Best Practices for Successfully Establishing Fescue
The Summer of ’26 continues to climb up the rankings as one of the hottest and driest for the Oklahoma City metro. Take a stroll through any neighborhood and you will see the proof. Soil moisture disappeared weeks ago leaving many lawns and landscapes looking more like a desertscape than a typical Oklahoma landscape.
The problem is not just the heat stress your lawn and landscape is feeling, but the drought stress as well. In the last 6 weeks (42 days), only 9 days have not topped 100 degrees. In the same 6 weeks, most of the metro has had only a .25” of rain.
It is the combination of the prolonged heat and the drought that has been so hard on your lawn and landscape. If we were having 100 degree days and had anything close to the average August rainfall of 3.25”, our lawns and landscape would be looking fine going into fall. Or, if August temperatures had consistently dropped to the mid-70s at night while topping off at 95 in the afternoons, even with below normal rainfall, staying caught up on the watering would have been much easier.
The turf that has taken the combination of heat and drought the hardest is fescue. Fescue, a cool season grass, goes into heat stress when temperatures are consistently over 90. When fescue is experiencing heat stress, it can no longer grow normally and is dependent upon energy the turf has stored in its root system.
What we have witnessed this summer as the tough conditions have persisted without any periods of reprieve is less mature fescue lawns, fescue lawns without good watering practices, and fescue lawns with unhealthy soil have suffered the most. While fescue lawns that have been overseeded most falls for several years, fescue lawns that are watered with deep soaking techniques, and fescue lawns with well balanced, healthy soil are surviving the Summer of ’26.
But, even if this summer had been more average in either heat or rainfall, fescue still goes through a summer offseason. July and August are never the best months for fescue. Fescue, because it is a cool season grass, will always be a little off in the heat of summer. Fescue lawns are the best-looking lawns March through June and again through the fall, while bermuda lawns win the “best looking” award in the heat of the summer.
So, whether your fescue has struggled through this summer or whether it is hanging on, the absolute best time to refresh fescue is an 8-week window starting now through the end of October. Nighttime temperatures are starting to decrease, and day length is becoming shorter, signaling the start of the overseed season. The goal is to have germination and root development before the colder temperatures of November arrive.
If you are disappointed in your fescue this summer, now is not the time to throw in the towel.
Now is the time to action, overseed your fescue, and reclaim the lawn you want.
As the temperature cools and moisture returns, fescue lawns will regain cooler and health.
Small, shady areas in your lawn where there is low air movement and shade are prime candidates for annual fall seeding with fescue.
It has been common to find stressed areas of fescue from uneven water distribution this summer.
If you have heavily shaded areas it is common to need to overseed in the fall, regardless of the summer weather conditions.
Fescue is the best turf grass for areas of your lawn that receive dappled sun. Bermuda needs at least 6 hours per day of direct sun light.
It has been a stressful summer for fescue. Fall is the best time to reclaim your fescue areas by overseeding.
Who should plan on overseeding with fescue this fall?
If you have areas of your lawn where the bermuda has thinned because of shade, you should seed this fall. Bermuda needs at least 6 hours of direct sunlight for the best performance. Less than 6 hours of direct sunlight and bermuda starts to thin. Fescue is the turfgrass option for shady areas of your lawn.
If you have fescue areas that have become thin because of brown patch earlier in the summer, or the heat and drought of the last 7 weeks, you should seed this fall.
If you just want to keep your fescue thick and healthy, you should seed this fall. Fescue doesn’t spread like bermuda with runners across the top of the soil. Fescue spreads through tillering through the soil and putting up new vertical shoots. Fescue spread is slow and often rare in the transition zone in which we live. To keep a fescue lawn at its best, adding more seed is common. Our best fescue lawns are overseeded every fall.
If you want to have a green lawn longer into the fall and earlier in the spring, you should seed this fall. Fescue is a cool season grass and stays green and active into early December and recovers from the winter in early March. With a fescue lawn, it is common to have a green lawn 10 out of 12 months.
For more information on using fescue in your lawn, visit our July 26th post: Bermuda vs Fescue – The Choice is Yours!
This fall is the best time to repair fescue areas that were damaged during this summer’s heat and drought.
Fescue is commonly thought of as a shade grass. But fescue grown using the best maintenance and lawn care practices can thrive in full sun.
4 Best Practices for Successfully Establishing Fescue
Best Practice #1 – Seeding fescue in the fall.
Because fescue is a cool season grass, there are two times per year you can plant fescue seed; Fall (September through October) and Spring (March to early April).
If you wait until spring to seed fescue, you are seeding at the second-best time and there is an enormous chasm between the establishment of fescue now (the best time) and next spring (the second-best time).
Spring seeded fescue will come up great, but it rarely establishes enough root system to make it through the summer heat (fescue’s off season).
Fall seeded fescue has all fall, winter, and spring to establish a root system before enduring the heat of July and August.
Don’t fail at establishing fescue – seed in the fall, not the spring.
Best Practice #1 – Seeding fescue in the fall.
Fescue refreshed with a September overseeding will look like be full and a rich green color in October.
Best Practice #2 – Good Seed to Soil Contact
Good seed to soil contact is important. If you sow seed over the existing soil without some preparation, the chance of a successful seeding is greatly reduced. Research shows the percentage of germination decreases dramatically when seed is just sown on top of the ground.
You will have success if you start by cutting the existing turf short to remove excess grass. Then loosen the soil to create good seed to soil contact.
This bermuda lawn is being cut short in preparation of overseeding it with fescue for the first time.
The lawn was being maintained at 3”.
Cutting it to 2” will improve the seed to soil contact and increase the success of the first time overseed.
Aeration is an important step in establishing good seed to soil contact. Good seed to soil contact and keeping the area moist are two keys two keys to success seeding.
Aeration is the best method to loosen the soil and gain good seed to soil contact. Aerating also gives you the extra benefit of improving the soil structure, increasing water absorption, and developing deeper roots.
Give more attention to bare areas and the edges. Rough up the areas with a rake.
Rototilling isn’t necessary but breaking the surface of the soil in bare areas is needed.
In areas that are completely bare, spread a thin layer of peat moss over the surface after seeding to increase the seed to soil contact.
If overseeding an existing fescue area with a good stand of grass, spread seed at a rate of 6-8 pounds per 1,000 square feet.
If establishing a new fescue lawn, spread seed at a rate of 10-12 pounds per 1,000 square feet.
Best Practice #2 – Good Seed to Soil Contact
Best Practice #3 – Keep the Seed Tacky Moist Until It Germinates
The first two are very important, but this one is critical for success.
Nothing will deliver you a losing hand quicker than not keeping the seed moist. You can get the first two best practices correct and have complete failure if the seeded area is not kept moist until new grass is visible in the entire area.
Even water distribution is important in keeping the seed tacky moist until it comes up. Check your system. Look for areas where there isn’t complete head to head coverage. The result will be poor germinate around the sprinkler head.
This picture 14 days after seeding demonstrates how critical moisture is to seed germination. The seed in the area where the irrigation does not reach has not germinated at all while the moist areas are nearly fully germinated.
When you keep the seeded area consistently tacky moist you will seed germination within 7-14 days. Best practice is to water the area 3 short cycles per day.
The worst thing you can do is water the seeded area, allow it to dry completely, water again, allow it to dry completely, repeat, repeat, repeat… After a couple of times of drying out completely, the seed will no longer be viable.
For the best success, set your irrigation to run 3 short cycles per day. Set spray type zones to run 3-5 minutes each time. Set rotor type zones to run 7-10 minutes each time. If possible, set the system to run early morning (4:00 AM), late morning (10:00 AM), and mid-afternoon (4:00 PM).
You don’t have to have an irrigation system to establish fescue. Just be diligent at keeping the seed moist with short waterings.
Best Practice #3 – Keep the Seed Tacky Moist Until It Germinates
Best Practice #4 – Invest in a Quality Seed
Fescue was first introduced in the US from Europe in the 1800s as pasture grass. Kentucky-31 Tall Fescue was developed in the 1940s as an improved pasture grass and introduced to the home turf market in the 1960s by Pennington Seed.
What is the point of the seed history lesson?
If you are buying Kentucky-31 Tall Fescue, you are buying an 80-year-old product when there are over 300 improved fescue varieties that offer darker green color, narrower blades, and improved tolerance to heat, cold, drought and disease. Kentucky-31 is marginally acceptable as a lawn grass that tends to become thin and clumpy.
No matter the name on the bag of the seed, any improved variety will outperform Kentucky-31.
We believe using a blend is best when seeding fescue. Blends are a combination of two or more varieties within the same species, such as two or more fescues in one mix. Blends are a combination of the best species, tested over time, for the best shade tolerance and disease resistance. The number one problem with fescue is brown patch disease. The best blends use fescue varieties that show strong resistance to brown patch. Also, some blends will contain bluegrass and, or rye for even more vibrant spring color.
Best Practice #4 – Invest in a Quality Seed
All seed grown in Oregon is certified. Buy it when possible.
When purchasing seed look for a blend with fescue varieties that score high in the NTEP trials for heat, drought, and disease resistance.
Two things that will make a seed more expensive, but at the same time a great value, “0% Weed Seed” and “Treated with Gravity SL PGS”.
Gravity SL PGS is a growth stimulant that greatly increases germination rates and root development.
Fescue can be grown successfully in Oklahoma. Even during a hot and dry summer, there are examples of great fescue lawns in every neighborhood. And for the fescue lawns that showed stress this summer, surprisingly most will show signs of a rebound with slightly cooler temperatures and moisture.
Successful fescue lawns are the result of best seeding practices, best cool season turf maintenance practices, and persistence.
But, more importantly, they are a result of different thinking. Establishing and maintaining a fescue lawn requires a different approach.
Even with the excessive heat and drought of this summer, mature fescue lawns with the best watering practices and healthy soil have survived.
Bonus Best Practice
Don’t apply a fall pre-emergent before seeding. The same pre-emergent herbicide that prevents weeds will prevent fescue from germinating. Wait until after the new fescue has been mowed 2-3 times before putting a pre-emergent on the lawn.
Special Note: DO NOT use pre-emergent herbicides now in
areas that are going to be seeded this fall.
If you need assistance in establishing a fescue lawn or have questions about fescue, give us a call…(405) 367-3873.
Lorne Hall
Hall | Stewart Lawn + Landscape
(405)367-3873
September Lawn & Landscape Tips
With the heat and drought of the Summer of ’26 still maintaining a strong hold on the Oklahoma City metro area, I am having a hard time believing that September arrives this Tuesday.
Even harder to believe is that September is the transition month from summer to fall! Fall still feels so far away.
We often talk about weather, environmental conditions, being one of the three legs of the stool when it comes to having a great lawn and landscape. The other two being mechanical issues (mowing, aerating, etc.) and applications (fertilizer, weed control, insect and disease control). This summer the environmental leg has been a struggle. The Summer of ’26 is going to be remembered as one of the Top 10 hottest as well as one of the driest. The cooler days of fall, and hopefully the return of moisture, can’t arrive soon enough.
As summer begins to fade in the next couple of weeks, it is time to turn our focus toward the lawn and landscape activities of fall.
September lawn and landscape activities will make a big difference in the success of your landscape not only this fall, but also next spring.
For your lawn and landscape, it is important to finish the year strong and get a head start on next year by checking off these lawn and landscape activities during September:
Overseed
If you have a cool season lawn (fescue), September through October is the time to add more seed (overseed). Fall is by far the most successful time to establish cool season turf. Fescue seeded this fall will have stronger roots next summer when the heat returns.
If you have not already, inspect your fescue in the next few days. If there are thin areas due to dense shade, brown patch damage, or areas damaged by a lack of moisture during the heat, plan on overseeding this fall.
Also, look for areas of the lawn that have become too shady for bermuda. Bermuda needs at least 6 hours of direct sunlight for the best performance. The key words are “direct sunlight.” Dappled sunlight is not “direct sunlight.” Anything less than 6 hours of full sunlight and bermuda will begin to thin.
Sooner or later, you will have to introduce fescue in your lawn if you have trees. Success is easier if you start the process before the bermuda has completely faded.
Fescue is also a good choice for the narrow side areas of houses where the turf only receives a few hours of direct sun each day.
What are the keys to successful seeding? Good seed soil contact, a quality fescue blend, and keeping the seeded area tacky moist until the seed germinates.
Need help evaluating shady areas of your lawn, schedule a lawn evaluation by responding to this email or call (405)367-3873.
If you are overseeding with fescue this fall, even water distribution is a critical step to success. If you have dry areas in your irrigation system, make repairs before seeding.
One of the keys to successfully seeding shady areas is a quality seed. We believe in using a fescue blend containing varieties that have a history of performing well in Oklahoma.
Fescue in late September last year after being overseeded in early September.
Fall seeded fescue lawns result in the best cool season lawns next spring.
Overseeded fescue 14-21 days after seeding.
Fall is the best time to seed shady areas of your lawn with fescue.
Newly seeded fescue two weeks after seeding.
If your fescue has areas that did not handle the heat and drought well this summer, September and October is the best time to overseed fescue.
Fall Pre-emergent & Post-Emergent
Winter annual weeds germinate as temperatures cool. Poa annua, annual bluegrass, is the first to germinate, followed by henbit and chickweed. These are the weeds that will keep you from having a clean landscape next January through April. When you skip the fall pre-emergent applications, you will be forced to use harsher products next spring to clean up the turf when you should be focused on developing a lush green turf. For the best results, a fall pre-emergent should be applied to your lawn before the end of September. Also, many bi-annual weeds, such as dandelions, are easier to control in the fall.
Note: DO NOT use pre-emergent herbicides now in areas that are going to be seeded this fall.
The use of nitrogen fertilizer after September 15th, often in an attempt to keep Bermuda green longer in the fall, will enhance spring dead spot disease next year.
Lawn Fertilizer
When you fertilize and what you put on your warm season (bermuda and zoysia) lawns in September is critical to the health of your lawn. High nitrogen fertilizer should not be applied to warm season turf after mid-September. Applications of high nitrogen fertilizer 6 weeks before winter dormancy reduces winter hardiness and promotes spring dead spot disease. Typically, winter dormancy for bermuda in central Oklahoma begins in early November. Potassium is important for cold tolerance and disease control, but because potassium stays in the soil longer, a soil test is recommended before applying high amounts of potassium.
During September and October, we adjust the fertilizer to match weather forecast and soil conditions to insure bermuda lawns have strong root systems, are winter hardy and are positioned to start next year strong.
Fall is the best time to apply higher nitrogen fertilizer to fescue lawns. Plan on getting the first fall feeding on fescue this month. Because fescue is a cool season grass, it benefits from more nitrogen in the fall. Even if you will be overseeding your fescue this fall, it is important to get fertilizer on the existing fescue this month.
Mowing
Continue to mow often enough that you are removing no more than 1/3 of the blade of grass with each cutting. For warm season turf, maintain the height at or near 2 – 2 1/2” going into the fall. Avoid cutting short or scalping warm season lawns at this time. Anytime you cut below the leaf space and into the stems of the plant, you are causing stress. The plant will use nutrients stored in the root system to generate new leaves. At this time of the season, you don’t want to cause any stress that would require the lawn to use nutrients stored for the winter.
For cool season, it is best to cut the lawn shorter before seeding. This will increase seed to soil contact. After the new seed starts growing, gradually increase mowing height to 3”.
When you cut below the leaf blade into the stem your Bermuda lawn will have a scalped, brown appearance.
When you don’t mow your Bermuda too low in the fall, it will develop a stronger root system for the winter months.
Watering
As long as 90-100 degree days are in the forecast, continue to make sure your lawn and landscape receives at least 1.5” of water per week.
As nights and days begin to cool and day length shortens, your landscape will need less water. Responsible watering is based on seasonal temperatures and moisture. Once temperatures cool and moisture returns to the environment, you can start reducing the number of days you water. It is always best to maintain deep soakings and reduce the frequency. At some point this month, it may be best to water every 4 days rather than on the odd/even plan.
Continue to water trees planted in the last 12-18 months more than you water your lawn through the fall. Supplemental watering is critical for new additions to the landscape. Place a water hose at the base of the tree with the water flowing at a slow trickle for a couple of hours once per week. The goal is to get 10 gallons of water to the roots every week.
Maintain good soil moisture through September. The goal is to have moist soil 6-12” deep. If you have dry soil like the core in this picture you are allowing your lawn to go into the winter in a stressed condition.
Fall webworm can cause damage. When possible, pruning out the infected area is the best method of control.
If you have turf areas that have turned brown it may not be lack of moisture. If the turf easily pulls up like a piece of sod, most likely the problem is grub worm damage.
Webworm
Watch for fall webworm in your trees. Webworms create webbing on the ends of tree branches as the worm devours the leaves. Webworms can have more than one generation per season. The earlier generations do not cause lasting damage. But, the last generation can result in branch die back. To treat with an insecticide, you must penetrate the webbing. The most effective approach of control is to monitor trees and prune out the web areas while they are small. Place webbing in a plastic bag and dispose of it immediately. If you leave the branches on the ground, you will be amazed at how quickly the worms will be back in the tree.
Grub worm
Grubs are a white, C-shaped insect with a chestnut-colored head and 3 pairs of legs. They feed on grass roots of all types of turf resulting in yellowing, wilting turf, dead patches, and when left unchecked they will destroy the grass roots to the point that your lawn can be rolled like it is a piece of carpet.
Early indications of grub damage may include patchy areas of wilting, discolored or stressed turf resembling drought stress. As the grubs continue to destroy roots, the patches expand outward into irregular shaped patches of dying turf. Often grubs will start out centralized in an area but will spread through an entire lawn when left untreated. An indication you have white grubs (often before you have any idea you have a grub problem) is damage caused by armadillos, skunks, possums, and raccoons foraging for grubs.
August through September grubs are in the first stage of their life cycle. They are small and feeding near the soil surface, growing rapidly, and can do a lot of damage.
If you have discolored, stressed turf that easily pulls up as if it was a fresh laid piece of sod, or you are experiencing turf damage from an armadillo, skunk, possum or raccoon, it is important to apply a curative Grub Control Treatment as soon as possible.
Think your lawn has a grub problem? Give us a call, (405)367-3873!
Fall Color
As the hottest part of the summer transitions to more moderate conditions summer color that survived the summer will gain vibrancy in September before it begins to fade later in the month.
If you haven’t already, create a summer landscape journal. Grab a few minutes and take pictures of your landscape while the color is still strong. Jot down a few notes about plants that did well, plants you liked, plants that were just so-so, and list a few you would like to add to your landscape next year.
Next spring you will be glad to have the information when you make summer landscape plans. Too often we get excited about a plant that looks great in May only to have it disappoint when the heat is on in July and August.
Toward the end of the month or early October you will want to replace your summer annuals with cool season annuals. Pansies, mums, and kale are the dominate players. Use more pansies than mums and kale since pansies typically overwinter and flourish the following spring.
The Colors of September
Start making plans to replace your summer color with cold hardy annuals, such as pansies, later this month or early next month.
Another great summer color performer this summer was lantana.
Hamelin Grass loads up with plums during September.
If you resisted the urge to prune what appeared spent blooms on your hydrangeas earlier in August, now you are getting to enjoy rosy pink shades late in the summer.
Before the end of September perennial mums in the landscape will announce the arrival of fall.
Crape Myrtle, our longest blooming plant, will continue to put on a show through September.
