Common Southern grasses like Zoysia, St. Augustine, Bermuda and Centipede don’t really need a lot of water. These grasses have deep root systems that allow them to withstand drought. If your lawn is healthy and established, you are mostly off the hook. So, how much water does your lawn need?

Sounds too good to be true.

Southern grasses like those listed above, really can survive for weeks without water. Brace yourself because it won’t be pretty. The grasses will go dormant and turn brown. Once they get water (whether from rain or your watering) they will recover. 

Remember that going dormant doesn’t mean your lawn is dead, it is just resting and saving its’ energy. 

Dormant lawns aren’t pretty lawns.

It’s true. No one wants to work all year (or invest in the upkeep) on a lawn that turns brown.  Instead of letting that happen, here are a few guidelines to help you with watering.

• If your lawn looks a little gray or dull, water it! 
• If you walk across your lawn and your footprints stay sunken, water it!
• Water your lawn before 10:00 a.m. when the weather is cooler. This gives the water time to soak in and evaporate with wind and sun.
• OR….
• Water in the afternoon around 6:00 p.m. allowing the grass to dry before it gets dark.
• Instead of watering once a week and possibly “overwatering”, divide your watering between two times a week.

As long as your lawn gets 1-1.5 inches of rain/water per week, your lawn will be fine.

There’s an app for that.

Today we have “smart” options that allow you to program your watering systems. Water your lawn from your smart phone and even link it to the local weather system to water at exactly the right time. 

Starting with a healthy lawn is the most important part of having a beautiful lawn. A strong and healthy lawn is much more able to withstand extreme summer weather conditions. Whether battling high temperatures, excessive rain or drought, a healthy lawn can fight back.

Lawn and Pest Solutions can get your lawn to that healthy status.  You can keep it that way with some simple watering tips. Give us a call and we will send a licensed lawn technician ASAP. We serve neighborhoods and businesses from Memphis to all over North Mississippi. 

Organic lawn care is a great concept that is often hard to achieve and sometimes unrealistic. Like most things that we try to control in our environment, a more realistic option is achieving a balance.

Risk management

Whether driving a car, lighting a gas stove, or spraying disinfectant on our kitchen counter tops, there is always a risk present. The balancing of safe, organic, natural and cost-effective lawn care is important, now more than ever.

Lawn and Pest Solutions strives to provide the best results with the lowest risk and impact to our environment.  We live where you live and care about our environmental future.  

We feel we strike a very good balance between effective weed control and caring for our environment. Organic lawn care is a great concept, but it does present challenges for our area. 

Because we have such a long growing season, it is hard to provide reliable results. A longer growing season for your lawn and plants also means a longer growing season for weeds!

Our products and treatments

Our products and treatments

There are currently no organic pre-emergents available. Any products we apply have gone through rigorous testing and are approved by the EPA for application on home lawns.  

We currently use a product that is derived from a plant and could almost be considered organic (however, it is not recognized as such).

The Lawn and Pest Difference

We love the idea of organic lawn care as much as anyone.  We care as much about the environment and strive to use the least amount of harmful ingredients. 

At Lawn and Pest Solutions, it is our goal to provide you with a weed free lawn with the least amount of risk to our environment. Our licensed lawn technicians are always ready to discuss with you the options for the most current, environmentally friendly and effective way to treat your lawn. 

Contact our office here and get the ball rolling on your beautiful lawn!

Scalping has several rather negative connotations, but the art of scalping your lawn is entirely different!

Scalping doesn’t sound positive…

Scalping your lawn just means that at the end of winter, you lower the blade on your mower and give your grass a really good cut. It won’t look pretty, but it serves a great purpose. 

Just think of it like good skin care. You are “exfoliating” all of the tough, dead “skin” that has built up over the cold winter. 

Scalping is preparing your lawn for the spring sun and new growth that is lurking just under the soil. In technology terms, it’s a reboot for your lawn.

What happens when you scalp?

When you mow down low, just one inch from the ground, you are removing the accumulation of winter that can cause thatch. Once you have mowed down to the stalk more light can get to your grass. More light on your grass means warmer soil. 

All of this adds up to stronger grass that turns green earlier. Your healthy lawn is just waiting underneath!

Is now the time?

Almost! If you scalp too early, your tender grass stems will be exposed to extreme cold. The best time for scalping in our region is middle to late February. 

Scalp after the last big freeze. If you wait until your grass has already started growing, scalping will only cause your grass stress. Stressed out grass means slower growing grass.

What kinds of grasses can be scalped?

Scalping works best on warm-season grasses like Bermuda and Zoysia. Never scalp Centipede, St. Augustine, or cool-season grasses like fescue.

