Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Lawn Care in a Drought - what to do, to fertilize or not, and how to cut the grass properly

When your lawn is enduring a drought such as the one that we are in the middle of here in Columbia South Carolina, there are several things to keep in mind. Primarily, know that your lawn is in a "dormant" state and is not dead. Your grass may look like straw, become wilted and yellow, and generally look like it is not thriving.

Don't worry! Just keep watering it at the frequency you normally water, fertilizing at the normal lawn fertilization frequency, and cutting at the same times. The difference in cutting, though, should be that you cut your lawn at a higher level. Cutting your grass at a higher level helps to retain water and shade the lawn to protect against the drought.

Contrary to what you might think, fertilizing your lawn during a drought is actually good for the lawn - it helps it recover once the drought is over!

For this and more lawn care and lawn mowing tips, please visit Busy Bee Lawn Care on the web at www.BusyBeeLawnCare.com

Wednesday, May 09, 2007

Pine Straw or Pinestraw - How do you spell Cheap?!

Pine Straw Mulch is one of the cheaper ways to really dress up a landscape here in the South. Pinestraw comes in longleaf, loblolly, slash pine, and short leaf - but my favorite is the long leaf or slash pine, both of which are long (8" to 10" in length) with an "amber" color to them.

There are several benefits to using pine straw and certain circumstances in which using pinestraw would be of benefit to the landscaping situation. Horticulturally speaking, pine straw is a good mulch or "bed dressing" for acid loving plants (azaleas, hydrangeas, etc). It keeps moisture intact, especially through dry seasons and it also keeps weeds to a minimum.

I like to install or "spread" new pinestraw in about February, taking up some or all of the old pine straw which, at that point in the year has bush clippings and various other types of debris mixed in (which is unsightly). After about October, I like to "fluff" the pinestraw with a pitchfork and turn it over to reveal non-weathered mulch. This gives the effect of new pinestraw without the cost of new materials.

If you have any questions about this type of ground cover, mulch, gravel rock crush and run, or any other landscaping question, please don't hesitate to call Busy Bee Lawn Care!

Busy Bee Lawn Care - (803)331-5323