For as long as the weather stays warm, tropical hibiscus will continue to produce big bright blooms.
A favorite splash of color every September is the orange to red berries of pyracantha.
Liriope one of the easiest ground covers to grow puts on blue to purple flowers spikes in late summer.
A great late summer addition to the landscape are many of the warm season ornamental grasses.
One of the best summer seasonal color performances through this summer’s heat was periwinkle.
Summer loving lantana will continue to bloom through September.
Abelia is often graces the late summer with white flowers.
If you haven’t taken pictures and made notes of your best summer color this year, do so in the next couple of weeks.
Just how brutal has the heat been this summer? For years I have planted the same seasonal color: impatiens and caladiums. It has always been spectacular, until this year.
A fun September blooming perennial is Autumn Sage
Crape Myrtles have put on a great color show through the heat of this summer.
Soon we will be talking about how much we love the cooler days of September. Trees, shrubs and flowers will appear more vibrant, and fescue lawns will return to their grander.
The changing of seasons… What a wonderful time of the year!
Our goal, as always, is to help you have your best lawn and landscape.
If you need assistance with any of the September lawn and landscape tasks, or have questions concerning your lawn and landscape, give us call… (405) 367-3873.
Lorne Hall
Hall | Stewart Lawn + Landscape
(405)367-3873
What is your lawn doing for you?
Having your best lawn and landscape has been a real struggle through the Summer of ’26.
This week it officially became Oklahoma City’s hottest summer in the last decade. With another week of August yet to come, we are flirting with it being one of the hottest and driest Augusts in Oklahoma City history.
The last time the entire metro area received good rainfall was six weeks ago, July 11th. Every month in 2026 rainfall has come up short and we are now over 10” behind on rainfall in the last 12 months.
Is it worth it? Is having a great lawn and landscape worth it?
Why are we all trying so hard when it feels like we are losing the battle to heat and drought stress?
If you missed our post from two weeks about on battling drought and heat stress, take a minute to read https://www.hallstewart.com/hsblog/battling-drought-heat-stress-in-the-lawn-and-landscape.
We believe it is worth it! Why?
It is worth it because of all that a healthy lawn does for us!
Have you ever pondered what a healthy lawn does for you?
When it comes to the benefits of turfgrass most people don’t give it much thought.
The environmental benefits of a healthy lawn are seldom considered.
Can you answer the question, “What is your lawn doing for you?”
Let’s explore a few things your lawn is doing for you:
Turfgrass captures carbon.
Healthy lawns absorb carbon dioxide and replace it with oxygen. A lawn is simply a grouping of thousands of oxygen making plants.
The average, managed lawn captures more carbon than a lawnmower produces.
The average lawn captures 300 lbs. of carbon per year and has a net positive impact on our environment.
A 2,500 sq. ft lawn, half the size of the average lawn, provides enough oxygen for a family of four.
What is a managed lawn? A lawn that receives regular mowing, some fertilizer and weed control applications. Maintaining a healthy turfgrass environment provides us with a critical component of a healthy world – less carbon.
An Ohio State Study found lawns that received only an occasional mowing and no fertilizer or weed control capture far less carbon.
Maintenance habits have a big influence on whether turfgrass helps or hurts the environment. Lawns cut too short typically create a negative carbon exchange. Weedy lawns, nutrient deficient lawns, and drought stress lawns result in thin lawns that have a negative impact on the environment.
EPA reports that turf grasses in the United States offset the carbon emissions of 5.2 million cars every year.
Actively growing and healthy lawns reduce heat.
A well-maintained lawn around homes can reduce air temperatures on average 15 to 30 degrees compared to concrete, asphalt or gravel.
The California Energy Commission found the cooling effect of an average size lawn is equal to nearly 9 tons of air conditioning.
Grass cools the air by absorbing solar radiation and through evapotranspiration.
Studies estimate that improved planting and maintenance of lawns and landscapes around homes could reduce total US air conditioning requirements by 25%.
On a 100+ degree day this week, a local TV weatherman using a laser thermometer reported on the varying surface temperatures around his house. The areas of his lawn with green, irrigated turf measured 101 degrees. The areas of his lawn that were unirrigated, void of soil moisture, and with a covering of dormant turf registered a temperature of 152 degrees. There was a 50-degree difference between healthy, green turf and dry, dormant turf!
Your attempts to keep your lawn green this summer have a positive impact on the cooling of environment.
A healthy turf captures pollutants and reduces runoff.
Less runoff increases infiltration of water into the groundwater supply. A dense root system traps and removes pollutants moving through the soil and into the water supply. The natural filtration system of healthy turfgrass improves water quality.
Lawns are the best natural water purifier.
Turfgrass is more effective at stopping erosion than any other plant. Grass naturally slows runoff and allows more water to be absorbed.
Healthy lawns improve air quality.
Healthy lawns contribute to improved air quality by acting as traps for dust and particles. Because a lawn completely covers the soil surface, particles are prevented from being blown to another area.
Compared to hard surfaces, turf grass traps 10 to 30 times more air particles and pollution.
Lawns are a major component of higher home values.
Smart Money reported consumers value a home with a well-maintained lawn and landscape on average 11.3% over the base value.
Well maintained lawns are one of the most important factors individuals and families consider when deciding where to live.
Even through a really difficult summer, a healthy fescue lawn is possible when you follow “best practices” when it comes to watering.
Yes, there is a place for synthetic turf in the landscape as a part of an experiential environment.
Great lawns benefit the community and human health.
Green areas enhance community pride, provide places for people to come together and promote outdoor activity.
Lawns knit neighborhoods together. Lawns connect people.
Studies show people who live and work with a view of lawns and landscapes compared to hard surfaces are found to recover from stress quicker, experience fewer headaches, and are more productive.
Two studies show that children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder have shown that green spaces, such as lawn areas, experience less severe symptoms.
Studies have also found the noise absorption capacity of turfgrass is significant.
Lawns are where memories are made. No doubt, everyone can easily think of fond memories on the lawn with family and friends.
The belief that well maintained lawns are an environmental liability is short-sighted.
Don’t fall for myth that a healthy lawn isn’t good for the environment.
Water concerns are legitimate.
Education on proper watering is important. Deep, infrequent watering, based on the lawn’s needs, is a key to developing a healthy lawn that is good for the environment.
The scientific study “The Role of Turfgrasses in Environmental Protection and Their Benefits to Humans” stated, “the main cause for excessive landscape water use in most situations is the human factor.”
Excessive use of fertilizers and herbicides is a problem.
But, when used properly, according to the label, fertilizers and herbicides are important ingredients in creating a healthy lawn that is beneficial to the world in which we live, work and play.
James Beard, Professor Emeritus of Texas A&M, said, “The environmental benefits of turfgrass are the most sensible and economically feasible approach to counter the greenhouse effect.”
So, what has your lawn done for you lately?
Far more than you can imagine!
Lorne Hall
Hall | Stewart Lawn + Landscape
(405)367-3873
The Fall Pre-Emergent – The Application That Sets Your Lawn Up For Success Next Spring
A successful lawn care program isn't just about what you’re doing for your lawn right now—it’s about setting up the next season for success.
It’s August. It’s still hot. It’s still dry.
We get it. It has been tough to keep up the enthusiasm for your lawn and landscape this summer. With Oklahoma City pushing past 20 days of 100+ degrees and water bills skyrocketing, the joy of maintaining a great lawn is definitely waning.
But when it comes to having your best lawn, the worst thing you can do is give up now. Finishing the season strong is important.
An early fall pre-emergent before fall & winter annual weeds start to germinate as temperatures cool this fall is the key to having your best lawn next spring.
Why? Because: Nothing sets up your lawn for success next spring more than what you do over the next 4 to 6 weeks!
The most critical lawn care applications are the ones that include pre-emergent herbicides.
Everyone knows the importance of the spring applications, but did you know that the fall applications are just as critical?
Remember – it is always easier to prevent weeds than it is to kill actively growing weeds.
Why are the fall pre-emergent applications so important?
Fall pre-emergent applications are the key to having a clean lawn next spring.
Fall pre-emergent applications prevent poa annua, rescuegrass, cheat, brome, chickweed, and henbit. These are the weeds that clutter your lawn in the spring.
Bermuda lawns that do not receive the early fall pre-emergent soon run the risk of being very weedy next March and April as the green up.
Henbit is a broadleaf winter annual weed with greenish to purplish square stems, green scallop edged leaves, and reddish purple flower in the spring. Seeds germinate in the fall but the weed often goes unnoticed until we have periods of warm winter weather when henbit grows best. Henbit is easily prevented with fall pre-emergent applications but can be difficult to control in late spring when it is mature, flowering and littering your lawn. As with most weeds, a dense turf is the best prevention against the development of henbit.
Henbit
How a Bermuda lawn looks in April when no fall pre-emergent applications were made.
Poa Annua is a winter annual grassy weed that will germinate this fall. Without a fall pre-emergent application there is a good chance your lawn will be full of poa annua next spring.
Poa Annua is a low growing winter annual weed that will have white seed heads next spring. A pre-emergent between now and the end of September is a critical step in not having a lawn full of weeds next spring.
Poa Annua germinates and thrives in thin areas of fescue during the fall, winter and spring. Poa Annua does not have a competitive advantage over fescue when it is thick, healthy and actively growing. Overseeding thin fescue in the fall is a great way to prevent poa annua.
Poa Annua is an annual grassy weed that invades lawns in the fall and winter. It is a lighter green clumping grass with small white flowers (seed heads) in the spring. Germination occurs in moist soil starting in the fall when night temperatures drop into the 60s and continues through the winter and spring. Poa Annua has a competitive advantage over bermuda in the winter when it is activity growing and the bermuda is dormant.
The goal with a warm season bermuda lawn is for it to be clean of winter weeds this winter and coming spring. Fall pre-emergent applications are the key.
Weeds are easier to prevent in the fall than they are to control in the spring.
Poa annua, also known as annual bluegrass, is the fall’s equivalent to spring’s crabgrass. Without a fall pre-emergent, your lawn will not be clean next spring. And, just like crabgrass, when it is mature, poa annua is hard to control without causing turf injury.
Next spring, we want your lawn to be focused on emerging from dormancy without the harmful effects of harsh post-emergent herbicide applications. Lawns that do not receive the early fall pre-emergent application will be filled with weeds next February through April. While lawns that receive fall applications will start next year clean and healthy.
Nothing will make a bigger difference in the way your lawn looks next spring than applying both fall pre-emergent applications this year.
Timing of the fall pre-emergent applications is critical. As temperatures cool in the fall, cool season annual weeds will germinate.
The first application for the fall needs to be made sometime between now and the next 6 weeks.
A second application should be put on your lawn 6-8 weeks after the first fall application to ensure full control until the lawn emerges from dormancy next spring. Research shows that poa annua has developed resistance to pre-emergent applications. A second fall pre-emergent increases control of poa annua.
Next spring when the crabapples are in bloom and fescue is green, Bermuda lawns should be weed free. This is only possible if a fall pre-emergent is applied between late August and early October with a second application 4-6 weeks later.
There is only one reason to NOT put the first fall pre-emergent application on your lawn: SEEDING FESCUE.
The same pre-emergent herbicide that prevents annual weeds from germinating WILL PREVENT new grass seed from coming up. Because developing thick turf is so critical to good weed control, and because September through October is by far the best time to establish a cool season lawn, not applying a pre-emergent herbicide to the areas you are seeding is the right thing to do. Once the new seed is up, actively growing, and has been mowed 3-4 times, you can apply a fall pre-emergent application.
Note: If you are only seeding a portion of your lawn, you should have a pre-emergent applied to all the areas you are not seeding.
The only exception to the early fall pre-emergent being a must for your best lawn next spring is if you are overseeding with fescue this fall. If overseeding, skip the early pre-emergent, seed with fescue, then apply the late fall pre-emergent after the newly seeded area has been mowed a few times.
Important – If you are planning on seeding all or part of your lawn this fall,please let us know so we can adjust your applications accordingly.
Need help deciding if you need to overseed all or parts of your lawn with fescue this fall? Check out our email - Bermuda vs Fescue. The Choice is Yours!
Dormant Bermuda will be weed free in February and March when both fall pre-emergent applications are on schedule.
If you are not overseeding all your lawn with fescue this fall, it is important to not skip the early fall pre-emergent. All the areas you are not seeding need the early application to look their best next spring.
Fall pre-emergent applications will ensure your lawn is not full of annual winter weeds next March.
DO NOT apply the early fall pre-emergent on your lawn if you are planning on seeding with fescue this fall.
Please contact us if you plan to overseed with fescue this fall so we can adjust our application plans for your lawn.
There are 4 types of lawn care customers:
Customers who subscribe to the Hall | Stewart 7-step program and enjoy having a clean, healthy and growing turf. If you are on the 7-step program, you will receive both fall pre-emergent applications.
Customers who want to make sure their lawn receives timely pre-emergent herbicides but enjoy applying their own fertilizer. If this defines you, you are receiving the Hall | Stewart 4-step weed control only program and will receive the 2 fall pre-emergent applications.
The occasional application customer who takes a few applications, often the early spring applications. If this defines you, please don’t skip the fall pre-emergent steps this year. You will not regret the fall applications next spring when your lawn starts the year weed free.
Customers who have “thrown in the towel” on this season and plan on starting again next spring. If this defines you, a great lawn next spring doesn’t start next spring. A great lawn next season starts this fall.
Remember – it is always easier to prevent weeds than it is to kill actively growing weeds.
Nothing will make a bigger difference in the way your lawn looks next spring than applying both fall pre-emergent applications this year.
If you have any questions about fall pre-emergent herbicides, please give us a call at (405)367-3873.
Lorne Hall
Hall | Stewart Lawn + Landscape
(405)367-3873
Battling Drought & Heat Stress in the Lawn and Landscape
The Summer of ’26 is making a run at one of the toughest on our lawn and landscapes. Most of the Oklahoma City metro area has topped 4 weeks with out a good rainfall (1/4” or more) while the number of 100+ days keep adding up.
Summer in the transition zone (area where you can grow both warm season and cool season grass) is always a challenge for fescue, but when temperatures climb in the 100s and rainfall disappears, it is also a challenge for bermuda and your landscape plants.
Let’s visit this morning about the stresses your lawn and landscape are currently experiencing.
Drought Stress
We entered the summer 10-12” behind annual rainfall and have fallen farther behind since June. If you are not watering, and not only watering, but deep soaking your lawn and landscape, most likely you are experiencing drought stress.
Bermuda and zoysia show the most resistance to drought stress. Tall fescue shows some resistance to drought stress but will always show stress sooner than bermuda and zoysia.
Signs of Drought Stress – First sign is leaf wilting which shows as folded leaf blades and slightly darker, gray-blue color. Footprints start to remain visible longer. As drought stress continues, leaf blades lose all their color turning to straw brown and eventually crispy and desiccated. And, of course, drought symptoms show up sooner on cool season grasses compared to warm season.
As a general rule for soil in our area, your lawn will start showing signs of
drought stress when soil moisture drops below 30-40%.
Soil moisture in non-irrigated areas is currently less than 10%.
Drought Stress Prevention – Water deeply and infrequently rather than daily and shallow. Deep, infrequent watering encourages deeper root growth and a turf that is better able to withstand stress.
Often Asked Question: What does infrequent watering mean?
Simple Answer - not daily.
Long Answer – Place a Hall|Stewart Water Gauge or a container in your lawn. Water until there is runoff. If the container has ½” or water, you need to water 3 times per week to get 1.5” of water on your lawn. Because my lawn is relatively flat and my lawn is aerated annual, I can get ¾” of water on the lawn before I notice runoff. Therefore, I water my lawn every 3 to 4 days.
During fescue’s offseason, July & August, the color isn’t as deep and growth slows but still remains green and active.
A fescue lawn with a healthy root system can withstand heat stress.
Heat Stress
While drought stress is manageable, heat stress isn’t. Unfortunately, the Summer of ’26 is delivering both.
Heat stress occurs when the plant (lawn, tree, shrub, perennial, etc.) burns more energy through respiration than it can provide through photosynthesis.
The imbalance is made up through stored energy in the root system until it is depleted.
As the heat stress lingers, root dieback occurs.
Heat Stress Temperature Thresholds: Fescue begins to experience stress when temperatures are consistently in the 90s and even more so when nighttime temperatures remain high. For bermuda and zoysia, photosynthesis continues even when temperatures increase into the low 100s.
Photosynthesis continues in the heat for bermuda resulting in a rich green color as long as there is sufficient moisture.
With little to no soil moisture left, non-irrigated bermuda lawns are moving from gray-blue color tones toward straw browns. As soon as sufficient moisture retunes they will regain color.
How To Tell The Difference Between Drought Stress and Heat Stress
For fescue, heat stress is a typical July and August occurrence. We commonly refer to this time of year as fescue’s off-season. As temperatures rise and the turf burns more energy through respiration than it can provide through photosynthesis. A fescue lawn with a healthy root system, even though it will lose some of its rich green color and growth will slow, it will remain green.
For bermuda or zoysia, drought stress is more common than heat stress in central Oklahoma. It is hard to tell the difference between drought stress and heat stress by looking only at the turf. The answer lies in the roots. Check the soil moisture using a soil probe, moisture meter, or simply slide a shovel a 4-6” into the soil. If the soil is moist the problem is heat stress.
Drought stress or heat stress? Checked below the surface and discovered it is drought stress.
Place a Hall|Stewart Water Gauge in your lawn. Run your irrigation. Check the amount in the gauge. If you have 1/2”, run your irrigation 3 times per week.
A core with no moisture in the soil pulled from a lawn on Friday in Edmond revealed the lawn was suffering from drought stress.
A Stronger Root System Is The Solution For Heat Stress
Your lawn’s ability to withstand heat is directly proportionate to the health of the root system. If you have good watering practices and your lawn still struggles as soon as the summer heat sets in, it is time to test your soil.
Yellowish, fall color tree leaves in August is not a good sign. It is a sign of drought stress.
Leaf drop in August is a sign your trees are in a drought stress condition.
Your Trees Are Feeling The Stress Of The Drought And Heat Too!
Drought stress on trees typically follows these steps:
Temporary Wilting – Wilting and drooping leaves in the afternoon on a 95+ degree day isn’t a problem as long as the following morning the leaves have returned to normal.
Permanent Wilting – Wilting and drooping leaves in the morning and all day long.
Yellowish and/or Fall Color Leaves – Fall color is not a good thing in July and August!
Leaf Scorch – Leaf margins have a brown or burned appearance.
Defoliation – Leaves begin dropping from the top of the tree and the ends of branches.
Long-term drought results in dead branches, thin canopies, unusually small new leaves, increased pest problems, and trees that are slow to close wounds.
Supplemental watering during periods of drought and heat is very important.
Depending upon the species, a full-grown tree can use up to 250 to 500 gallons of water per week when temperatures are high.
A 10-year-old tree in your landscape is looking for 50 gallons of water every day.
A tree’s need for water is high on hot days because 90% of the water a tree takes in is being lost through transpiration.
What is transpiration?Water is absorbed by the roots, moves up the trunk to the branches out to the leaves where the water is released as water vapor. Transpiration is not all bad. The water vapor cools the leaves 10-15 degrees as it is released.
Do not assume if your grass is green that the trees in your lawn are receiving enough water. Trees and grass are competing for the same water. Deep soaking is required to get enough water for both the turf and tree roots.