Quick tips for scalping your lawn:

• Sharpen the blades on your lawnmower. Dull blades damage grass and expose it to diseases.
• Wait until your lawn is pretty dry, mud covered grass stems don’t get enough sunlight.
• Bag up your clippings from scalping! Debris left on your lawn is basically an “undoing” of the scalping.

Your lawn is a large part of your home investment. We can help you keep that part of your investment looking its’ best. You can easily spot our uniformed employees in their white Lawn and Pest Solutions trucks. Contact us here to get a quote on your lawn, you can text, email or call us just by clicking this link. We serve the North Mississippi and Memphis,Tennessee areas.

With less than three weeks until Christmas, the last thing on your mind is how to prep your lawn for spring! However, the most effective lawn care is year round. Don’t let all of the hard work of spring and summer go to waste. 

With winter arriving, there are things you should do to prep your lawn for spring. This work will ensure a healthy lawn once spring arrives. 

To do list for spring lawn prep:

Remove heavy limbs from your lawn.

Heavy piles of anything cause compacted lawns, patchiness and dead grass. These piles also make great hiding places for rodents and pests waiting to get into your home.

Remove the last of the leaves.

Don’t just rake the leaves, remove the leaves. Piles of anything are not healthy for any lawn.

Aerate!

Aerate before the ground becomes frozen. Breaking through “thatch” is what allows air, water and nutrients to get down into the roots of your lawn. Whether using plugs or spikes to poke down through thatch, this process increases airflow and helps with drainage.

Water the lawn

Cold air and wind can dehydrate your grass. Give your lawn a deep watering if it needs it, but don’t water when the temperature is below 40 degrees.

Get rid of weeds.

Don’t let weeds take over just because your lawn doesn’t look pretty. Brown lawns aren’t dead, they are dormant. Dormant lawns are asleep. Now is the time to apply pre-emergent weed killer.

Mow the grass, one more time.

As long as the grass is dry, mow it one last time. Make this last cut a little shorter than summer cuts. This helps to keep rodents away, especially voles.

If you have any energy left…

Winter is a great time for mower repair. Clean, repair, replace parts, and sharpen blades.

This spring, you will be glad you prepped your lawn.

Lawn care is a year-round job. Even in the winter, you are prepping for spring. A little bit of work and prep year-round will result in a healthier lawn come spring. 

Our year-round Lawn360 program provides aerating and pre-emergent treatments for your lawn. Contact Lawn and Pest Solutions for licensed lawn technicians who know exactly how to help your lawn. 

What should do I do with the fall leaves in my lawn? It’s wet, it’s cold, and the leaves are piled up everywhere. You already know the answer. You have options…

1. Mulching

Mowing your lawn with a mulching mower is a great way to get the most benefit from the leaves. Fall leaves are a great source of organic matter for your lawn. 

Ideally, you should mulch your leaves on a regular basis throughout the fall. A mulching mower chops up leaves that give your lawn air, water and nutrients over the winter and spring months. 

If you have been mulching your fall leaves, your lawn will thank you properly this spring.

2. Raking

This option isn’t going to be easy. If your leaves are wet, you need to rake them up. If you don’t, the wet leaves will smother the grass blades underneath. 

A covering of wet leaves keeps the sun from warming up your lawn this spring. The longer your lawn stays cold, the longer it takes to wake up (and to turn green).

You can tell a lawn is dormant when it turns brown. During this cold winter time, it is conserving water and nutrients. This just means your lawn has gone to sleep. It isn’t dead, it’s dormant.

3. Bed coverage

You can use some of your fall leaves for flower bed coverage. A thin layer of leaf coverage is good for your flower bed. Leaves can act as a natural mulch and can protect your flower beds from weeds. Just be careful that the leaves don’t get too thick.

The time is now

When you are searching for answers about lawn care and services, know that we at Lawn and Pest Solutions are always here for you. You can always Ask Paul! We service the Memphis, TN, and North Mississippi areas with lawn care weed control services for homes and businesses. Our licensed technicians are available to consult with you about how we can best serve you. 

What does fall plant care mean for a person with a lawn? It’s like a “shutting down for the season” way of thinking for the lawn. 

Pool owners close the pool for winter. Boat owners remove their boats before waters start to freeze. When an ice storm is predicted, we move our new car into the garage. Right? Just like pools, boats and cars, our landscapes are an investment.

Protecting your investment

To understand fall plant health care you have to think of your lawn as an investment. All of the time and money you have spent on planting, lawn fertilizing, nurturing & watering shouldn’t go to waste. By adopting a fall plant health care program, you will be proud of your healthy and well protected lawn in the spring. 

