This year’s unseasonably warm spring has resulted in one of the most beautiful displays of spring flowers we have seen in quite some time. The blooming ornamental trees and shrubs offset by the deep green grass have reminded us why we place so much value in our outdoor spaces. Early spring also provides landscapers with great challenges such as abundant thatch from rapid turf growth, early insect pests, and early weed pests in our lawns and our planting beds. We have already seen weeds that normally do not appear until at least the end of May such as crabgrass and nutsedge. Regularly scheduled spring services include applying pre-emergent herbicide for crabgrass weed control, performing spring clean up services, and installing mulch to the landscape beds but since we experienced the warmest March ever recorded many homeowners and landscapers also had to mow their property two to three times that month to keep up with the excessive turf growth.

The timing of pre-emergent crabgrass preventer is crucial to ensure the appearance of a lawn throughout the course of the year. If your pre-emergent wasn’t applied before the end of March this year, you could have some crabgrass breakthrough on your property and will need to apply post-emergent applications through the summer. Now is the time to treat the many broad leaf weeds that emerged early this spring. A three-way herbicide is best to control weeds such as dandelions, clover, and chickweed. A fertilizer may also be applied at this time. Whether it is liquid or granular, we would recommend a lower rate of nitrogen. Keep an eye on the soil temperatures as well. Grub control applications will most likely have to be applied early this year.

While we are discussing turf grass, mowing has been a bear for almost everyone in the area. Excessive hours have been used to control and in most cases double cutting must be performed. It is important to maintain sharp blades on the mowers and avoid applying fertilizers with high rates of nitrogen so you do not promote excessive top growth of the grass, which, in turn, will cause thatch problems during mowing.

Mulch installation is another service we provide this time of the year for our clients. Mulching may seem like a simple task but it is important to take into account several factors before and during the installation of mulch. We see so many beds and tree rings in the area with an unnecessary amount of mulch. Some may think this is ok but too much mulch can harm your plant material. So, during spring cleans ups and bed edgings, homeowners and landscapers should take note of how much mulch is remains from the previous seasons. If there is mulch piled around trunks of trees and crowns of plants, it should be removed or pulled away and cultivated in the bed. We should look at mulching as a top dress of 1-2” rather than a thick 3-4” installation. Remember, the mulch from the previous year hasn’t just disappeared and will still provide you with water retention and weed control. We are looking to refresh when mulching and if managed properly with cultivations through the season a top dress is all that is needed.

Early insect activity is another problem the early spring has provided us. We haves seen numerous plants with aphid activity and trees with tent caterpillars that seem to be multiplying by the day. With the mild winter and early spring, insects have ideal conditions to eat as much of your plant material as they can before landscapers can control them. Most properties we manage have insect control in their contracts and for those who don’t, an insecticide would be highly recommended this season. Again, the insect activity we are seeing is extremely early this year and with an early application of insecticide, additional insecticide treatments will be needed throughout the summer months ahead.

It is another crazy weather season in St. Louis. Just when you think you’ve seen it all a new twist comes along and makes our jobs as landscapers a little trickier in managing properties. Hopefully through April and beginning of May the temperatures will level back out and we can continue to enjoy another beautiful spring. If you have any questions regarding our seasonal tips or would like some advice on your property please give our office a call at 636.398.8800.

    From left to right: (Arturo, Ruben, Luis, Carlos, Augustin, J.T., and Javier)

With these men’s attention to detail and productivity, it allowed us to perform
our mulch installs in the month of March to the utmost quality and proficiency.