A fescue lawn with a healthy root system can withstand heat stress.
Brown foliage on a Bald Cypress is a sign of drought stress.
A healthy tree can drop leaves due to stress and rebud as soon as the stress is removed.
Mature Tree Survival
Most healthy, mature trees (trees with at least a 6” wide trunk and have been planted for at least 2 years) can sustain a drought without supplementary water because of their large root system. Trees that are weak because of previous stress will be the first trees to show signs of drought stress.
How do you know if your mature trees need supplementary watering during a drought?
Water if there are visible signs of drought stress.
Water if the area under the tree canopy is dry. A good way to test dryness is to take a large 6-8” screwdriver and press it into the soil in a few locations under the canopy of the tree. If screwdriver doesn’t easily slip into the soil, it is time to start watering.
Watering mature trees:
Water the entire area under the canopy of the tree.
Water deeply every 3-5 days in 95+ degree weather.
Allow 1-2 days between deep soakings for the area to dry. Roots need air as much as they need water. When the soil is saturated all the air is replaced with water and root damage will occur.
Daily shallow watering is not helpful. The most active tree roots are in the top 12” of the soil. The goal is to get water 12” deep.
Place small containers around the area to measure the amount of water. Water long enough to get at least 1-2” of water on the area per week.
Yellowing or fall-colored leaves during the growing season is a sign that drought stress is advancing. Deep soaking of the entire area under the canopy of the tree every other day should be started immediately.
Even during a drought soil around a tree should be moist enough you can easily slip a 6-8” screwdriver into the soil.
Willow trees love moisture. It is not uncommon for willows to be one of the first trees to show drought stress by dropping excess leaves. Some leaf drop is good during a drought and part of a trees defense system to survive.
Young Tree Survival
Trees with trunks that are smaller than 6” in width or have been planted in the last two years are showing signs of drought stress if they have not received supplementary water the past few weeks.
Watering young trees:
In excessive heat and drought trees that have been planted in the last 30 days, need to receive at least 10 gallons every other day. Even if you have an irrigation system, additional watering is required during the heat of the summer.
Trees planted anytime in the last two years need at least 10 gallons of water every 2-3 days during our current weather pattern.
Treegator bags are a good tool for watering new trees. The original Treegator holds 20 gallons of water that slowly drips out over two days.
During the first two years of a tree’s life, maintain a grass free 2-3” thick mulched area around the tree.
A 20 gallon Treegator bag is a good tool for deep soaking any tree planted in the last two years. The bag will slowly release water for two days. Refill the bag every 3-4 days during hot weather.
Permanent wilting is underway on this bald cypress. Supplemental watering is needed to reverse drought stress.
Often when leaves turn brown during a drought and the leaves remain on the tree it is a sign the tree does not have enough moisture to put on new buds. In this case the ends of the branches are brittle and the chances of recovery are slim.
Most tree varieties, if healthy, can drop all their leaves during a drought and rebud once rain returns.
Once rain moisture returns energy stored in the roots is used to produce new leaves. As the tree gains leaves the photosynthesis process starts again rebuilding energy in the root system.
A tree has a good chance of survival if enough energy can be stored in the root system before the tree endures more stress. An extreme winter, insect or disease stress before the tree has a chance to replenish energy could be detrimental to the tree.
Drought alone may not kill your trees, but if may be the final blow to a tree that is already under stress. Most trees die from a combination of stresses, such as, drought followed by pest or disease issues, or drought followed by winter injury.
Finally, increase inspection of trees the rest of the season, through the fall and next spring. Drought stressed trees are prone to insect damage.
Remember, your trees and your lawn are competing for the same moisture. And right now, there may not be enough for both. Each week the drought continues, the need to supplement water your trees increase.
Your investment in your lawn and landscape is significant.
Our goal is to help you have your best possible lawn and landscape regardless of the environment conditions.
If you are concerned about any part of your lawn and landscape, please let us know.
Lorne Hall
Hall | Stewart Lawn + Landscape
(405)367-3873
August Lawn & Landscape Tips
After a run of 7 consecutive days with temperatures in the 100s, this weekend’s temperatures in the low to mid 90s was a welcome reprieve!
Let’s face it: I’m hot! You’re hot! And your lawn and landscape are hot too!
The last 10 days of July and the first 10 days of August on average are Oklahoma City’s hottest days and this year we are putting an exclamation point on the HOT!
We are visiting a lot of lawns and landscapes that are suffering from either heat stress, drought stress or both. Even the best lawns and landscapes have a spot or two, a plant or two, that is in distress after a week of 100s.
The key to surviving the heat and drought stress is having a habit of best practices all year round. It's not just during times of high stress that these habits matter, but rather it's best practices all the time that make the real difference. Turf and plants that are doing their best right now have a strong and healthy root system.
For most of the metro area, it has been 3 weeks since we have received a good rainfall (a rain of ¼” or more) and for some portions of the metro it has been over 4 weeks. As the days with temperatures over 100 began to accumulate, soil temperatures quickly increased, and soil moisture disappeared. It is safe to say that if you are not watering, your lawn and landscape are now in a drought stress condition.
Your lawn and landscape goal for August is to finish the summer strong and keep your turf and plants as healthy as possible. Here are a few best practices to focus on, the first being watering:
Watering
The soil moisture has disappeared resulting in the best-looking lawns and landscapes are those that are receiving 1 ½” of water per week.
To learn how long and how often you need to water for your landscape to receive 1 ½” of moisture, place your Hall | Stewart Rain Gauge or cans around your lawn. Water using your normal cycle and then check the cups. Adjust watering times and frequency accordingly to insure 1 ½” is applied each week. Remember your landscape prefers deep soaking, infrequent watering over shallow, frequent watering. Even in the heat, lawns and landscapes are at their best when they are watered deeply as needed and not every day.
Healthy lawns have deep root systems. Roots will grow to the moisture. If your watering pattern is short, shallow, frequent watering resulting in moisture only in the top 1-2”, you will have a shallow rooted lawn dependent upon daily water. Deep soaking results in a root system with grass roots 6” to 2’ deep that is not dependent upon frequent watering and is drought resistant.
Remember, trees planted in the last two years need supplemental watering during the summer heat and extended dry periods. A good rule of thumb is to give them 10 gallons of water every week.
Best Watering Practice for August – Know how long you need to water to get 1 ½” water on your lawn each week. Practice deep soaking, infrequent watering.
If you are unsure about your watering practices, let us help.
We can schedule an Irrigation Audit/Check to make sure your system is operating at its peak efficiency during the summer heat.
Saucer Magnolia, known for their showy spring flowers, are covered with scorched leaves this summer as a result of the heat.
Take time to check your irrigation and fine tune it. A leaning head often is the culprit for dry spots in the lawn.
We are experiencing great results from our Moisture Control program through the drought. This is a picture from this week after several days of temperatures in the 100s and no rain for 3 weeks. We manage the irrigation for the customer and the system is set to run every 4 days. The fescue is showing some heat stress but considering it is the last week of July it is healthy. The bermuda color is great and showing no signs of draught stress even with irrigation only running every 4 days.
I am currently mowing my fescue lawn at 3 1/2". More leaf space results in better heat and drought tolerance.
Mowing
Both warm season turf (Bermuda and Zoysia) and cool season turf (Fescue) should be mowed at the highest level this month, warm season 2.5” and cool season 3.5”. At the higher level the lawn will have more leaf space resulting in better heat and drought tolerance. Continue to mow often enough that you are removing only 1/3 of the grass each time you cut. If you are cutting frequently enough to pass the 1/3 test, don’t catch the clippings. Allowing the clippings to decompose on the lawn will return moisture and nitrogen to the soil. Give no bagging a try. You will be surprised at how much more color your lawn will retain even in the heat. When you bag your clippings, you are tossing out nitrogen and moisture your lawn could really use this month.
Best Mowing Practice for August – Mow high, mow often, and don’t bag your clippings.
Bermuda lawns perform their best in the heat. Mow often and don’t bag the clippings. Grass clippings are mostly nitrogen and moisture. Your lawn will thank you for giving them back.
After mulch mowing, use your blower to distribute any noticeable clippings.
Well maintained Bermuda lawns can’t be beat in August. This Bermuda lawn is the result of best practices this summer: well timed lawn care applications, aeration in June, deep infrequent watering, and mulch mowing.
Fertilizer
Apply fertilizer to warm season turf this month. This time of the year, Bermuda and Zoysia benefit from a high nitrogen fertilizer that is low in phosphorus and potassium.
DO NOT fertilize cool season lawns until we reach the cooler temperatures of September.
Warm and cool season turfs require different fertilizer schedules. Don’t make the mistake of trying to treat them the same when it comes to fertilizing.
Best Fertilizer Practice for August – Fertilize bermudagrass, don’t fertilize fescue. Important - Follow watering instructions after fertilizer is applied.
August is the month to be less aggressive on weed control. Because a thick turf is the most important part of good weed control, you want to avoid weakening the turf going into the fall.
Weed Control
Spring pre-emergent herbicides are reaching the end of their effectiveness in your soils. Should an occasional weed show up in your turf this month, it is best to go easy on weed control. We have reached the time of the year that damaged turf may not have a chance to fully recover before fall. Great weed control is at least 75% the result of thick turf. August is the month to focus on turf development going into fall.
Later this month is the best time to start applying the first fall pre-emergent herbicide application. The first fall weed to germinate is poa annua (annual bluegrass). Poa annua has become more and more of a problem to control in lawns worldwide as it has developed resistance to current herbicide chemistry. For the best prevention, it is important to put a pre-emergent on your lawn between late August and the end of September followed by a second pre-emergent, using a different herbicide, in October or November.
Best Weed Control Practice for August – Don’t cause turf damage by overtreating weeds. Better to go into the fall with a thick turf than one with herbicide damaged thin areas.
Bermuda vs Fescue in August
Bermuda (warm season turf) loves the summer heat. Fescue (cool season turf) prefers nights below 70 and days below 90. Healthy bermuda lawns look their best in the heat of the summer. Healthy fescue will retain color, although not as much as in early summer, and growth will slow.
Fescue where there is plenty of air circulation and dabbled sunlight typically looks best in the warm weather. Fescue lawns with heavy shade and little air circulation tend to thin from brown patch disease. Brown patch occurs in fescue lawns anytime the grass stays wet for 5 hours or more at a time and nighttime temperatures are in the 70s. During the hottest and dryest time of the season, brown patch is often self-inflicted by watering your fescue in the morning and evening, a common incorrect watering habit on fescue lawns in July and August.
Brown Patch develops in fescue lawns that have an area of low air circulation or heavy shade during the summer if the area stays wet for more than 5 hours at a time. Don't create Brown Patch with your watering practices. Allow your fescue time to dry between waterings.
Inspect Shady Lawn Areas
September through October is the best time of the year to establish fescue. Now is the time to assess the areas of the lawn where bermuda has become thin due to increasing shade (Bermuda needs at least 6 hours of direct sunlight to be thick), areas of the lawn where fescue did not perform well because of very dense shade (Fescue needs at least some dappled sun), and areas of fescue that have been damaged by brown patch this summer. Because fescue does not spread, you should plan on adding some seed every fall.
Best Fescue Lawn Practice for August – Inspect and evaluate your turf. Check shade patterns and make a plan for overseeding low light areas with fescue this fall.
Need Help Evaluating Your Shady Areas?
We would be happy to evaluate your shade and make a recommendation.
Just give us a call at (405)367-3873 or respond to this email.
Insect Watch
If Grubs have been a problem in your lawn, August is the time to apply an insecticide. Remember, the insecticide will kill desirable insects also. Only treat for grubs if there is evidence of a problem or you have had a history of grub problems.
Keep on the lookout for Army Worms. So far this summer, we have seen very little arm worm activity. A best practice is to keep on the lookout now through the fall because there are 4 to 5 generations between July and November with each generation increasing in numbers, so early control is best. Early caterpillars are green and very small. As they grow to 1 to 1 ½” they turn browner with reddish brown stripes on each side of the body and small back spots on the top. Their distinctive mark is an inverted “Y” on the front of the head. Army worms will feed on any leafy, soft plant with plenty of moisture in the leaf. Typically, in August they will feed mostly on bermuda because of an abundance of healthy leaf blades and less on fescue because it is not flourishing as much in August. Watch for areas of the lawn that appear to have drought stress should not be. Test the area with a soap flush. Mix 1 teaspoon of dish soap with 1 gallon of water and pour over the surface. If you have army worms, they will come to the surface. Treatment with a systemic insecticide when the worms are small before they become heavy feeders is best. Need more information on Army Worms, check out our article.
Continue to inspect shrubs for Aphids and treat as needed. A common host plant is the Crape Myrtle.
Inspect your trees and shrubs for active Bagworms. If you need help controlling bagworms, give us a call. When possible, remove and throw away bagworms. Don’t toss them on the ground because they will crawl back onto your plants.
Watch for Webworms in your trees this month. The later generations of webworms are the ones that cause damage. If noticed early when the webbing is small, simply cutting the branch out is the best control. If spraying is required, you must penetrate the webbing to gain control.
Best Insect Control Practice for August – Spend a few minutes inspecting your lawn and landscape for insect activity. Treat as needed.
A common problem on Hackberry trees in the summer is nipple gall. Unfortunately little can be done to control gall-making insects.
Grub worm
When you remove bagworms please dispose of them. This little guy is slowly climbing back up a tree to do more destruction.
Summer annual color mixture of Joseph Coat, Sunpatien, Angelonia, Penta, Coleus, and Lantana.
This summer’s Crape Myrtle colors have been brilliant.
Lantana
Shady summer annual color mixture of Impatiens and Caladium.
Limelight Hydrangeas can’t be beat for colorful summer shrub. This is a ‘Little Lime’ and is great for smaller areas.
Landscape Color
How has the color been in your landscape this season? Sometime this month take pictures and make notes of the plants that are doing the best in your landscape.
Black-eyed Susan’s are the perfect perennial to add color to the landscape during July and August.
Crape Myrtles love the warm days and rewarding us with abundant summer color this year.
Limelight Hydrangeas continue to brighten the landscape even on the hottest of days.
Lantana, Penta, and Periwinkle are just a few summer annuals that are at their best now.
What is adding great color to your landscape right now? We want to know. Send pictures please.
Lantana is one of the best heat-loving annuals and with so many varieties, there is a right one for every landscape.
Angelonia is becoming a favorite summer annual. It has profile spikes of color and is available in white and shades of pinks and purples.
Crape Myrtle and Black-eyed Susan’s are a great color combination for late summer color.
Limelight Hydrangeas continue to add large white blossoms to the summer landscape.
Coleus is a great summer annual with big colorful leaves that at interest to the summer landscape.
Black-eyed Susan’s add a splash of bright color to the hot summer landscape.
Lantana is one of the best annual color plants for a summer filled with above average temperatures.
Brake Light Yucca are a fun addition to the summer landscape.
Shasta Daisies are nearing the end of their summer color show.
The best perennial plantings are the ones that have something blooming spring to fall. I challenge you to find another perennial that puts on a better color show in August than Black-eyed Susans.
Periwinkle is a lover of the summer heat.
Keep faded blooms pruned off and you will extend their bloom time a few more weeks.
August is a great time to evaluate your summer annual color and make notes on what worked and what didn’t. This planting of Sunpatien, Begonia, Penta, Joseph Coat, and Melampodium started the summer looking great. But over the last few weeks the Melampodium has over powered the rest of the color. Note: “If using Melampodium plant it in the back.”
Endless Summer Hydrangeas will add more blooms this month.
Having a great lawn and landscape through the heat of the summer is a result of good maintenance practices year after year.
A great lawn and landscape are not the result of one season, or even a full year of focus.
A great environment is the result of discovering and developing great practices and then repeating them season after season, year after year.
If you need assistance in developing great practices or have questions concerning your lawn and landscape, give us a call.
Lorne Hall
Hall | Stewart Lawn + Landscape
(405) 367-3873
Bermuda vs Fescue – The Choice is Yours!
It’s late July and we find ourselves deep into a typical summer Oklahoma weather pattern…hot and dry!
Temperatures have become more and more consistent in the upper 90’s to low 100’s while rainfall has become less and less consistent and scattered. Parts of the Oklahoma City metro are going on 3 weeks without a good rain fall while other parts of the metro have received a ¼” or more rainfall within the past week.
Heat and drought impact all types of turfgrass making summertime in Oklahoma hard on all lawns. Even so, Oklahoma is blessed to be in the transition zone where you can choose between a warm season lawn or a cool season lawn.
What are the pros and cons of a cool season lawn vs a warm season lawn in central Oklahoma?
What is the transition zone?
An area across the middle of the US between where warm season turf grows in the south and cool season grasses grow in the north. In the Transition Zone, you can choose to grow either warm season or cool season grasses.
Bermuda is the common warm season turfgrass in our region.
The advantage bermuda has is it loves the summer heat and as long as it receives moisture, it will be at its best in July and August. It is hard to beat the appearance of a well maintained bermuda lawn this time of year.
But bermuda has limits. The biggest being it requires 6-8 hours of direct sunlight to be thick and healthy. Second, it goes dormant in November and doesn’t green up until April, leaving you with a lifeless, straw-brown lawn for months.
Bermuda will look its best when it receives at least 6 hours of full sun everyday.
Fescue is the best grass for lawns where is less than 6 hours of direct sunlight per day.
Fescue is the cool season alternative.
Fescue tolerates more shade and stays green nearly year-round. You can’t beat the deep rich color in the spring and fall. The turf is so soft under your feet. Mowing patterns are sharp. Fescue stays green well into December, keeps some color through the winter, and as soon as the winter starts to break in early March, fescue bursts back to life.
But to be fair, fescue has limits as well. Fescue, because it is a cool season grass, goes through a summer off season. About the time bermuda lawns are looking their best, fescue goes through a slump when 95+ temperatures are common. Growth slows, depth of color fades, and although improved varieties of fescue are more drought tolerant, fescue still needs water during the summer to stay green.
Want to know about fescue in the heat of year, read our article Fescue’s Summer Off Season.
Summer is the Perfect Time to Evaluate Your Lawn.
If you have a bermuda lawn, are there areas that are not receiving sufficient light for a thick, healthy bermuda turf?
If you have a fescue lawn, how has it faired so far this summer?
Fescue is best established during September and October. With cooler days and nights just a few weeks away, mid to late summer is the best time to evaluate your lawn for the need to establish fescue or add more fescue.
VERY CRITICAL
Evaluation and decision to seed or not to seed this fall must be made before the first fall pre-emergent application is made in starting in mid-August through September.
Let’s take a minute to explore ways to use fescue in your lawn…
Fescue in the Shady Areas Only
This is the most traditional approach.
Any place where your lawn doesn’t receive at least 6 hours of direct sunlight - under trees, on the north side of structures, and those narrow areas between houses and fences - are all prime areas for fescue.
Often homeowners put effort into trimming trees in an attempt to get enough light and allow bermuda to grow. But, in most cases, tree trimming or thinning rarely solves the problem.
The best solution is to overseed these areas with fescue in the fall.
The negative to “fescue only in the shady areas” approach is a lawn mixed with green and dormant colors during the fall, winter, and early spring.
Full Fescue Lawn
A common myth is fescue won’t grow in full sun.
