seed & repair lawns in fall for great results!

September 1, 2010

By the time September rolls around, some homeowners just seem to give up on their lawn, But did you know it is probably the best time to repair and thicken a stressed and thin lawn?  Many people have told me they are surprised we recommend doing seeding in the fall. Spring has such strong associations with [...]

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White grubs and your lawn – Destroy or be destroyed!

August 23, 2010

  This kind of damage in spring is the end result of hungry insects attacking lawns in the previous fall. Preventative treatment and good lawn care practices can minimize the risk of this happening to you.

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Crabgrass invasion

August 17, 2010

Crabgrass is an annual strain of wild grass (a new plant will grow from seed each year).  Seeds travel on the wind and are transported by animals. Once in the ground, the seeds lie dormant until conditions are right for germination. Crabgrass seeds have been known to remain in soil for up to 15 years [...]

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Leaf Blight & drought stress running roughshod over southern Ontario lawns

July 24, 2010

(Written July 2010) 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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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.   The most serious issue we see in the heat of summer is necrotic ring spot. Caused by the fungus Leptosphaeria korrae, in its advanced stage the damage takes the form of rings or crescents of dead grass.  It’s main host is unfortunately the most [...]

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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 [...]

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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 of 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 [...]

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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 [...]

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