At Lawn and Pest Solutions, we offer a plant health care program that focuses on keeping your landscape and shrubs insect and disease free.

How does the LPS Plant Health Care program work?

With our program, an expert will visit your lawn six times per year. The pro will examine all of your plants, make notes and leave a written report at each visit. In addition to your copy, the notes will also go on file. 

The pro will then treat your plants based specifically on what is happening with your plants AND what they need. 

What is different about our plan? 

Most other plans include a pre-mixed spray that is applied to all of the plants, no matter what they need at that time. 

You can spend a lot of time and money guessing what is wrong with your landscape. With our plant health care plan, you can spend less money and save lots of time by leaving it up to a professional. 

Contact our office today to protect your investment. You can reach out to us at 662.257.3148, 901.560.2399, or fill out our online contact form. Our licensed and trained technicians serve the North Mississippi and Memphis areas.

Are there benefits to spraying your lawn in the fall? Spraying your lawn in the fall involves applying a pre-emergent treatment. For pre-emergent treatment to work, it needs to be in your soil at not only the right time, but when the temperature is right.

Pre-emergent facts:

Pre-emergent doesn’t kill weed seeds. 

Pre-emergent stops the growth process of weed seeds.

 It creates a sort of thin barrier between your soil and the weed seeds below. 

Pre-emergent should be applied at just the time when weeds begin to sprout. The goal is to have the weeds hit the barrier created by the treatment. 

Benefits of applying a fall treatment?

A fall pre-emergent helps to prevent weeds through the winter and early spring. You also won’t have to start cutting as early in the spring. This keeps your grass from having to compete with weeds for nutrients. 

Even with the most thorough treatment, there are always some weeds that won’t be harmed by the treatment. This is why a year round plan is the only plan that really works. 

Timing is Everything

Unlike a great comedy routine, timing in lawn care doesn’t boil down to one great pause or punch line. Great lawn care is based on year round timing and care, not waiting until “the spring” to get your lawn looking good. It is a commitment that involves planning and attention to detail.

What is Lawn 360?

Lawn 360 is our premium, year-round, scheduled lawn service. Our treatments have been tested and proven to give you a healthy, green lawn. In between scheduled treatments, technicians provide month-to-month strategies, as needed, to keep your lawn at its thickest and greenest year round. 

Let us do the timing for you.

Our Lawn 360 plan includes 7 treatment stages that include pre-emergent  AND post-emergent treatments. In addition to those visits, we fertilize your lawn multiple times a year. When you sign up for our Lawn 360 plan, know that every time we visit your lawn, our licensed technicians will spot spray for weeds. 

The benefits of spraying your lawn in the fall will pay off when you are enjoying your lawn year round. Call our office anytime to schedule a visit from our experienced and trained staff. We serve the Memphis, Tennessee and North Mississippi areas. 

It is now mid-October and the time has come to talk about frost damage for lawns.The first time the weather report whispers the word “frost” a chill runs down the spine of Southern lawn/plant/garden owners. 

Frost facts and temperatures to watch

Water in the blades of your lawn freezes and causes frost.This happens when the temperatures dip below 32 degrees.

29° to 32°F—tender plants are killed.

25° to 28°F—widely destructive to most vegetation.

24°F and colder—heavy damage to most plants.

Luckily for our region of the South, we don’t experience severe freezes very often.

“Will it damage my lawn? 

A frosted yard may look damaged, but frost alone won’t really harm your lawn. If overnight, your lush green grass has turned brown, don’t panic.  

A brown lawn isn’t dead, it’s dormant. We like to think of dormant grass as hibernating grass. Just be patient, it will come back to life this spring.

 Don’t walk on the frosted lawn!

No one takes lawn and turf more seriously than a golf course.This video demonstrates the damage walking on frosted grass does to a golf course and why they have “frost delays”. 

Three easy ways to prevent frost damage

In addition to keeping people off of your frosted lawn, here are three easy things you can do to prevent damage.

1. Believe it or not, watering your grass the night before an expected frost will help keep your lawn warm and prevent damaging frost.
2. Allow your grass to grow longer/taller than normal. 
3. If frost is expected, don’t mow. Freshly cut grass is more susceptible to frost damage.

We get comfortable in our warm fall season and may forget about year round lawn care. Don’t let all of the work you did this spring and summer get trampled on, protect your investment! 

If you need help creating your best lawn and keeping it healthy and as beautiful as it can be year round, contact us here. Lawn and Pest Solutions has experience and success in maintaining your best lawn, turf, field or course.