Fescue performs best in dappled shade to partial sun, does very well in full sun when maintained properly, and struggles the most in dense, heavy shade.
A full fescue lawn is the best solution for the typical sized lawn with a few trees making caring for both cool season and warm season turf difficult.
A fescue lawn in dappled sunlight.
Fescue is relatively drought tolerant but needs water during the summer to stay green. This fescue lawn is in mostly full sun and during summer’s drought & heat has been receiving 1.5” of water.
Two Approaches To Managing A Full Fescue Lawn
Managing Fescue Over Bermuda
With this approach fertilizing, weed control, mowing, aerating, and overseeding focuses on promoting the fescue and suppressing the bermuda.
Fescue needs heavy fertilizer in the spring and fall, and none in the summer – the exact opposite of bermuda.
Weed control herbicides designed for fescue and not bermuda are used resulting in bermuda suppression.
Fescue responds well to being mowed taller, 3” to 3 ½”, while bermuda prefers a shorter height of 2” to 2 ½”.
Aeration occurs in the fall, not early summer.
Overseeding with fescue in the fall keeps the fescue full and stresses the bermuda going into the winter.
The negative - You will still notice some bermuda in the lawn during July and August, but with deep, infrequent watering practices, the fescue will remain the dominate turf.
Bermuda lawns look their best in mid to late summer.
Fescue will loose color in 95+ degree temperatures if it doesn’t receive at least 1.5” of water per week.
2. Full Fescue Only
An aggressive approach to removing bermuda from the fescue is used.
Because bermuda is the dominate turfgrass in our region it is difficult to have a completely bermuda free fescue lawn.
If this is your goal, aggressive herbicide treatments in August followed by overseeding in September is required.
The negative – Your lawn will look bad before it looks good. There will be a 4-to-6-week period between the first application and when the new fescue grows in. But you will notice substantially less bermuda the next growing season. You can expect to repeat this process every 2 to 3 years to keep bermuda eradicated.
I have used this process on occasion with success, but it is not the preferred method due to the poor appearance of the lawn for several weeks until the new fescue grows in.
Fescue growing in full sun over Bermuda.
Fescue with bermuda in August before treatment to control bermuda.
Lawn 2 weeks after treatment to control bermuda.
Fescue 4 weeks after treatment to control bermuda just before overseeding in September.
A fescue lawn in July.
A fescue lawn in the fall.
A fescue lawn in the spring.
As our environment continues to have more and more trees, fescue will become more and more a part of our landscape environment.
Whether you desire to have a full fescue lawn or just need to address the shady areas of your lawn, September through October is the best time to establish fescue from seed. As a cool season grass, it is much easier for newly established grass to survive the winter.
Spring seeded fescue typically does not have enough root system to survive the summer and is more susceptible to brown patch disease. The best time to seed fescue is in the fall. The second-best time is in the spring, but the chasm between fall and spring is large.
If you need help evaluating your need for fescue and would like to discuss your options, please give us a call (405)367-3873.
New fescue 30 days after seeding.
Three keys to successful fall fescue seeding:
1. Quality Fescue Blend Seed
2. Aeration for good seed to soil contact.
3. Keeping the seeded area tacky moist until the new seed comes up.
A key to successful fescue seeding is keeping the seed moist until it germinates. Check your system now for even coverage to avoid seed failure in dry areas this fall.
VERY CRITICAL
Evaluation and decision to seed or not to seed this fall must be made before the first fall pre-emergent application is made instarting in mid-August through September.
Lorne Hall
Hall | Stewart Lawn + Landscape
(405)367-3873
Bonus Tip - Newly seeded grass needs to be kept consistently moist for 2-3 weeks after seeding.
The inability to keep new seed moist is the number one reason new seed fails.
Now is the time to schedule an Irrigation Check to make sure your system is ready for fall overseeding.
Request an inspection today by responding to this email or calling (405)367-3873.
Great Landscape Plantings Have 3 Levels
Stroll through any neighborhood and you will find a wide variety of landscapes. You are sure to find the predictable landscape where a row of shrubs along the foundation is used to soften the line between the lawn and the house. Other landscapes, by adding a few plants of color and texture, will catch your attention a little more. But, ever so often, you will discover a lawn and landscape that invites you to slow your pace and take it all in.
What makes the difference?
Why do some landscapes just feel better?
Why do some just grab your attention?
There is a landscape design concept that will make a landscape standout nearly every time…
Great landscape plantings contain three levels: a front, a middle, and a back.
A good combination is Limelight Hydrangea in the back, Boxwoods in the middle, and seasonal color in the front.
Let’s start with some basic design math:
Front – No more than 18” in height. Low ground covers, perennials, annual color and small plants.
Middle – Perennials, annual color and smaller shrubs with enough height to start creating levels. 18” to 3’ in height.
Back – Shrubs and small trees over 3’ in height.
Note - Read the plant label and believe what it says about plant height and growing conditions. Remember plants perform their best if they are allowed to grow to their natural height and form. If you have only 4’ of height for your back level, don’t plant a shrub with a mature height of 10’ with the idea you will keep it pruned. Even if you are diligent with your maintenance, the plant will never look as good as it would if it could grow naturally.
A newly planted landscape with boxwood and hydrangea for the back. Spirea, drift roses and perennials in the middle, and annual color in the front.
Walls and fences don’t count as the third level. To get the impact, you need three levels in front of the object.
When selecting plants, don’t go for all evergreen plants or all flowering plants. A mixture of evergreens with interesting leaf shapes and colors will add more interest.
The levels don’t have to be in a continuous, linear run of all the same plant material. A layer can contain a mixture of plants. Often the middle level works well with a few specimen plants of interest, or groupings of perennials. Every landscape should include a few surprises.
It is also good to repeat a few shrubs or colors. Even when your goal is an informal landscape, some repetition helps draw all plants together into one landscape planting.
Plantings should have something of interest in every season. Consider one level planted in mostly evergreens, another in perennials, and another in annual color. The higher the visibility, more perennials, seasonal color, or blooming plants are recommended. Curb appeal increases as color increases.
Always welcome guests with flowers. A border of annual color along your front walk with a splash of more color near your front door creates a warm greeting.
Even in patio pots, planting for three levels adds interest. This pot contains a variegated euonymus for height, penta for the middle, and trailing periwinkle.
A few ideas to get you started:
Large ornamental grasses in the back, flowering shrubs in the middle, with a ground cover boarder in the front.
Crape myrtle in the back, evergreen shrubs in the middle, and annual color in the front.
Evergreens for the back with a mix of perennials in the middle and ground covers in the front.
Limelight hydrangeas in the back, a row of boxwoods neatly trimmed in the middle, with annual color in the front.
A shady area idea is azalea in the back, hosta in the middle, and dwarf mondo in the front.
Garden trends are seeing a resurgence of classical flower plants such as roses, hydrangeas and peonies. With so many new innovations, using these as one of your layers will give a nostalgic feel to your landscape.
A great resource for ideas and plant materials is Monrovia.com. Monrovia has been a leader in landscape plant material since it was established 100 years ago in 1926 by Harry Rosedale, a Danish immigrant. I am sure you will find their website a great resource. The content in this email is a combination of information from Monrovia and our years of experience in the local landscape industry.
Dwarf Globe Blue Spruce used as a mid level shrub adds color and interest to a landscape.
Espaliering a plant, such as Pyracantha, on a wall or fence is a great way to create levels in small spaces.
When planting larger seasonal color, the concept of planting in three levels will add more depth and interest to your landscape.
Annuals, perennials, flowering shrubs and evergreens planted in levels to add interest.
Height variation in landscape plantings, incorporating a mix of shrubs with different heights, adds depth and dimensions to your landscape.
Larger plants, particularly when you have the room, are great for adding interest and will soften the hard lines of walls and fences. They also are a great way of creating a natural screen or a free-standing boarder. The more space you have the bigger you can go with the back level.
If your space is limited and you still want to gain height, a climbing vine or shrub against a wall or fence is a great solution. Also consider using a flowering tree, boxwood, or pyracantha in an espaliered form.
Need a low maintenance landscape option with three levels? Plant Pink Muhly Grass between groundcover and standard Juniper varieties. Little to no trimming will be required.
Large landscape containers are another way to create levels in the landscape.
Annuals planted in front of perennials to create levels.
Front layer - Inpatients
Middle layer - Caladiums
Back layer - Azaleas
Best time to plant:
Fall is the best time to plant most plants. In the fall, plant materials benefit from cooler days while the soil temperatures are still warm enough root growth continues. The result is a plant that has a stronger root system the following summer.
Japanese Maple, hydrangea and ferns are a great way to create three levels in shade gardens.
Grasses make a great middle level when creating landscape plantings.
The design concept works for pots. Sometimes you will hear a designer refer to pots have a thriller, a filler and a spiller. The thriller in this pot is a cordyline. The filler is periwinkle. And the spiller is lantana.
Summer planting:
But what if you don’t want to just dream about landscapes, you want to plant now. Is it ok to plant during the summer?
Even though fall is the best time to plant new landscaping can be added year-round in central Oklahoma. Avoiding extreme heat (or cold) and drought is best. But successful planting in the summer is possible with a little extra effort.
Follow these tips when planting in the summer:
Container-grown plants are best for summer planting because there is less transplant shock than with balled and burlaped or bare root plant material.
Dig a whole that is twice as wide as the plant container and 25% deeper.
Mix organic compost with the soil you removed from the hole, place some of the mixture in the hole, firm up the soil in the bottom of the hole and place the plant with the top of the soil around the plant 1-2” higher than the surrounding soil.
Backfill 1/3 of the soil around the plant with the compost and soil mixture, lightly firm up and then fill the rest of the hole with water.
After the water drains from the hole, backfill with your soil mixture forming a small saucer around the plant while being careful not to place any soil on top of the plant root ball.
Fill the saucer with water and let it soak into the soil.
Mulch around the plant with 2 to 3” of quality, natural mulch to help keep the soil moisture and temperature consistent.
Deep water daily for the first two weeks when planting in the heat of the year. Don’t let the soil around the plant get too dry for the rest of the summer. But, at the same time, you don’t want to over water, so check soil moisture often. The soil should be moist, but not so moist you can make a mud pie.
For trees, the best practice is to use a tree gator around new trees planted during the summer.
The goal is to keep the plant alive and healthy until fall. Don’t expect much new growth until next spring.
Container-grown plants are best for summer planting because there is less transplant shock than with balled and burlaped or bare root plant material.
Mix organic compost with the soil you removed from the hole, place some of the mixture in the hole, firm up the soil in the bottom of the hole and place the plant with the top of the soil around the plant 1-2” higher than the surrounding soil.
Place the shrub with the root ball 1-2” higher than the surrounding soil.
Fill the rest of the hole with water allowing time for the water to be absorbed into the soil before backfilling.
Finish the planting with 2-3” of quality, natural mulch.
Dig a whole that is twice as wide as the plant container and 25% deeper.
Place some of the compost soil mixture in the hole and lightly stamp it down.
Backfill 1/3 of the soil around the plant with the compost and soil mixture, lightly firm up and then fill the rest of the hole with water.
Backfill the hole being careful not to add soil to the top of the plant’s root ball, lightly pack the soil, create a small saucer ring from the soil, and fill the saucer full of water.
What are your best landscape ideas?
What are your favorite plants?
We would love to hear what is working well in your landscape.
Stay cool.
Keep landscape dreaming.
Lorne Hall
Hall | Stewart Lawn + Landscape
(405)367-3873
What’s bugging your landscape?
It’s hot! And if you are feeling the heat, so are your lawn and landscape.
An insect’s favorite target is a plant under stress. The healthier your lawn and landscape, the stronger their defense is against insects and disease.
Two weeks ago, in our July Lawn & Landscape Tips we touched briefly on common insect issues at this point in the summer. This week let’s dive in a little deeper.
Healthy landscapes are a result of an Integrated Pest Management program.
The first step of an IPM approach is maintaining healthy plant material with proper watering, feeding and pruning. Insect activity increases on plant material that is already stressed.
The second step is simply monitoring your plants. Weekly observation is critically important. Does the overall plant color look healthy? How do the leaves look?
Our landscapes represent large investments in both time and money. They add curb appeal and provide enormous benefits to the environment.
It is important that we do all we can to keep them healthy and growing.
Here are a few of the problems that we are either currently seeing in landscapes, or we have on our watch list:
Be on the lookout for any plants that don’t look their best. Notice the slight color difference between these two Taylor Junipers? After close inspection, bagworms were found feeding on the one on the left.
Bagworms
Timing - Eggs hatch in May and they remain active through September.
½-2” long spindle shaped bag wrapped in the foliage of the host plant. Young bagworms are very hard to spot.
Favorite host plants are juniper, arborvitae, spruce, pine and cedar. But they can attach themselves to deciduous shrubs and trees and we are seeing a lot of bagworms on deciduous trees this year!
Females lay eggs in bags left on plants over the winter. One female bagworm will lay as many as 500 eggs. The eggs hatch in the late spring and tiny larva crawl out and start feeding. As they feed, they use silk and plant materials to protect and camouflage themselves. Bagworms can strip a plant of foliage.
Heavy infestations, particularly on the same plant year after year, can completely defoliate a plant. Defoliation of needle evergreens, such as junipers and cedars, usually results in plant death. Broadleaf evergreens and deciduous plants typically are not killed but a weakened and more susceptible to other insect and disease problems.
When there are only a few, control is best by hand picking. If you have a large population an insecticide treatment should be made as soon as they are noticed. Try to remove any bags left on plant material in the fall. Bags left on the plant will serve as cocoons for females to lay more eggs. When removing bags, destroy them. Do not pick and toss on the ground as the worm will crawl back to a plant.
Bagworms produce silk threads to move locations.
Bagworms use the leaves of the host plant to protect themselves while they feed. This bagworm came off an elm tree, not a typical host plant for the caterpillar.
Bagworms can strip a mature Bald Cypress of its leaves quicker than you would expect.
Although not as common bagworms will feed on deciduous trees. If you notice skeletonized leaves, look close, most likely there are bagworms attacking the tree.
Young bagworms are small and can be hard to see. They wrap themselves in the plant needles making them hard to notice.
If you notice a juniper or cedar starting to loose color, inspect for bagworms.
Left untreated, large, heavy infestations of bagworms will kill mature trees and shrubs.
If there are not too many, the best way to control bagworms is to simply pull them off and throw them away. Don’t throw them on the ground, if you do they will crawl back onto the tree.
Aphids
Timing – Species start producing in April and increase rapidly as temperatures increase.
A small, soft-bodied insect that is nearly invisible to the naked eye. The honeydew, sticky substance they excrete is the easiest way to know aphids are active. Colonies develop on the underside of the leaf and often are not noticed until the sticky substance starts to show.
They feed on the leaves, stems and buds of a wide variety of plants throughout the growing season. Usually, they attack the succulent new growth.
Aphids generally do not cause serious harm to mature plants, although they can be harmful to young plants. Heavy populations can cause wilt and yellowing of leaves as the sap is removed. Blooming trees and shrubs will see a reduction in flowers. Aphids can promote sooty mold, a fungal disease, and spread viruses.
Early detection is the key. Aphids mature in 7-10 days and can produce 40-60 offspring resulting in population explosions in the thousands within a few weeks.
When populations are small, a high-pressure blast of water can be used to wash the insects off the leaves. Wiping the leaves with a soapy solution is also effective with early detection. In most cases, once you notice the honeydew, it is best to treat with an insecticide. A dormant oil application in the winter is helpful in reducing populations the following season. Lady bugs can be used as a beneficial insect control when populations are small.
Aphids are small and often go unnoticed but the sticky substance they leave behind is easy to spot.
Aphids feed on the underside of the leaf and become noticeable as the leaf becomes covered with the sticky substance they excrete.
Spider Mites
Timing – They are active from early summer through fall. The hotter and drier the weather, the more severe the problem will become.
Very small (1/60 of an inch) that live on the underside of leaves and survive by sucking on the cell content of the leaves. First shows up as stippling of light dots on the leaves. Leaves then turn from bronze to yellow and then fall off.
They get their name from the small silk protective webs they create.
Because spider mite damage can look like many other plant problems, the best way to determine if it is spider mite is to shake the plant leaves over a white sheet of paper. Spider mites will look like tiny moving black dots on the paper.
Spider mites reproduce rapidly when conditions are perfect. Spider mites can hatch in as little as 3 days and become mature within 5 days. One female can lay up to 20 eggs per day during their 2-4 week life span.
The best control results from making two applications 7-10 days apart.
Adequate plant moisture during the hottest time of the year helps prevent population explosions.
Early signs of spider mites.
To know if you have spider mites shake leaves over a white sheet of paper.
Spider mites will look like tiny moving black dots.
Silk protective webbing formed by the spider mite.
Crape Myrtle Scale
Timing – Females lay eggs from May through September. Crawlers emerge within a day or two and spread to new areas of the plant.
The scale is white to gray and exudes a pink blood-like liquid when crushed. Initially you will notice a black sooty mold on the twigs and trunks of crape myrtles.
Bark scale is difficult to control without the use of a systemic insecticide to kill the sucking pests.
Inspect new plants for scale before purchasing.
Scrubbing the bark with a soft brush and mild solution of dishwashing soap and water will remove many of the females and eggs as well as remove the black sooty mold.
A dormant oil application in the late winter to early spring is an effective way to reduce scale populations.
Two years ago this mature, single trunk Crape Myrtle was infested with Crape Myrtle Scale. Arborjet’s ACE-jet systemic insecticide was used 15 months ago and the tree has remained scale and aphid free.
White scale attacks Crape Myrtles leaving a black sooty substance on the bark.
Soft Oak Scale
Timing – One generation per year. Crawlers emerge in June, feeding and spreading on the branches.
They are convex in shape resembling a helmet, brown and ¼” in size. Crawlers are small and pale in color.
Scale feeds on the fluids in the vascular system.
They produce honeydew which is a source for attracting ants and other insects.
They rarely kill the tree but open up wounds that provide entry for other damaging pathogens.
When populations are allowed to increase canopy damage may occur along with discoloration of the leaves.
Application of an insecticide via spraying needs to occur in June when the crawlers are active. Annual spray applications in June are required until the populations are under control.
An alternative treatment is trunk injections of a systemic insecticide. Trunk injections allow the insecticide to be readily distributed throughout the plant’s vascular system to the fluids the scales feed on.
Soft Scale are small brown convex shaped insects on oak tree branches.
Webworm
Timing – The first-generation spin webs in July and later generations create webs in September to October.
Caterpillars weave a loose web around tree branches while they are munching on the leaves.
Favorite trees include hickory, mulberry, oak, pecan, popular, redbud, sweetgum, and willow. But you can find them on most ornamental shade trees when populations are heavy.
Early generations won’t cause long-lasting damage. They are just unsightly. The last generation can cause damage when the branch tries to rebud just before a killing frost. When this occurs, you can expect the affected branch to die.
The best control is to cut out any affected branches in the early generations when the webbing is small. Completely dispose of the branch as the worms will exit the webbing and return to a tree. If the web is too high or if the population has increased to the point that pruning is not possible, an insecticide application will be needed. The spray must penetrate the webbing to gain control of the caterpillars. Dormant oil applications are a good idea as worms overwinter in tree bark.
Even though early populations do not cause damage, early control is important. When left untreated, typically later generations’ populations increase.
