Month: November 2017

Your landscaping should be tended year-round – yes, even when winter rolls around! Your landscaping is an investment that requires maintenance so that year after year, you can enjoy the value and beauty that it brings to your property.

Before it gets too cold outside, and the snow begins to fall, there’s one more thing to do: applying mulch to your shrubs and ornamental trees.

How Mulch Benefits Your Shrubs and Ornamental Trees
Mulch is a year-round part of smart landscaping. In the summer, mulch retains moisture and keeps plants cool. In the winter, mulch ensures that your roots are protected from the cold. Without the proper amount of mulch, the constant cold can affect your shrub’s roots. Additionally, in the late winter, the weather will warm up for several days and then temperatures will fall again. With this freeze-thaw cycle, roots can be damaged, and then your plantings will not be able to take in water and nutrients. Shrubs and ornamental trees are an investment, and your money may be wasted if you don’t mulch properly.

When Should You Mulch?
The last mulching of the year should be applied in the late fall, between October and December. We suggest that homeowners in the Pittsburgh area use hardwood mulch since it will stop the soil at the base of your shrubs and ornamental trees from eroding during the winter. It will also keep the area moist in the summer, so there’s a dual benefit. Mulch doesn’t need to be piled on – no more than a three-inch layer is required to protect the roots. Too much material can lead to root problems and gives an opportunity for destructive insects to settle in.

Superior Lawn Care is here to provide you with superior service for all of your lawn care needs. Call us today – it’s not too late! We serve southwestern PA, including Penn Township, Cranberry, Upper St. Clair, Indiana, Moon Township, North Huntingdon, Peters Township, Belle Vernon, Murrysville, and North Huntingdon.

Once the growing season for your lawn is over, you may think there’s nothing more to be done until March, when the worst of winter is over. However, there are still more important lawn care services that will keep your lawn healthy, green, and disease-resistant.

Apply Winter Fertilizer

Throughout the year, a good lawn care program includes different kinds of fertilizer. In the spring, it’s made up of a treatment that replenishes nutrients lost during the winter. In the early summer, custom-blended fertilizer is applied so that your grass is strong and can endure the hot days of summer. In the late summer, when the weather is warmest, the fertilizer contains material for heat and disease resistance. In the early fall, fertilizer is especially important because this is the time of year to support root growth.

This brings us to late fall fertilizer, called winterizer, which delivers much-needed nitrogen to the soil. This fertilizer:

• Promotes root growth and development.
• Provides disease resistance for early spring lawn diseases like snow mold.
• Strengthens grass in preparation for winter stress, giving it something to take from when there’s little left in the soil.
• Offers a “green up” factor once spring returns.

Late Fall Is the Perfect Time to Apply Fertilizer

You should use winterizer when your grass is still green and before the ground gets hard. The best time to winterize is usually from mid-October through early December.

Superior Lawn Care has an all-season, five-application lawn program that delivers the right nutrients to your grass and plantings at the right time. Late fall fertilizer can be used to strengthen your turf and keep it green. If you’d like to learn more about fall fertilization, give us a call. We serve all Pittsburgh communities including including North Huntingdon, Wexford, Moon Township, Cranberry, Penn Township, and Indiana.