Friday, April 17, 2009

How to care for a lawn


How to care for your lawn. The Secret to a great looking lawn requires using a winterizer in late fall or early winter. Lawn winterizer is not a fertilizer. It is a vitamin for the root system of any type of lawn. You want a good healthy root system during the winter months. You will see the difference in spring, and summer seasons.

You should also aerate your lawn at least once per year. If you have clayish or hard type soil you should do it at least twice per year.

Be careful with aerating too much too early as this will help weed seeds to germinate.

Dethatching is done to remove old dead grass leaves and other debris that hinders grass growth. This should be done during the early spring and be sure to use a good lawn dethacher or hard rake. If you have a large lawn you may have to hire a good maintenance landscaping company. Avoid your neighbors kid trying to make a few extra dollars.

Watering your lawn. Always follow city water restrictions when watering. If you have bermuda type grass you can generally water 2-3 times per week about 15-20 minutes on a sprinkler system. If you have all season type grass such as Kentucky blue grass or fescue I recommend at least every day at 20-30 minutes on a sprinkler system if water restrictions are allowed.

Grub control. These ugly type worms get under the surface of the grass and devour your lawns root system. Once that happens the grass has no way of getting water or nutrients to the blades. You need to do your best to kill these worms quickly.

If you have brown spots in your lawn you may have these worms. Dig around the brown spot area about 2-4 inches down. These worms are large about the size of a large thumb with an ugly brown head. Use a good grub conrtol type of pesticide perferably in a granular type form. Trichlorfon is also an effective pesticide for grubs be sure to read labels before applying.

Keep weeds out of your lawn! Those awful weeds that seem to always popup in your lawn right around early spring. Use Fertilome "Weed-Out Plus". This Kills Dandelions, Clover, Crabgrass, Nutsedge, Chickweed, Spurge and many other Lawn Weeds. Ask for it at your friendly local nursery. It really does work! You can also use herbicides to kill unwanted weeds, grass and or plants. Be sure to read instructions thoroughly.

Do you have fungus your my lawn? It is very possible. Watering at night or late evening promotes lawn fungus. Too much watering can also add to the problem. You can tell if you have fungus if you see dark brown spots on your lawn. Fungus feeds on dead vegetation even on dead wood, stumps, limbs, and leaves that is why it is important to detach in the spring.

Use a fungicide to help prevent, remove and kill fungus on your lawn. Ask for it at your local nursery store.

These are great lawn caring tips. For a more in depth look at lawn care you should visit the following page. Lawn Care Video.

If you have any questions be sure to use the form below.
Thanks from Paul Guzman.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Caring for roses


Great rose caring tips.

Roses are beautiful so many colors and varieties. Roses thrive in rich loamy loose soil. They like full sun and regular watering. Most will bloom in early spring through early summer. The hot summer heat will usually prevent most roses from blooming in mid summer. However there is one variety that will bloom all summer long. It is called the "Knockout Rose". It is a shrub rose that grows to about 4-5 ft. tall with dark pink rosettes or flowers. Ask for it at your friendly nursery.

Remember to fertilize when your rose plants leafs out. Do not fertilize during the winter months. WHY - Because you are basically wasting your money. This holds true for most plants that go dormant during the winter.

Fertilize again after first bloom. In the southwest things go dormant rather late...so the latest date is around early November. Foliage will start to grow around mid-late March. Always use a good Rose Food Fertilizer as these types of fertilizers are best suited for your roses.


Always follow a strict watering schedule. Newly planted roses should be watered everyday for the first 20 days or so. Then use a drip system about 3 times per week. You drip timer should be set about 15-20 minutes.


Use a good mulch to retain water. Compost, bark, straw or other similiar materials discourage weeds!


Trimming you roses. Only prune and trim if there is need too. Prune old dying dark brown branches and limbs. Prune off all expired blooms and only down to the down to the third or fourth limb.


Yellowing of leaves means you need fertilizer with high level or nitrogen. Not enough blooms means your soil is lacking phosphorus.

If you notice insects such as aphids, thrips, leafhoppers in your roses you can also use a good Rose Food Systemic Insecticide Fertilizer. The systemic insecticde will kill almost any type of insect that is in your roses it will also feed your roses. Ask your local Nursery for "Systemic Insecticde Rose food".

Remember to always read and follow instructions on every fertilizer product.

Types of roses

Floribunda is a busy rose with a clustered bloom habit. Usually more than 3 buds at the top of numerous stems.

Climbing Rose. The climbing rose is named for their climbing habit, they grow best along trellises, arbors, walls or chain link fences. The blooms are somewhat smaller than other types of roses.

Shrub Roses. They are known for there trouble free and easy to grow maintenance. They grow about 5ft tall and the blooms are usually large and only one bloom per stem.
Click here for more information about the knockout rose.
Paul Guzman