Webworm caterpillars loosely weave webbing around branches to protect them while stripping a branch of leaves. When spraying, you mush have enough pressure to penetrate the webbing to gain control.
The webworm caterpillar weaves a loose web around tree branches to protect themselves while they are destroying your tree’s leaves.
The first generation of webworm started to show up in trees this week. Inspect your trees this weekend. The best control is to cut the branch out when they are small.
Army Worm
Timing – Moths migrate from the Gulf Coast in June, lay eggs and the first-generation caterpillars start feeding in July. With a 28-day life cycle there can be 4 or 5 generations between July and November.
Army worms are always present in our summer lawns and landscapes. When populations are normal you may never know they are there. But, when conditions are right, as they were in 2021 and again last year, we can see an explosion and experience turf damage.
Early caterpillars are green and very small. As they grow to 1 to 1 ½” they turn browner with reddish brown stripes on each side of the body and small back spots on the top. Their distinctive mark is an inverted “Y” on the front of the head.
Army worms will feed on any leafy, soft plant with plenty of moisture in the leaf. In 2021 they feasted primarily on fescue lawns because growing conditions were perfect for fescue. In previous outbreaks, army worms picked bermuda over fescue. If army worms are high in populations this summer, you can expect them to choose bermuda over fescue because the early summer heat has kept fescue from flourishing.
Watch for areas of the lawn that appear to have drought stress should not be. Test the area with a soap flush. Mix 1 teaspoon of dish soap with 1 gallon of water and pour over the surface. If you have army worms, they will come to the surface.
Treatment with a systemic insecticide when the worms are small before they become heavy feeders is best.
Can you count the number of army worms in this picture from August ‘21?
If you have areas in your lawn that are turning brown you can test for army worms by drenching the area with soapy water. If there are army worms present they will immediately come to the surface.
Army worms are present every year but in numbers that don’t usually cause turf damage. August ‘21 army worm populations were high enough they devastated areas of lawns in just a couple of days.
The best way you can protect your investment is to take a few minutes each weekto inspect your lawn, shrubs, trees and flowers.
Hall | Stewart offers a Tree & Shrub Care Program based on an Integrated Pest Management approach focused on plant health. The program includes dormant oils to smother overwintering insects in the late winter, systemic insecticides in the early spring, inspection and treatment as needed in the summer, and fertilizer applications in both the spring and fall.
Complete control is much easier when insects are noticed early, and populations are small.
Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns about your lawn and landscape.
Lorne Hall
Hall | Stewart Lawn + Landscape
(405)367-3873
Summertime = water time!
Happy 250th Birthday to the United States of America!
The July 4th Weekend! A time for parades, cookouts, family and fireworks.
A time to celebrate "America the Beautiful!"
O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America!
God shed His grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!
Central Oklahoma’s portion of “America the Beautiful” is a unique landscape, the only place in the United States, where four USDA ecoregions (Great Plains, Desert Southwest, Continental East, and the Humid South) come together.
Our portion of “America the Beautiful” with humidity, drought, pests and a wide range of high and low temperatures is a place filled with versatile landscapes, beautiful trees, shrubs, flowers of every color and wonderfully rich-green lawns.
For our portion of “America the Beautiful,” July is the month when temperatures rise and rainfall declines.
July is the month to put into place the best watering practices.
Best Watering Practices:
Apply 1” to 1.5” of water per week.
Your lawn and landscape need 1” to 1.5” of moisture per week when temperatures are consistently 90 degrees or higher.
Which begs the question: “How long should I water?”
Every irrigation system is different – different head types, different size nozzles, different head spacing, different soils, different slopes, etc.
Place a Hall | Stewart Rain Gauge in your lawn. Run your irrigation through a normal cycle. If your lawn received 1/2” of water, run your system 3 times per week during the heat of the summer to get 1.5” of water in your lawn. If your normal cycle yielded less than 1/2”, increase the run time until you receive at least 1/2” per cycle.
The best way to know how long you should water is to measure the amount of water your system puts out in each zone. Take a few cans and place them around your lawn in a random pattern. Run your sprinklers through a cycle and measure the amount of water in the cans. If the sprinklers ran for 15 minutes and you had .25” of water, that zone needs a total of 60 to 90 minutes of run time per week.
Next determine how long you can run your irrigation before there is excessive runoff. This will tell you how many times per week you need to water. If you can get away with watering every 4th day, you will have a healthier, stronger landscape.
If you don’t have the time to audit the amount of water your system puts out, start with these settings, monitor, and adjust:
Fixed spray pattern heads with 10-15’ spacings – 15 mins per time.
Larger rotor type heads on 20-30’ spacings – 30 mins per time.
My practice has been, using the best practices mentioned here, to water my fescue lawn every 4 days when temperatures are in the 90s and increase to every other day when the lawn shows signs of stress from lack of water.
Checking and adjusting your irrigation system is an important practice.
Set your controller to water with back-to-back run times.
For most of our landscapes, if you run our sprinklers long enough to get the recommended amount of water, you end up with a lot of water running down the street. Splitting zone run time in half and setting the controller to run through the zones back-to-back will improve the amount of water that soaks in and reduce the amount of water that runs off.
Example: Set the controller to run at 4:00 AM and 5:00 AM. When the 4:00 cycle completes, even if it is past 5:00, the controller will start the second cycle.
I know from experience that moist soil will absorb more water than dry soil. Soil is just like the sponge in your sink. A dried-out sponge repels water before it starts absorbing water. Your lawn is the same. The first cycle moistens the soil and the second cycle soaks in.
Split, back-to-back, irrigation cycles are an old golf course trick. Large commercial irrigation controllers have had a run/soak cycle setting that waters a short time, delays, and then waters a longer time for years. Now more and more smart controllers offer a run/soak cycle feature.
I started using split, back-to-back, irrigation cycles years ago on lawns with slopes.
After seeing great results, I started incorporating the concept on all lawns.
It makes a difference in watering efficiency.
Water in the early morning.
Evaporation is at the lowest point in the pre-dawn hours. Typically, wind is also at the lowest point of the day in the pre-dawn hours.
I prefer to set most irrigation controllers to start at 4:00 AM with the goal of having the cycle completed by 8:00 AM.
Avoid watering in the heat of the day when much of the water will be lost to evaporation. Also, avoid watering in the evening. Watering in the evening promotes many turf diseases because the lawn stays wet too long.
This is critical for fescue lawns. If fescue stays wet for more than 6 hours at a time and nighttime temperatures are in the 70’s, brown patch is unavoidable. Fescue performs best in the heat if it is watered deeply, and grass blades are dry by noon.
If you water your fescue lawn in both the morning and the evening during the summer because you “can’t seem to get enough water on it!”, your lawn isn’t struggling because it is too dry, your lawn is struggling because you have created the perfect conditions for brown patch, a fescue lawn’s worst enemy.
IMPORTANT: Don’t water fescue in the evening during the summer. When water remains in the leaf for more than 6 hours, brown patch disease will develop.
How much difference does infrequent, deep watering make when it comes to developing a drought tolerant lawn? This is a picture of a fescue lawn in full sun in August that is deep soaked every 4 days. The picture was taken in mid-August with less than a 1/4" rainfall in the previous 20 days.
Daily watering is not needed.
Unless you are trying to get newly planted seed to germinate or new sod to take root, there is not a good reason to water every day. Always water deep and infrequent. Daily, shallow watering creates a landscape that is shallow rooted and more dependent on constant moisture for survival.
Fescue will also benefit from deep soakings, every other day, through the summer months. Shallow, daily watering in the summer heat is very damaging to fescue. Again: Brown patch symptoms look very similar to draught stress. Typically, the more you water, the worse the fescue looks, so you add more water, and the cycle of decline continues.
A common myth I would love to dispel is that fescue requires a lot more water than bermuda. Yes, it does for a couple of weeks in the fall when you are trying to get newly seeded fescue to germinate, but mature fescue doesn’t require more moisture than bermuda.
Aeration improves moisture absorption.
You can’t beat aeration for improving your soil structure. A key benefit of improved soil structure is better water absorption. Lawns that receive annual aeration (or at least every other year) do not experience as much runoff.
Head to head coverage is when the water from one sprinkler head reaches all the way to the next head. Without head to head coverage, dry areas can develop around heads.
Fixing uneven water patterns in your lawn may be as simple as making sure heads are straight. A leaning head will result in uneven water distribution.
A clue to an uneven watering problem is an arc pattern matching the sweep of an irrigation head.
Always pay attention to water needs.
If we receive 1/2” of rain or more, turn your controller off for a few days. Install a rain sensor if you are not good at remembering. A rain sensor will pay for itself easily in one season.
Just because it is summer, don’t assume you can leave your controller in automatic and forget it.
Don’t stress if your lawn and landscape get a little dry, it will rebound quickly once water is applied.
A good indicator that your lawn needs water is the footprint test. If the grass retains your footprints instead of quickly springing back, it is time to resume watering.
Watch for uneven water patterns.
If you notice areas where the lawn color is fading, you may have uneven moisture patterns. This could be the result of a broken head, clogged nozzle, or a head that is out of adjustment.
Even if you don’t have an irrigation system, the concepts of good watering apply.
It is important to learn how long you need to water when you are using a hose end sprinkler. Next time you water, set out a few cans. You will be surprised how long you need to water to get the proper amount of water on your lawn.
Invest in a digital hose water timer, such as the ones made by Orbit. It will make it easier for you to control the timing and frequency of watering.
Newly planted trees and shrubs require more water.
Don’t assume your irrigation system is providing sufficient water for trees and shrubs planted this spring or summer. New landscapes need frequent attention during their first summer. Try to get at least 10 gals of water on new plants every week through the rest of the summer. Apply the water slowly close to the base of the plant over the root ball by placing a soaker hose or allowing a hose to slowly trickle. The goal is to water 8-12’ deep, wait 2-3 days and repeat.
For newly planted trees and shrubs, don’t assume your irrigation system is enough.
Newly planted trees and shrubs require additional water during their first summer. Don’t assume your irrigation is enough.
A soaker hose is a great tool for making sure new trees and shrubs are receiving sufficient water during their first summer.
If you need help in determining your lawn and landscape’s water needs, let us know.
We can schedule an irrigation audit for your lawn and landscape. We will inspect for uneven water distribution, absorb water rates, make recommended irrigation changes, and set the controller for optimal operation. Give us a call if we can help – (405)367-3873.
A healthy landscape is an important part of our environment.
A healthy turf helps clean the air, trap carbon dioxide, reduce erosion, improve groundwater quality, absorb noise, reduce temperatures, as well as adds cub appeal and value to your home.
A key component to a healthy landscape is correct water usage.
Best watering practices start with being aware of current weather patterns and adjusting watering schedules.
Best watering practices need to be your number one focus in the landscape for the next few weeks.
Best watering practices will have the biggest impact on the health and appearance of your lawn and landscape for the rest of the summer.
"America the Beautiful"
O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America!
God shed His grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!
O beautiful for pilgrim feet,
Whose stern, impassioned stress
A thoroughfare for freedom beat
Across the wilderness!
America! America!
God mend thine every flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control,
Thy liberty in law!
O beautiful for heroes proved
In liberating strife,
Who more than self their country loved
And mercy more than life!
America! America!
May God thy gold refine,
Till all success be nobleness,
And every gain divine!
O beautiful for patriot dream
That sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam
Undimmed by human tears!
America! America!
God shed His grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!
Lorne Hall
Hall | Stewart Lawn + Landscape
(405)367-3873
July Lawn & Landscape Tips
July, the first full month of summer.
July, the month summer blooming trees, shrubs, perennials and annuals, keep adding brilliant colors to our world.
July, the month warm season lawns (bermuda, zoysia) are at their best.
July, the month every warm season plant is living its best life.
July, the month your lawn and landscape, more than any other time of year, needs you to keep an eye on how they are doing. July can be mild, or July can be extremely warm. July can bring occasional rains, but often it can be the month that the rain showers just never make it all the way to the metro.
Regardless of what July has in store, our goal is to help you have a landscape that not only survives an Oklahoma July, but actually thrives.
Let's take a look at a few things that will make a difference in your lawn and landscape this July:
Two of July’s most prolific bloomers: Crape Myrtle and Limelight Hydrangea.
Watering
The biggest determiner on your lawn and landscape thriving through the hottest and driest periods of the summer is practicing the best water techniques. I know…we are repeating ourselves, but it is so important that we are going to keep saying it.
Best watering practices:
The #1 best watering practice is to be aware of how much rain your lawn and landscape have received within the past 7 days. Rainfall often varies greatly from neighborhood to neighborhood. OKC official rainfall may not be your rainfall. A rain gauge can be your best friend.
Your lawn and landscape needs 1” to 1.5” per week through the summer.
Place the Hall|Stewart Rain Gauge in your lawn, give your lawn a good deep soaking and then check the gauge. If you have ½” of water in the gauge you need to water 3 times per week.
Water deep. If you can get ¾-1” of water on your lawn without excessive runoff, water every 4 days. Deep watering creates deep roots and a more drought tolerant lawn.
Set your controller to water with back-to-back run times. If a zone needs to run 30 minutes to get the correct amount of water, set it for 15 minutes and program two hours apart. Example: 4:00 AM & 6:00 AM. This ‘Best Practice” will increase the amount of water that soaks into your lawn and reduce the amount of runoff.
Water in the early morning. Evaporation is at the lowest point in the pre-dawn hours and typically wind is at its lowest point. Evening water promotes turf diseases, such as brown patch, and should be avoided.
Daily watering does more harm than good. Short daily watering results in shallow rooted turf and a lawn dependent on constant moisture to survive.
Anytime we receive ½” of rain or more, don’t water for a few days.
Aeration improves moisture absorption.
Watering Tip –
Most people don’t realize how long you need to run the sprinkler to get 1” to 1.5” moisture
on your lawn in a week. If your lawn and landscape struggling,
take time to place cans around the lawn to collect water. Water your lawn as you normally
do and then measure the amount of water in the containers.
If you collected 1/3” to ½”, you are watering long enough for every other day watering.
If you didn’t collect enough during a typical watering, increase the water time
and continue watering every other day.
The temptation is to start watering every day, but this creates a shallow rooted landscape
that is more dependent on daily water.
Deep watering every other day is the key to a lawn that will thrive in July.
Want to know more about Best Watering Practices?
Coral Bells is a perennial that adds color and texture to the shade to partial shade landscape. You can find varieties with shades of burgundy, yellows, purple and silver.
We are a strong believer in the benefits of not catching your clippings when mowing as long as they are not noticeable. Heavy clippings always need to be cleared from the turf.
Mowing Tip -
One of the biggest differences between a good lawn and a great lawn in the heat of the year is not bagging the clippings. Allowing finely mowed clippings to stay on the lawn returns moisture and nutrients to the soil.
Fescue is heat tolerant when best practices are followed: deep watering every other day, mowing at 3” with no more than 1/3 cut off per time, and not bagging the clippings.
Mowing
For warm season turfs (bermuda and zoysia) gradually raise the height of your mower. Bermuda should be mowed between 1.5” to 2.5” during the summer heat. Fescue, cool season turf, should be maintained at its maximum height, 3” to 3.5” now. The more leaf space you have the more drought resistant your lawn will be. Mow often enough that you only remove 1/3” of the grass each time. For healthy, irrigated, and fertilized Bermuda, if possible, mow every 4-5 days for the best lawn. If you are mowing often enough and only removing 1/3 of the growth, don’t catch the clippings. Grass leaves are mostly water and nitrogen and break down very quickly into the soil. If your lawn has a brown cast to it after you mow, you are cutting below the leaves and into the stems. Stems do not break down quickly and can lead to thatch build-up, so if this is the case, it is best to bag when mowing.
Mulch mowing is one of the most beneficial things you can do for your lawn. The key is mowing frequently enough that you are removing no more than 1/3 of the leaf blade.
The tropical type flowers of hardy hibiscus thrive in the heat of July.
Lantana and Coleus are heat loving annual summer color plants.
Limelight Hydrangea
Limelight Hydrangeas grace the July landscapes with large lime-white blooms.
White Wedding Hydrangea is from the Southern Living Collection with sturdy branches that support large, bright white blooms and grows to 4-5’.
Brown Patch
One benefit of the dry air of July is less brown patch disease in fescue lawns. Brown patch occurs when there is excessive moisture, high humidity, and/or high due points when nighttime temperatures are in the 70’s or more and daytime temperatures are in the 90s. Brown patch is worse in areas with dense shade and/or low wind movement. Anytime the leaf blades of your fescue stay wet for more than 6 hours at a time in the summer, brown patch is unavoidable.
The temptation is to water fescue more frequently in the summer. It is common for us to find fescue lawns with the irrigation set to run morning and night creating the perfect conditions for the disease to spread. If you have heavy shade and/or low wind movement (most smaller backyards) water after sunrise and no more than every other day. Resist the urge to water more. Your fescue is not dying due to summer heat, it is struggling with brown patch.
Black Eyed Susan is a favorite perennial during the month of July.
Sunpatiens do well through the summer heat in Full Sun to Part Shade.
Penta is another summer annual that enjoys Full Sun to Part Shade.
Brown Patch Disease will make you think your fescue lawn isn’t getting water, so you respond with more water, which makes the lawn look worse, so you water more…. This fescue lawn was extremely wet this week resulting in self-induced Brown Patch.
Fescue Tip –
The key to fescue surviving the summer is not watering more.
The key is deep soaking every other day.
Watering daily, or as some are known to do, watering twice per day,
is one of the worse things for fescue in the summer heat.
Keeping fescue wet will always promote Brown Patch disease.
Crape Myrtles respond to the heat of July with bold pinks, purples, whites, and reds.
Through the summer heat Caladiums and Inpatients will perform well in Full Shade to Part Sun.
Fertilizer
Because warm season grasses are actively growing, they need feeding during July. The plan is to use fertilizer with a 3 to 1 to 1 of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K), plus iron (Fe) for added color. Most of our soil has plenty of phosphorus and potassium, but nitrogen needs to be replaced. July is a great month for turf development and a thick, healthy growing lawn is the best defense against weeds. Do not fertilize fescue lawns now. As a cool season grass, fertilizer in the heat of the summer on fescue will cause damage.
Bermuda lawns look their best in the heat of the year when they are properly fertilized, mowed and watered.
Periwinkle is one of the best annual color plants during the hottest periods of the summer.
Weed Control
If you are on a regular lawn care application program, and if your first application was made prior to mid-March, you shouldn’t be experiencing many summer annual weeds. A common weed this time of year is nutsedge. Nutsedge thrives in tight, wet soils. Areas with poor drainage and overwatered turf are frequent trouble spots. If you didn’t get an early pre-emergent, you most likely have a good crop of crabgrass now. Controlling weeds in the heat of the year often can cause more damage to the turf than is beneficial. It is important that label instructions are always followed when spraying weeds. Don’t over apply. What is most important in July is developing thick, healthy turf. If you are too aggressive on weeds now, you will have weak spots that are more susceptible to weeds in the future.
Nutsedge
Seasonal color plantings with three layers add depth to the landscape. This planting uses Scaevola for the first layer, Sunpatiens in the middle, and Coleus in the back.
Shrub Pruning
Selective pruning and light shearing should be practiced during the summer heat. If possible, wait to do major pruning during the hottest periods of the summer. Avoid any pruning or shearing on spring blooming plants because you will be removing flower buds and reducing the show next spring.
Early July is your last chance to trim spring blooming plants such as azalea without reducing next spring’s blooms.
Turf areas that receive less than 4 hours of direct sunlight is considered Full Shade. Fescue is the best turf choice in Full Shade to Partial Shade areas.
Aphids
Bagworms
Bagworm
Bagworms continue to be the biggest insect issue currently. Not only are they attacking needle evergreens, but also deciduous trees and shrubs. Inspect your plants frequently.
Aphids thrive in the hot weather resulting in an increase in activity the past couple of weeks. They are easy to spot. Look for glossy, wet looking leaves. The leaves will be sticky and the underside will be covered with insects.
If you see more than an occasional grub when digging in your landscape, we recommend treatment. An occasional grub is good for the environment, but as with most insects, too many and they will cause damage to your lawn.
Insect Watch
The first step to healthy plants is inspecting them regularly and then treating as needed. If you attempt to treat on a schedule, you will find that you often will miss the target pest. These are the insects that are currently most active:
Bagworms – Common on needle evergreens (juniper, cedar, cypress, etc.). If a plant is already stressed due to heat or draught, bagworms can kill the plant. Inspect often and treat as needed.
Aphids – Small sap-sucking insects that leave plants with a honeydew, sticky substance on leaves. Aphids are easy to spot. If the leaves appear unusually glossy stop and look under the leaf and you will find insects hard at work. Aphids thrive in hot, dry conditions.
Spider Mites - They also gather on the underside of leaves but are very small and hard to see. The first sign you may have spider mites is a plant with weak looking, yellowish leaves. Take a white sheet of paper, place it below the leaf and lightly shake the leaf. If you see small specs of red, yellow, and brown on the paper and they start moving around, it isn’t dust and dirt you are seeing, it is spider mites.
Grub Worms – If you have experienced grub damage in the past, or if you have noticed a lot of June bugs around your landscape, July through August is a good window to apply an application for control. Grub worms are the larva form of the June bug. June bugs have laid their eggs, and they are hatching now. Grubs are easiest to control when the new grub is small and feeding close to the surface in July and August.
Spider Mite activity will make a healthy plant look weak with yellowing, speckled leaves.
Place a white sheet of paper under a branch and gently shake the branch. If you see small specs on the paper that are moving around, you are seeing spider mites.
If you have brown patches of turf and can easily pull back the turf, most likely you have grub worms damaging your lawn.
Lantana loves Full Sun but also performs well in Part Sun.
Tree Leaves
Expect some leaf drop on deciduous trees in the summer heat. Some leaf drop is normal as the tree naturally adjusts to less moisture and more heat. The fun fact about most trees is they have a secondary set of buds. If they are stressed, they naturally drop leaves to survive, and then re-bud as they recover.
July, more than any other month, requires you to keep your eye on how your lawn and landscape are doing.
Inspect regularly for insect activity.
Make sure your landscape is getting the correct amount of moisture.
And, mow frequently for the best curb appeal.
We want your lawn and landscape to not only survive this summer, we want it to thrive!
If you have any lawn or landscape concerns, needs, or questions, please give us a call.
Lorne Hall
Hall|Stewart Lawn + Landscape
(405)367-3873
Summer Blooming Trees
Hello Summer!
In case you missed it, summer officially arrived at 3:24 this morning!
For landscape enthusiasts, there isn’t a better way to celebrate the first day of summer than spend the morning visiting about trees that add color to our landscapes through the heat of Oklahoma summers.
Vitex – Covered with lilac-purple flowers in June and July.
Commonly known as Chaste Tree. It is easy to overlook this summer bloomer because too often they look like overgrown shrubs. But, when you see a 15-20’ tall, multi-truck, well maintained variety covered with 12-18” flowers spikes most commonly purplish blue and gray-green foliage, you will fall in love. They do well as large shrubs but make an even better summer statement when their lower branches are kept clear of suckers. They are very tolerant of our soils and weather. Fertilizing in the spring and sufficient water in the early summer will produce the most dramatic summer show. Best planted in full sun. There are also varieties with pink and white flowers.
Vitex makes a bold summertime statement with its 12-18” purple flowers.
Vitex
The multi-trunks of a well maintained Vitex add a dramatic look to a landscape.
Vitex does well as a large shrub but looks even better as a small, multi-truck tree when their lower branches are free of sucker growth.
Goldenrain Tree adds brightness to the summer landscape with papery, lantern like flower pods.
The early summer bright yellows of the Goldenrain Trees are eye catching.
Goldenrain Tree – Never receives enough attention for its stunning yellow color.
As the tree matures it develops an open branched, airy, oval shaped form with rich yellow flowers in June and July. The flowers form a papery, lantern-like pod that gradually turns brown in late summer. The tree handles drought and heat well. It is tolerant of most soil types, but is a fast grower in moist, well-drained soils. It is an excellent lawn specimen that grows to 30-40’ high and wide.
Goldenrain Tree flowers gradually turn to a papery, pattern like seed pod in late summer adding another interest to the landscape.
Mimosa – Fern like foliage with pink pincushion style blooms.
My childhood home had one in the front lawn. Unfortunately, most old varieties of Mimosa were susceptible to a wilt disease that results in gradual decline and eventual death. Prolific seeders, it is common to see them growing in rural fence rows. But, in recent years we have seen a resurgence of Mimosa with newer, disease resistant varieties. With an umbrella shaped canopy and fern-like leaves, the tree adds a tropical look to the landscape. Fast growers that will reach 15-30’ depending on the variety. For even more summer interest, check out the Summer Chocolate and Chocolate Fountain Mimosa varieties have bronze-green and purple foliage.
Mimosas have been adding pink pincushion style blooms to the summer landscape for generations.
Ombrella Mimosa is a newer, disease resistant variety with large, cherry-pink, powder-puff-shaped, fragrant flowers.
Chocolate Mimosa Trees leaves deepen to a rich chocolate-brown color during the summer with pink pincushion-like blooms.
Desert Willow have trumpet shaped blooms and are the most drought and heat resistant flowering tree.
Dessert Willow – Great addition to a waterwise landscape.
Willow type narrow leaves create an airy tropical, loose appearance with long blooming trumpet shaped blooms. A smaller tree, 15-20’ tall, that is loved by hummingbirds. They need to be planted in full sun and prefer dry, well-drained soil. Unlike traditional willow trees, they will not tolerate wet soils. Dessert Willow is the most drought and heat-resistant flowering tree.
Smoke Tree – Tremendous visual appeal in May and June.
Often considered a large shrub, this small tree can reach 10-15’, producing smoke like airy plums in early summer. There are several varieties available ranging from green, to yellow, to purple leaves. Best planted in full sun.
Smoke Trees add smoke like airy plumes to the landscape in early summer.
Smoke Trees make an excellent landscape focus as a small tree.
Royal Purple Smoke Tree has dramatic, pinkish purple, smoke-like clusters on reddish purple foliage.
There is a Smoke Tree variety with green leaves and lime green airy plumes.
Rose of Sharon – Adds an antique appearance to the landscape.
Often found as a large shrub at older residences, but many improved varieties are available. With a strong multi-stemmed upright growth habit, they add interest to the landscape as a small tree, 8-10’ tall. White is the most common bloom color but there are varieties in pinks, blues, and purple as well. They grow well in full sun to partial shade.
Magnolias add a graceful feel to the summer landscape with their large white fragrant flowers.
Magnolia, an evergreen, has leaves that are large, shinny, and dark green on the top, but velvety, reddish-brown on the underside.
Dynamite
Ebony Flame
Natchez
Dynamite Crape Myrtle
Rose of Sharon is an old fashioned typically grown as a large shrub, but with their upright multi-stemmed growth habit they make a great small tree.
Magnolia – An evergreen summer blooming tree.
The traditional Magnolia, Southern Magnolia, is a large 50-80’ tall, 30-50’ wide evergreen that is too large for most city-sized landscapes. But the Little Gem and Teddy Bear Magnolia are smaller, 20-25’ tall, 10-15’ wide, compact forms of the Southern Magnolia. They grace the landscape with large shiny dark green leaves with a velvety, reddish-brown underside year-round and large 8” white saucer shaped blooms from early summer to fall.
Magnolia
Magnolia
Crape Myrtles most commonly are multi-truck small trees, but more recently we are seeing more and more grown as single-trimmed trees.
Crape Myrtle – Summer’s biggest show.
There are over 50 varieties of Crape Myrtles and new ones are introduced every year. The color pallet ranges from white, pink, purple and red. Bloom color is not the only attribute of a crape myrtle. Their foliage ranges from dark green, wine colored, velvet and dark purple. The combination of the bloom and foliage colors is one of the things that attracts me to the plant.
With so many varieties of Crape Myrtles, there is sure to be one right for your landscape. Here are a few of my favorites:
Pink Velour – Large 12-15’ small tree form with dark wine foliage and bright pink flowers. The foliage and flower combination are very striking.
Dynamite – Also a small tree that grows up to 15’. Dynamite was one of the first red tree form varieties. New foliage is nearly crimson in color and changes to a rich green as it matures. Flowers are brilliant red.
Natchez – One of the largest tree form crape myrtles reaching 25’. The foliage is rich green, and the flowers are white. The cinnamon brown bark puts on a show of its own as it exfoliates.
Ebony Flame – A great accent plant that grows 10-12’ with dark red blooms on intense black foliage.
Pink Velour
The bark of a large Crape Myrtle is one of the most overlooked aspects. The bark is smooth and ranges in color from pink to gray. As the plant matures, the thin bark exfoliates to expose a different color underneath. Too often, tree form Crape Myrtles are severely pruned every spring, and we never get to enjoy the beautiful bark of the mature plant.
One of the nation’s leading innovators of Crape Myrtles is Oklahoma’s own, Dr. Carl Whitcomb. Dr. Whitcomb holds 32 patents and has authored five books including Know It and Grow It, a book every landscape enthusiast should own. You can see all of Dr. Whitcomb’s Crape Myrtles by following this link.
Some of the brightest colors you will see this summer will be from Crape Myrtles.
Mature Crape Myrtles grown as trees have the added interest of multicolored bark.
What is your favorite?
Did any of these inspire you to add a new summer blooming tree to your landscape?
Get outside. Walk the neighborhood. Visit one of our parks.
I am confident you will discover a few of these trees adding color to the summer!
Lorne Hall
Hall | Stewart Lawn + Landscape
(405)367-3873
3 Keys to a Great Lawn -- #3 Environmental Conditions
When it comes to having a great lawn, what is most important?
Is it the lawn care applications?
Is it mowing practices?
Is it environmental conditions?
All three are keys to a great lawn - Lawn Care Applications, Maintenance, and Environmental Conditions.
Great lawns are not a result of getting one, or even two, of the three correct.
Great lawns are equally the result of all three.
In April, we covered Lawn Care Applications.
In May, we discussed Maintenance.
Today, we are covering the last key - Environmental Conditions.
Environmental Conditions are all the things that are outside of our control:
Rainfall & Soil Moisture
Air Temperatures & Soil Temperatures
Sunshine & Wind
If we can’t control them, then we are off the hook when it comes to environmental conditions, right? When it comes to weather, what happens is what happens, right?
Not so fast. Even though environmental conditions are outside our control, we do have a role to play:
Our role is to monitor environmental conditions and respond accordingly. Over the past two weeks, I have discovered several dry lawns experiencing early signs of drought stress with the irrigation systems off. In each case, the homeowner thought we had received more rainfall than we had.
Our role is to maintain a healthy lawn. Lawns with healthy soil and deep roots have more resilience to environmental conditions. Lawns that are consistently well maintained show less stress and recover quicker from extreme heat and cold, and periods of drought. If your lawn is slow to recover from harsh environmental conditions, your lawn may have unhealthy soil. Key soil measurements that determine soil health include pH, total exchange capacity, organic matter and nutrients. When key soil measurements are out of balance, your lawn will not be as resilient to harsh environmental conditions.
A good source for monitoring all weather data is mesonet.org.
The Oklahoma Mesonet is a world-class network of environmental monitoring stations. The network was designed and implemented by scientists at the University of Oklahoma (OU) and at Oklahoma State University (OSU).
The Oklahoma Mesonet was commissioned on January 1, 1994 and consists of 120 automated stations covering Oklahoma. There is at least one Mesonet station in each of Oklahoma's 77 counties.
At each site, the environment is measured by a set of instruments located on or near a 10-meter-tall tower. The measurements are packaged into "observations" every 5 minutes, then the observations are transmitted to a central facility every 5 minutes, 24 hours per day year-round.
The Oklahoma Climatological Survey (OCS) at OU receives the observations, verifies the quality of the data and provides the data to Mesonet customers. It only takes 5 to 10 minutes from the time the measurements are acquired until they become available to the public.
How do environmental conditions impact our lawns and what we can do?
Rainfall & Soil Moisture
The amount of rainfall in the last 7 days is an important starting point for watering decisions. But, knowing the soil moisture is even more important.
The best rainfalls are slow soakers vs downpours. A slow soaker will increase soil moisture and provide your lawn’s root system with life sustaining moisture. A downpour will help the lawn in the short term but has little benefit when it comes to increasing soil moisture. It is important to not only know rainfall amounts but also to know the soil moisture.
June, typically one of our wettest months (4.7” average), has started off very dry. Two weeks into the month and the metro area has received less than .25” of rainfall.
These two maps combined guide my watering decisions. During the summer months when temperatures are in the 80s and 90s, if the 7-day rainfall map reports less than 1” and soil index is less .7 or less, you need to be watering your lawn.
Fescue, when watered with deep soakings every other day, will stand up to 90+ temperatures.
Best Watering Practices
Deep soakings are always best. Short, shallow watering is detrimental to your lawn and landscape in the heat. The healthiest lawns are watered to the point of runoff and then allowed to dry for a day. Daily watering, except for newly planted lawns, is not beneficial, even in 90+ degree heat.
Only water in the early morning. This is typically the least windy time of day and always the time of the least evaporation. Avoid watering in the evening. Wet grass, especially wet fescue, is prone to disease when it stays wet for more than 5 hours at a time and temperatures are in the 90s.
Lawns need 1” to 1.5” of water per week during the summer months to stay green and active.
How long should you water? Every irrigation system is different – different head types, different size nozzles, different head spacing, different areas, etc. The best way to know how long you should water is to place a few Hall | Stewart Water Gauges or a few cans around your lawn in a random pattern. Run your sprinklers through a cycle and check the amount of water each area received. If the sprinklers ran for 15 minutes and you had .25” of water, you need 60 to 90 minutes per week. Next determine how long you can run your irrigation before you there is excessive runoff. This will tell you how many times per week you need to water. If you can get away with watering every 4th day, you will have a healthier, stronger landscape. Unfortunately, with our tight soils, watering every other day on the required ODD/EVEN system during the hottest times is needed to get the correct amount of water on the lawn without excessive runoff.
After watering a normal cycle, the Hall | Stewart water gauge is showing just over 1/2” of moisture. In this situation watering 2-3 times per week will give your lawn the correct amount to remain healthy and green.
If you don’t have the time to audit the amount of water your system puts out, start with these settings, monitor, and adjust: Fixed spray pattern heads with 10-15’ spacings – 10-15 mins per time. Larger rotor type heads on 10-30’ spacings – 30-40 mins per time.
Set your controller to water with back-to-back run times to reduce the amount of runoff. Moist soil absorbs more water than dry soil. Split the amount of time each zone runs in half and set your controller to come on twice on your water days. Example: Set controller to come on at 4:00 AM and 6:00 AM.
I started the practice of setting irrigation controller to run back-to-back run times a few years ago, on slopes and gradually have incorporated the concept to all lawns.
It really makes a difference in water efficiency.
Aeration improves moisture absorption. You can’t beat aeration for improving your soil structure and a benefit of improved soil structure is better water absorption. Lawns that are aerated every year (or at least every other year) do not experience as much runoff.
Watch for uneven water patterns. If you notice areas where the lawn is fading, check your system for a broken head, clogged nozzle, or a head that is out of adjustment.
Even if you don’t have an irrigation system, the concepts of good watering apply. There are several brands of inexpensive hose type timers that make it easy for you to control the timing and frequency.
Too much water can be a problem. You can cause damage to your lawn and landscape quicker by overwatering than you will by underwatering. Waterlogged soil reduces the amount of oxygen. Roots need both moisture and oxygen to survive. Many plants struggle when they do not have a chance to dry out between waterings, such as fescue. Fescue’s biggest problem is brown patch. Brown patch will develop when nighttime temperatures are in the 70’s and the leaf blades stay wet too long. Don’t create your own microclimate that promotes disease by overwatering, watering too often, or watering at night.
Frequent shallow watering reduces the need for grass to develop deeper roots. As summer heat increases, the lack of deep root development will result in quicker signs of drought stress on lawns.
If you notice areas where your lawn is fading start with an irrigation check to make sure heads are functioning correctly.
Air Temperatures & Soil Temperatures
Air temperatures get all the attention. But, the driving factor for lawns is the soil temperature.
Soil temperatures are a key factor in determining when weeds germinate, when lawns start to turn green, and when they are actively growing.
Soil temperature of 55 degrees in the spring is when most summer annual weeds begin to germinate. For the best weed prevention, each summer a pre-emergent herbicide must be applied before the soil temperature reaches 55 degrees for three consecutive days. This year, summer annual weed germination began the first week of March, earlier than normal.
Soil temperature of 55 degrees is when fescue starts to absorb nutrients, regains a rich green color, and begins prolific growth. Most years in central Oklahoma, March is the month to start fertilizing Fescue.
Soil temperature of 65 degrees is when warm season grasses (bermuda and zoysia) become active. Then, once soil temperatures consistently reach 70 degrees bermuda grows its best. In a typical spring, we expect bermuda lawns to green up gradually during April and be active growing by early May. Inconsistent soil temperatures in April and May are the biggest reason for slow warm season turf growth.
Bermuda performs best when soil temperatures are consistently in the 70s.
Brown patch disease in fescue appears as irregular areas that lead you to believe the lawn may not be getting enough water.
Other environmental factors that will impact spring green-up: Shady areas and turf on the north side of homes will come out of dormancy slower because the soil temperature will lag. Low moisture levels during the transition period will slow green-up. Turf grass that must compete with weeds for nutrients and moisture will also be slower. Compacted soil will slow the process by restricting air, nutrient and water movement to the roots.
Soil temperature below 70 degrees in the fall is when winter annual weeds start to germinate. This typically occurs in mid to late September. For the best weed free lawn during winter dormancy ,the first fall pre-emergent herbicide needs to be applied between mid-August and the end of September.
Once soil temperatures begin to cool in September, it is important to apply little to no nitrogen fertilizer to warm season turf. Pushing the turf to stay green deep into the fall is the most common cause for bermuda problems such as spring dead spot.
When soil temperatures begin to cool in September and into October it is the best time to establish fescue from seed.
Soil temperature is the critical measurement for pre-emergent herbicides, fertilizer applications and seeding.
Applications of high nitrogen fertilizer on bermuda lawns after mid-September increases the probability of having spring dead spot the following spring.
There is one important thing you can do to help when temperatures are high – adjust mowing height. Mowing at the maximum mowing height for your turf type provides a canopy that cools the soil and promotes a deep root system. Maintain fescue at 3” to 3.5” and bermuda at 2.5” during the summer heat. If you mow frequently enough, don’t bag your clippings. A light sprinkling of grass clippings will act as mulch for the lawn helping to hold moisture in the soil. The key is mowing often. Leaving clumps of clippings on the lawn is not helpful.
Sunshine & Wind
Turfgrass moisture loss is much higher on windy, sunny days. This is a fact we often overlook and fail to adjust to.
Evapotranspiration (ET) is the loss of moisture through evaporation from the soil and transpiration from the leaves. Turfgrass leaf blades are usually 75% water. The highest ET rates occur on hot, sunny days with lower humidity and moderate winds. This past week, high ET rates have started taking a toll on many lawns.
Another way sunshine and wind impact lawns are in areas of low air circulation and heavy shade. Areas with thicker plant materials, privacy fences, and structures are more prone to diseases due to low air circulation. Be aware of these areas and make sure you are not keeping these areas too moist.
The last of three things that impacts the quality of your lawn, environmental conditions, is something that you have no control over.
But, just because you have no control doesn’t give you an excuse.
Your role, and our role, when it comes to the impact of environmental conditions on your lawn is to be aware, monitor, maintain a healthy growing environment and adjust our practices based on the conditions.
Our goal, no matter the current conditions, is to help you have the best lawn possible.
Lorne Hall
Hall | Stewart Lawn + Landscape
(405)367-3873
PICTURE OF THE WEEK:
We have all seen bagworms use the leaves of the host plant to spin a cocoon, but have you ever seen them build a cocoon out of the berries on a pyracantha?
Brown Patch – Fescue’s Biggest Summer Challenge
Common Belief – Fescue’s biggest summer challenge is surviving the heat.
Fact – Fescue’s biggest summer challenge is surviving Brown Patch.
It is a misconception that fescue lawns need a lot of water to survive summertime. The truth is too much watering, or rather, bad watering practices, is the reason why Brown Patch is the biggest problem for fescue during the summer.
If don’t have any fescue in your lawn and are about to click delete…DON’T DO IT!
There is valuable information at the bottom of the article about BAGWORMS.
So, what is Brown Patch and why is it fescues biggest problem?
Early summer and the Fescue lawns are at their prime. Over the next few weeks as temperatures climb, Fescue, a cool season grass, will enter its biggest challenge. Common belief is summer heat is the biggest challenge for growing fescue in Oklahoma. But it isn’t the heat that is Fescue’s biggest challenge, rather Brown Patch disease is the biggest challenge to successfully growing fescue in Oklahoma.
The common belief is that fescue’s biggest summer challenge is surviving the heat.
But, the fact is fescue’s biggest summer challenge is surviving Brown Patch.
There is a belief that fescue lawns require a lot of water to survive the summertime. But the truth is too much water, either from rainfall or from overwatering, bad watering practices, is the reason Brown Patch is the biggest problem for fescue during the summer.
BAG WORM ALERT! If don’t have any fescue in your lawn and are about to click delete… DON’T DO IT! There is valuable information at the end of this article about BAGWORMS.
What is Brown Patch and why is it fescues biggest problem?
Brown Patch is the most common disease of fescue in Oklahoma. The pathogen (Rhizoctonia solani) that causes Brown Patch prefers warm temperatures and requires excessive moisture.
Brown Patch will develop anytime daytime temperatures are in the 90s, nighttime temperatures stay in the 70s and the turf leaf blades stay wet for 5 hours or more. Rain, or even just high humidities and excessive dew can be enough to keep your turfgrass wet for an extended period giving Brown Patch the opportunity to develop.
In June, typically Oklahoma City’s second wettest month, Brown Patch often occurs because the conditions for the disease are exactly right.
In July and August, as the climate moves from being more humid to being more arid, we should see less Brown Patch pressure on fescue lawns, but we don’t. As the summer gets warmer, we typically see more of the disease because the default tendency is to overwater fescue, and/or to water incorrectly.
Brown Patch appears as irregularly shaped larger areas of thinning, brown to yellow grass blades. Close inspection of leaf blades will reveal small, irregular, tan leaf spots with dark-brown borders.
Brown Patch will be more severe in areas of poor soil drainage, areas with poor air movement, areas with dense shade, and fescue that is over fertilized in the summer.
Fescue lawns that are watered daily, or watered in the evening, are likely to struggle with Brown Patch.
Brown patch
Do not use high rates of nitrogen fertilizer on fescue when temperatures are prime for Brown Patch during the summer months. Apply no more than ½ lb. of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet on fescue during summer months. The disease readily attacks the lush growth of grass promoted by nitrogen. During the early summer fertilize fescue with a low nitrogen fertilizer containing higher amounts of phosphorus and potassium to strengthen the root system then do not fertilize again until temperatures begin to cool in September.
Keep the lawn mowed regularly at the proper height. Fescue should be mowed at 3 to 3 ½” in the summer. Lower mowing will increase disease severity. Remove clippings if you have an active outbreak of Brown Patch. Diseased clippings will feed the spread of the pathogen.
Do all you can to provide good drainage. Annual aeration in the fall will improve soil structure and improve water movement off the surface and into the root zone.
Close inspection of leaf blades will reveal small, irregular, tan leaf spots with dark-brown borders.
Brown patch disease loves mornings when there is a heavy dew.
Brown patch disease in fescue appears as irregular areas that lead you to believe the lawn may not be getting enough water.
What can be done to minimize the problem of Brown Patch on Fescue?
Selecting tall fescue varieties with a high resistance to Brown Patch is a critical first step. We recommend using a fescue blend with at least three varieties. Additionally, look for a mixture specifically for our area. The mixture we use to overseed fescue in the fall includes varieties that show high resistance to brown patch.
Avoiding prolonged periods of leaf wetness will drastically reduce the severity of Brown Patch. When temperatures are warm and fescue grass blades are wet for more than 5 hours at a time, the disease will be present. Do not water daily. Do not water in the evening. Water only when needed and only in the early morning. Deep soaking every other day is best practice. The goal is to get 1 ½” of water on fescue during the summer per week by watering no more than 3 times per week. Deep soak in the morning. Skip a day, then deep soak again.
Want to water your fescue less and still have a healthy fescue lawn? Contact us about our Water Retention Program. Need more information?
Brown patch
A close look at the leaf blades in this area of fescue that is turning slightly brown and thinning reveals the presence of brown patch disease.
Watch this video to see the difference between brown patch and lack of water on a fescue lawn.
A key to managing Brown Patch in fescue is to water deep early in the morning every other day during the summer and avoid keeping the lawn moist for 5 or more hours at a time.
Overseed fescue in the fall. Avoid spring seeding of fescue. Brown Patch is more aggressive on young fescue while mature fescue is more resistant. It is common for spring seeded fescue to struggle with brown patch during the summer.
Have your soil tested every couple of years. Brown Patch will be more severe when the soil is not healthy, pH is too high or too low, or nutrients are out of balance.
The best way to prevent Brown Patch is to eliminate areas where the disease will thrive. Consider making changes to the landscape in areas with poor air circulation and dense shade. Small turf areas surrounded by structures, fences, and heavy landscaping are brown patch prone. You may find removing the turf and extending the landscape or planting groundcovers a better option.
Most importantly…. when we receive rainfall during summer months turn your irrigation off for a few days. Allow time for your lawn and landscape to dry out, good for all types of turf, but critical for fescue.
Cultural practices are very important and the best practices for Brown Patch management.
Fungicides are effective for Brown Patch as either a preventive or curative treatment. Fungicides can be applied in late spring and early summer when the conditions are right for the development of the disease.
Areas of dense shade and poor air circulation may be better served with ground covers such as liriope.
If your fescue is not looking its best, don’t assume it needs more water. Brown Patch will lead you to believe the lawn is too dry. Before you start watering, inspect the leaf blades for evidence of the disease and check the soil to see if it is dry.
It is common for us to receive a call reporting:
“I just can’t get enough water on my fescue to keep it alive…” only to make a site visit to find a thinning fescue lawn struggling with self-induced brown patch from overwatering.
Bagworm Alert!
Bagworms start out very small, so small you may think they are just another needle or leaf.
Bagworms started showing up this week. Right now they are so small that unless you are looking for them you won’t see them.
Bagworms, very small bagworms, are starting to feed on your plants!
Bagworm Info:
Early in the life cycle the worm inside the bag is very small, about the size of a pencil lead. Treatment with an insecticide now will be very effective.
Do you notice the slight color difference between the two junipers? The one on the left is covered with hundreds of very small, almost unnoticeable bagworms that are quickly destroying the mature Taylor Juniper.
¼”-2” long spindle shaped bag wrapped in the foliage of the host plant. Young bagworms are very hard to spot.
Favorite host plants are juniper, arborvitae, spruce, pine, and cedar. But they can attach themselves to any deciduous shrubs and trees.
Females lay eggs in bags left on plants over the winter. One female bagworm will lay as many as 500 eggs. The eggs hatch in the late spring and tiny larva crawls out and start feeding. As they feed, they use silk and plant materials to protect and camouflage themselves. Bagworms can strip a plant of foliage. They are active from late May through September.
Heavy infestations, particularly on the same plant year after year, can cause plant death.
When there are only a few, control is best by hand picking. If you have a large population an insecticide treatment should be made as soon as they are noticed. Try to remove any bags left on plant material in the fall. Bags left on the plant will serve as cocoons for females to lay more eggs. When removing bags, destroy them. Do not pick and toss on the ground as the worm will crawl back to a plant.
Do your landscape a favor this weekend…inspect plants for very tiny bagworms. Your landscape will thank you with healthy shrubs full of rich color and texture.
Anytime you have questions or concerns about your lawn or landscape, give us a call. Our goal is to help you have your best lawn and landscape!
Lorne Hall
Hall | Stewart Lawn + Landscape
(405)367-3873
June Lawn & Landscape Tips
Hello, June!
Hello, Summer!
June… the month everything feels just a little brighter.
June… the month when lawns, both warm season bermuda, zoysia, and cool season fescue look great.
June… the month when an abundance of perennials add color to the landscape.
June… the month summer blooming shrubs and trees start adding color to our world.
June… the month to discover a new favorite tree, shrub, perennial or summer annual color. What will be your favorite this June?
Awe…June is the month when all your lawn and landscape work this spring rewards you with enjoyable evenings on the patio.
June… what a magnificent month for your lawn and landscape!
Wait…don’t get too comfortable, it is summer, and your lawn and landscape still need attention:
June is the month for day lilies to add splashes of color to the landscape.
Endless Summer Hydrangea are gracing the landscape with their first blooms for the summer.
Fertilizer
Bermuda lawns should be fertilized this month with a higher nitrogen, slow-release fertilizer. The goal in June is to create a healthy bermuda lawn that will thrive in the summer heat. Fescue lawns should only receive low nitrogen, root stimulating fertilizer during June to prepare them for the summer heat.
Weed Control
If you subscribe to Hall | Stewart’s Lawn Care Programs and have not skipped any applications this year, your lawn has had two pre-emergent applications. This will provide your lawn with a good barrier to prevent summer annual grassy weeds. But, if not, you may have some grassy weeds, the most common is crabgrass, showing up in your lawn. June is a good month to control grassy weeds while they are still young plants. Once they mature, stronger products will need to be used which can cause turf damage. If nutsedge is making an appearance in your lawn it is best not to pull it. When you pull nutsedge and do not remove the nut below the surface, the plant becomes stressed and multiplies.
Crabgrass is a very fast growing summer annual grassy weed. If you did not get a pre-emergent on your lawn early this year, you are almost certain to have crabgrass growing in your lawn. Treat now with a grassy weed control herbicide. If you wait until July to control, harsh products that will damaged desirable turf will have to be used.
Tree & Shrub Care
The best thing you can do for your trees and shrubs this month is give them your attention. Make it a routine to walk around the landscape looking for plants that just don’t look their best. Most insects are great at camouflage and are hard to spot before you have damaged leaves. Start watching for spider mites. If you notice pale and specked foliage, shake the leaves over a white sheet of paper. If you see tiny specks that start to move, you have spider mites and should schedule a treatment. Be on the watch for bagworms on needle evergreens. When they are young, they are hard to spot. If you notice your evergreens losing color, there is a good chance bagworms are the problem. With all insect and disease issues we subscribe to an integrated pest management approach. With our Tree & Shrub Program, we inspect for issues with each visit. Most problems are easier to control the earlier you notice them. If you notice any issues with your plants, please let us know.
Bag worms start out small and hard to see. Take time to inspect your needle evergreen shrubs this month.
Do your landscape a favor and keep an eye out for bagworms. They are much easier to control when applications are made early.
Bagworms start out very small and are hard to see. Take time to inspect your needle evergreens before they cause damage.
If you notice pale or speckled foliage on boxwood shrubs, shake a branch over a white paper. If you see tiny specks that start to move, you need to spray for spider mites.
As temperatures warm up in June, be on the lookout for aphids.
Soft scale can be a problem on Redbud trees. A small 1/16-1/8”, reddish, oval scale that is often found on small twigs and can cause small branches to die if not treated. A treatment plan in late winter with a dormant oil with follow-up treatments in late spring and early summer with a horticultural oil is required.
You can expect to see Black Eyed Susans, a perennial brighten the landscape this month.
Mowing
Good mowing practices will have the biggest impact on the quality of your lawn over the summer months. For the best summer turf get into a routine of mowing often enough that you only remove 1/3 of the leaf blade with each mowing. For bermuda and zoysia, both warm season turfgrasses, this may require mowing every 4 to 5 days. If you mow this often, don’t bag your clippings. The top 1/3 of the grass leaf is 90% moisture and nutrients. The best summer height for warm season turf is 1.5 – 2.5”. Fescue, cool season turfgrass, will continue to grow rapidly during early June but once we consistently have temperatures in the upper 90’s it will begin to slow down. The best height for cool season turf in the summer is 3.0 – 3.5”. Both warm season and cool season turfs don’t respond well to being cut below their recommended height. Cutting the lawn too short discourages root development and having deep roots going into the summer heat is important for both warm and cool season turf.
One of the biggest concerns we have for fescue lawns going into the warmer days of summer is often they are cut too short. Cool season lawns will do better in the summer heat with more leaf space. If you have a fescue lawn, gradually raise your mower to at least 3” this month. I started mowing my fescue lawn a ½ notch higher in May and will increase it another ½ notch this week.
Limelight Hydrangea
In every season, always be on the lookout for plants that add interest to the landscape. Orange Rocket Barberry is one that is a little different than your typically Barberry. Orange Rocket is known for its upright, compact growth habit.
Increase the mowing height on fescue lawns to 3” to 3.5” inches June and maintain that height through the summer.
Summer Annual Color
Shasta Daisies, a perennial, will bloom from early June through mid-summer. They make great cut flowers.
Who can’t help but fall in love with the lacy blooms of Oakleaf Hydrangeas at this time of year. They are a wonderful contrast to their big leaves.
Later this month Mimosa trees will add bright pink, feathery flowers to the landscape.
June is the month an old fashion plant, Rose of Sharon, shows us why we should add tried and true plants to our landscapes.
Shrub Pruning
June is the last month to prune spring blooming shrubs. Spring blooming shrubs start setting flower buds by mid-summer. A few examples of spring blooming shrubs: forsythia, quince, bridal wreath spirea, and azalea. If the shrub is overgrown, use thinning cuts to reduce the size and increase air flow into the center of the plant. Make thinning cuts by removing branches back to the main trunk or another branch. If the shrub only needs a little shaping, make heading cuts near the end of branches. But remember that all shrubs will perform at their best if they are allowed to grow without heavy pruning or shearing.
Planted in mass Stella D’oro Daylily’s add bright splashes of yellow to the landscape during June.
If your Azaleas have become overgrown or need shaping, June is your last chance to prune them before they start setting buds for next spring.
Our longest blooming plant, the Crape Myrtle, will start its summer long show this month.
Trumpet Vine
Start watching for the Vitex to add purple to the landscape during June.
Watering
“How much to water” may be one of the most misunderstood aspects of managing a lawn and landscape. Develop the practice of watering based only on need. During the summer months, anytime we get a ½” rain or more, turn your system off for a few days. Depending on afternoon temperatures, a 1” rainfall may save you a week’s worth of water. The converse is true as well. If we go a week without receiving a 1” of rainfall, you need to be watering. Another clue it is time to start watering… when you walk on the lawn, if the grass doesn’t spring back up and your footsteps remain in the lawn, it is time to start watering. Remember, deep soakings are always better than short, frequent watering. Shallow, frequent watering results in lawns with less roots and more dependent on water. Throughout the summer make it a habit to inspect your landscape and adjust. Don’t set your irrigation controller at the beginning of the season, never touching it again until the fall.
Hall | Stewart’s Moisture Retention Program uses Hydretain, a unique root zone moisture management product that reduces the overall watering requirements of lawns and landscapes.
Hydretain advantages -
Maximize soil water availability and reduce irrigation frequency.
Manage soil moisture to help plants withstand periods of drought and watering restrictions.
Reduce water use and water cost.
Maintain a green lawn with less water.
Control or eliminate dry spot problems.
Enhance nutrient uptake.
Non-toxic, safe around pets and children.
By mid month Limelight Hydrangea and Hibiscus will be adding big blooms to our landscapes.
Mulch
Add mulch to your landscape plantings this month. A 2” layer of mulch will retain moisture, cool the soil, and reduce weed germination. We prefer premium shredded all bark cedar mulch because it doesn’t float as much and aesthetically looks great. For acid-loving plants such as hydrangeas and azaleas, pecan hulls or pine bark mulch is a great choice.
Endless Summer Hydrangea
Goldflame Spirea
Annual color planting of Joseph Coat, Sunpatien, and Marigold make a great yellow/orange color scheme.
Hardy Hibiscus
Brown Patch
Be on the lookout for brown patch in your fescue lawn. June is the most active month for this disease in fescue lawns. Anytime nighttime temperatures are 70 plus and the turf remains damp for over 6 hours at a time; brown patch will develop. Areas where there is little air movement and/or heavy shade are more prone because the turf stays wet longer. Brown patch will make the lawn appear it needs more water, but watering will just make it worse. So, before you water more, think about the site, the amount of shade, the air movement in the area, and the amount of moisture the area has received. The best thing you can do if this problem occurs is to stop watering.
One of the most self-inflicted problems with fescue lawns is watering practices that promote the development of brown patch. Always allow your fescue time to dry out between waterings. Avoid watering fescue in the evening during the summer.
Crape Myrtle
Brown Patch will make fescue look like it needs more water, but the problem is actually the result of the leaf blades staying wet for over 6 hours at a time when nighttime temperatures are in the 70s.
There are many varieties of Spirea’s with yellow and green foliage that put on blooms in the early summer.
Yarrow is a perennial that produces yellow flowers in late May and early June.
Also, Cone Flower, another summer perennial will make a showing in June.
Ruby Slippers Oakleaf Hydrangea has large white blooms in the summer that turn to pick as they age.
Anthony Waterer Spirea is a medium sized shrub that is covered with pink flowers in late May and early June.
Aeration
Mechanical aeration is a “best” practice for any lawn. Aeration reduces soil compaction, promotes root development, and thickens the turf. May and June are the best months to aerate bermuda. This one practice will make a significant difference in the quality of your turf. The stronger the turf, the less weed problems you will experience.
Summer Crush Hydrangeas are a reblooming hydrangea that produces large floral quality blooms in your landscape.
Insects
Regularly scheduled treatments for fleas & ticks, mosquitos, and perimeter insect control around your house should continue during the summer. The goal is to make outdoor living for your family and pets the best possible.
Southern Magnolia trees produce large white flowers in early summer. Teddy Bear and Little Gem Dwarf Southern Magnolia are great plants for smaller landscapes.
Texas Red Yucca produce tall red flowering spikes this month. There are several varieties. Brakelights Red Yucca is a favorite.
Awe…may your June be filled with time outside, in your lawn and landscape, on your patio with family and friends, enjoying the beauty every day!
“Summertime, and the living is easy.” Ella Fitzgerald
If you have any questions about your lawn or landscape, send us an email or give us a call. We would love to help you have your best lawn and landscape this summer.
Lorne Hall
Hall | Stewart Lawn + Landscape
(405)367-3873
More perennials, please!
Over the years I have become more and more fond of using perennials in the landscape.
In the early days of my love for landscapes, I was slow to add perennials because they don’t add color all season and I often felt their foliage was unattractive after the blooms faded. When I did add a few, they always found their home in an out of the way, background location of the landscape.
I still believe annual color is the best choice close to the front door, along the front walks, and key areas around outdoor living spaces. Annual color is the best way to create a bright, welcome and season long statement in the landscape. But, more and more, I find myself adding perennials to landscapes for pops of color throughout the season.
What is the difference between annuals and perennials?
Perennial plants regrow every spring.
Annual plants live for only one growing season and then die.
Perennials usually have a shorter blooming period compared to annuals.
Great landscapes use a combination of both perennials and annuals.
There are so many perennial choices. Every year growers introduce new varieties of the old tried and true perennials. Every year I enjoy trying a perennial I haven’t used in a landscape before.
I have my favorites. Favorites that have found a home in my landscape, and although none of them add color the entire season, it is fun to discover another perennial blooming in the landscape as we pass through the seasons.
It is not possible to cover every perennial and every variety in this email; there are literally thousands of books on perennials. This list is of perennials is just a start, a start at adding splashes of color to your landscape from early spring through fall.
Creeping Phlox (Phlox stolonifera).
The first to welcome spring each year. Creeping phlox produces a spring-like carpet in pastel hues of white, lavender, red and pink. Creeping phlox is a moderate grower that can spread up to 2’ but only reaches 4-6” in height. It prefers full sun but will tolerate some shade each day. Boarders, walls, and around boulders are where it looks best. In my garden you will find it cascading over a rock retaining wall. It tolerates most soils as long as it is well drained. The plant requires little maintenance. Mites are about the only insect problem it will have.
Creeping Phlox
Creeping phlox cascading over any landscape wall is a great way to say “hello” to spring.
Dianthus
Dianthus and Salvia planted along a flagstone walkway.
A must have perennial for cut flowers is Peony. With sturdy stems and spectacular blooms they not make April to early May pretty outside, but inside too.
Creeping Phlox
Creeping Phlox
Dianthus (Dianthus).
It works well as a boarder, in small groupings, around boulders or as a single plant reaching 10-15” tall with a spread of 12-24”. They bloom from late spring to early summer in rose, pink, white, and red. They prefer areas where they will receive at least 6 hours of full sun each day but will tolerate some dappled shade or afternoon shade. Just like creeping phlox, they are a cool season lover. They will grow in most soils, prefer alkaline soils, but waterlogged soil will cause crown and root rot. Heavy mulching near the crown of the plant can be detrimental. Late March through April and into May is the peak bloom time. Light feeding in the spring with a complete fertilizer of phosphorus, potassium and low nitrogen is recommended. Other than an occasional aphid or powdery mildew issue, they do not have many problems. There are more than 300 varieties of dianthus to choose from. My all-time favorite is ‘Firewitch’. It has silver-green foliage and a vibrant pink bloom. One short coming – it is not uncommon for them to thrive for a few years and then gradually decline, so you may need to replant every 3-4 years. I have found this true with the dianthus planted in my front landscape, but at the same time, I have a planting of dianthus in my back landscape that has performed well for nearly 20 years.
Dianthus
Peony (disambiguation) –
Easily one of the most old fashioned, coveted perennials. With sturdy stems and spectacular blooms, a peony is a mut have in your landscape just for cut flowers in late April to early May. Peonies are a large, 2-3’ tall, bushy shape with deeply lobed leaves that make a great back drop for a border of groundcover, smaller plants or spring bulbs.
‘May Night’ Salvia (Salvia x sylvestris).
Sage type flower spikes of deep bluish-purple that will add color in April, May and early June. The best flower show will be in full sun, but it will tolerate a little dappled shade each day. The plant grows 12-18” tall with flower spikes reaching 24”. The plant looks great in the middle of the garden planted behind creeping phlox or dianthus, and in front of Shasta daisy or Black-eyed Susan. The leaves often become tattered later in the summer. Keep faded blooms removed to maximize bloom period and pruning the plants after blooming may result in a few fall blooms. In the early spring, before new growth emerges, remove the dormant foliage. Salvia tolerates clay soils but will struggle with root rot if the soil stays saturated.
With nearly 1,000 species new varieties and colors of salvia arrive every year. For the latest information on salvia introductions, visit Proven Winners https://www.provenwinners.com/learn/how-plant/salvia
Cutting Salvia back after it has finished blooming for the season.
From April through early June you can count on May Night Salvia adding deep blue to purple spikes of color to the landscape.
Pink Dianthus, May Night Salvia with Gold Moneywort ground cover.
Yarrow
Daylily
Daylily (Hemerocallis).
There are over 80,000 varieties of daylily. They come in nearly every color and shade of color you can imagine, ranging 10-36” tall and 12-24” wide. Depending on the variety, blooms start in early summer and extend into late summer with a successive blooming habit that lasts 4-6 weeks. They also are one of the most adaptable plants. They are very cold hardy and very heat tolerant. They are happy in almost every soil condition, clay, loam, dry, wet, low nutrient. They prefer full sun but will bloom in partial shade. With a clump type growth, they are dynamic planted in a mass grouping. Leave dormant foliage until new foliage emerges in the spring. Fertilize in early spring and again in early summer. Clumps can be divided every 3-5 years in the fall. Remove spent flower stocks to encourage more blooms. The most common yellow daylily is ‘Stella de’ Oro’. ‘Pardon Me’ is a great red daylily. Planting daylilies behind liriope (monkey grass) will help cover up the unattractive foliage as it begins to fade in late summer. Look around, daylilies started putting on their early summer show this week.
Daylily have just started adding color to the early summer landscape.
‘May Night’ Salvia
Dianthus and Salvia make a great combination to your May landscape.
May Night Salvia
Yarrow (Achillea millefolium).
I’m sure you have noticed yellow yarrow in landscapes for years, but more recently you are seeing red, white, pink and purple tones of yarrow in the landscapes. An early bloomer with ferny foliage that makes a great addition in full sun landscapes. Plant in groups in the front or middle layer of the landscape bed. They are also great in a butterfly garden.
Yarrow
‘Cat’s Pajamas’ Catmint is a long blooming small mounding perennial that is covered with blue flowers from late spring through summer.
Daylily
catmint (nepeta).
A consistent spring to fall bloomer with spike-like lavender, blue, pink or white flowers on gray-green foliage. Catmint is drought tolerant and actually does well when neglected making it one of the better low-maintenance perennials. Virtually pest and disease free and also deer and rabbit repellent. Known for its mounding growth habit, catmint does well as a border plant, along pathways, or in a mass planting. Catmint grows well in most soils, including clay, but performs best in well drained soil. It enjoys full sun to partial shade.
Catmint
Red Coneflower, Black-eyed Susan and Shasta Daisy
Banana Cream II is an improved variety of Daisy with lemony yellow flowers.
Shasta Daisy (Chrysanthemum x superbum).
Classic daisy appearance of white petals around a yellow center. They grow in clumps 1-2’ wide and 2-3’ tall. Best if planted in fertile soil that drains well. The more sun they receive the more they will bloom. Shasta Daisies start blooming in early summer and can last until early fall. They make great cut flowers. Keeping the faded blooms cut will extend the color show. After the foliage goes dormant in late fall, cut the stems back to 1-2”. They respond well to light fertilizer in the spring. Daisies perform best if they are divided every 3-5 years. Considered as a low maintenance plant, aphids are about the only insect you may see. ‘Becky’ is a favorite variety. A newer addition to the Shata family is Banana Cream II. Proven Winners is a great place to learn more about adding daisies to your landscape. https://www.provenwinners.com/learn/how-plant/shasta-daisy
Black-Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia grandiflora).
Daisy like golden-yellow flower petals surround a dark brown or black center reaching 2-4’ and spreading 2’. The large flower blooms (2-4”) will be arriving in the next few weeks and will continue into July. And, if you keep spent blooms trimmed off, you will get a few blooms in the fall. Plant in sun to partial shade. As a native prairie plant, you will find it to be low maintenance. It tolerates most soils but prefers well drained. Because of its height, plant in the middle of a bed or as a background to lower perennials, such as dianthus or salvia. The plant can be divided every 3-5 years. Remove dormant foliage anytime in the fall or winter. It can develop powdery mildew if in too much shade. Minimal feeding is required. Keep a watch out for occasional aphid problems.
One of the best late summer blooming perennials is Black-eyed Susan.
Black-eyed Susan
Black-eyed Susan
Because of its height, plant in the middle of a bed or as a background to lower perennials, such as dianthus or salvia. The plant can be divided every 3-5 years. Remove dormant foliage anytime in the fall or winter. It can develop powdery mildew if in too much shade. Minimal feeding is required. Keep a watch out for occasional aphid problem.
Coneflower
One of the longer blooming summer perennials is Coneflower.
Coneflower
Coneflower (Echinacea).
A native prairie plant with 2-4” diameter blooms. Coneflowers are highly versatile in color, ranging from traditional purple and pink to white, yellow, orange, red, and green, with many hybrid varieties offering multicolored or changing hues throughout the season. Just like black-eyed susan it reaches 2-4’ in height and spreads out 2-3’ and makes a good show planted in the back or sides of the garden. But it also works well as a single specimen. Plant in sun to partial shade. It is one of the longest summer bloomers with a show that lasts 5-8 weeks. The coarse texture of the leaves makes them well suited near softer-textured plants such as ornamental grasses. It enjoys well-drained, fertile soil. Removing faded flowers will encourage more blooms. Remove dead foliage in the winter. Coneflowers are fairly disease tolerant and responds to feeding early in the growing season and also likes to be mulched.
Hardy Verbena (Verbena).
This low growing (4-6”) spreading (2-3’) perennial thrives in summer heat while producing purple, pink, red or white blooms. Verbena is not picky about soil type but requires full sun. When it gets more than 2-3 hours of shade per day, its biggest problem is powdery mildew disease increases. The low growing nature makes it perfect for the front of beds, along walks and cascading over walls and slopes. It also looks great in pots and window boxes. Good drainage and fertile soils needed and with consistent irrigation blooms and spread will increase. Feed in spring and after the first flush of heavy blooms. Don’t fertilize after July. Verbena likes mulch to insulate roots and hold in moisture. Shearing the plant just below spent blooms will encourage growth and more flowering. My favorite variety is ‘Homestead Purple’.
We think of Garden Mums as fall color, but they also bloom in late spring to early summer. After the early blooms fade shear them back to the shape and height you prefer and then don’t prune on them again after the 4th of July.
Garden Mum (Chrysanthemum x moratorium).
Typically thought of as an annual, but they make a great perennial for fall color with shades of pink, red, white and yellow. Plant height and width are both 1-3’ resulting typically in a round shape. They produce a wonderful burst of color for 2-4 weeks in late September and October. Mums will tolerate light shade but prefer full sun. To survive the winter as a perennial they need moisture and good drainage. Therefore, add an ample amount of compost when planting in our clay soils. Dormant foliage can be removed anytime during the winter or in the spring when new growth emerges. Mums will bloom a little in the spring or early summer. Once the early blooms fade, keep the plant sheared to the shape and height you prefer. Stop shearing after the first of July. When you shear a mum during the last half of the summer, you are removing the flower buds for the fall.
Spring blooms this week on mums.
Coneflower
Hosta (Hosta).
Monrovia.com lists over 78 varieties of hosta. This shade to partial sun loving plant is perfect for adding brightness to shady areas. Varieties range in size, but 12-14” tall and 30” wide is common. They prefer organic soil and regular watering when it is hot. Their leafy appearance is a great companion to ground covers. Monrovia calls them “the potato chip of plants…once you have one and watch how it lights up the shade you will want another.” One of my favorites is ‘Patriot’. I dare you to plant just one.
A favorite, Patriot Hosta, is a compact variety with glossy dark green leaves with white edges. It is also more heat tolerant than most varieties.
King Ostrich Fern
Fern.
Excellent for shade gardens and damp areas. They require frequent watering, especially in the summer heat. There are many varieties but for most gardens, ones that grow 18-30” with a 24” spread, are best. They are an easy-going plant that adds texture to the landscape. It is a great plant for filling in bare areas in the shade. Matteuccia struthiopteris ‘The King’ is a favorite Ostrich fern.
Coral Bells (Heuchera).
A great shade companion to hosta and caladium, but this perennial will also be happy planted in a little more sun. It makes a great boarder, a mass grouping, or plant a single plant as an accent. There are many varieties with colorful foliage to choose from. ‘Palace Purple’ has deep purple foliage which looks great planted with ‘Patriot’ Hosta.
Coral Bells
Coral Bell 'Palace Purple' planted as an accent with fern in a shady raised planter.
Hosta and Coral Bells make a great combination in shady gardens.
Gaillardia
The best time to add perennials to your landscape is spring and fall. But you can find success adding perennials most anytime; just avoid the hottest days of the summer and the coldest period of the winter. My favorite time to add perennials is when I am planting my annual color in the spring or fall.
Two great resources for perennials are https://www.provenwinners.com/ and https://www.monrovia.com/plant-catalog/
But an even better way to learn more about perennials is to make a habit of taking monthly walks through the Myriad Garden and Scissortail Park to see what is currently in bloom.
What are your favorite perennials?
We are always on the lookout for new ideas.
Text or email us a few pictures of perennials blooming in your landscape!
Lorne Hall
Hall | Stewart Lawn + Landscape
(405)367-3873
3 Keys to a Great Lawn - #2 Maintenance
When it comes to having a great lawn, what is most important?
Lawn care applications?
Maintenance practices?
Environmental conditions?
All three are keys to a great lawn - Lawn Care Applications, Maintenance, and Environmental Conditions.
Great lawns are not a result of getting one, or even two, of the three correct.
Great lawns are equally the result of all three.
Today, we are covering the second - Maintenance. In April, we covered Lawn Care Applications and in June we will visit about how Environmental Conditions impact your lawn.
Maintenance includes all mechanical activities involved in caring for your lawn: Mowing, Aerating, Dethatching, Turf Selection, Soil Test, etc.
Mowing
Mowing by far has the biggest impact on the quality of your lawn.
Think about it. More time will be spent mowing your lawn than any other lawn or landscape activity. If your goal is to have a great lawn, you will make somewhere between 28 to 40 trips across your lawn this year. A well-maintained warm season turf (bermuda, zoysia) will be mowed 28 to 32 times per growing season while a great fescue lawn will be mowed 36 to 40 times.
Cutting height is important.
Cutting too low discourages root growth and reduces the lawn’s ability to withstand extreme temperatures and drought.
Cutting too tall results in a stemmy turf that is more susceptible to scalping.
Bermuda and zoysia should be mowed at 1-2” March through May. As temperatures start to increase in June gradually increase the mowing height to 2-2.5” by mid to late summer and maintain that height through the end of the growing season. If mowing bermuda with a reel type mower, the lawn can be maintained at 1.5” during the summer months.
Maintain fescue at 3” during the summer months.
Cutting the lawn shorter in the spring and early summer promotes lateral spread and a tighter turf.
A taller turf in the heat of the year provides a canopy that cools the soil, promotes a deep root system, and provides insulation for low temperatures going into the winter.
Fescue should be mowed at 2.5-3” in the spring March through May. During the heat of the summer, June through September, maintain fescue at 3-3.5”. In the fall as the weather cools returning to 2.5-3” is fine.
A good rule of thumb is to maintain all turf grown in shade at the recommended highest levels or a little taller. This will increase leaf area to compensate for the lower light levels.
Maintain turf growing in shady areas a little taller. The increased leaf area will compensate for the lower light levels.
Mowing frequency makes a big difference in the quality of a lawn.
The best lawns are mowed based on growth, not a set schedule. If you hire your lawn mowed, mowing on a set schedule, preferably weekly during the growing season, is typically the practical solution. But, if you mow your own lawn, a big step towards a better lawn is to start mowing based on growth.
The best time to mow is at the point where no more than 1/3 of the leaf area will be removed. For example, if you are trying to maintain your lawn at 2”, the lawn should be mowed before it exceeds 3”. Removing more than 1/3 of the height at one time results in cutting below the leaf and into the stems. Removing all the leaf requires the turf to use nutrients stored in the roots to generate new leaves followed by putting energy into storing more nutrients. Scalping into the stems starts a growing cycle that is not optimal for having a great lawn.
Mulch mowing vs bagging your clippings is one of the best things you can do for your lawn.
An added benefit of mowing often enough that no more than 1/3 of the leaf blade is removed at a time is you don’t need to bag your clippings. Leaf blades are mostly water and nitrogen. Every time you remove your clippings you are throwing away valuable moisture and nutrients.
Mow often and don’t bag your clippings. Mulch mow and return nutrients to the soil. Your lawn will thank you.
When mulch mowing, a few clippings are ok. They will break down quickly and return nutrients and moisture to the soil.
But, if you are like me, you like a neat and clean lawn when you are finished mowing. So, use your blower to distribute any noticeable clippings.
Varying your mowing pattern will reduce soil compaction and give your lawn a professional appearance.
Keep mower blades sharp.
Dull blades bruise leaf tips, reduce growth, and causes a dull-cast appearance over the turf due to frayed leaf blades.
Vary the mowing pattern.
Mowing the same direction 30-40 times per year will create unnecessary soil compaction. Lawns look better when two or three mowing patterns are rotated through.
Aerating
We talk about aerating a lot. Why? The overwhelming common factor of our best lawns is annual aeration.
Aerating is the process of taking small cores out of the lawn with a mechanical core aerator. Aeration reduces compaction and improves the soil structure by improving air, nutrient, and water movement to the root zone. Cores should be left on the lawn and allowed to break down. Gradually the holes created by the aerator are filled in with loose soil from the cores creating pockets for root development. Aerating also reduces thatch.
Bermuda should be aerated any time after spring green up through early summer, April through mid-July.
The best time to aerate fescue is in the fall, September through October.
Aeration will take a lawn from good to great!
Dethatching
Thatch is the undecomposed roots and stems of the turf. Excessive thatch, more than ½,” impedes the flow of water, air, and nutrients into the soil. Lawns with excessive thatch are shallow rooted and therefore are less drought and heat tolerant.
Bermuda lawns are more prone to excessive thatch than fescue. The best time to remove excessive thatch is in the early spring, late February to early March, before the lawn greens up. The best tool to use is a power rake, also known as a dethatcher.
Important note – Lawns that are aerated at least every other year rarely have excessive thatch problems. If your lawn has a moderate amount of thatch, we recommend aeration as a preventative step to dethatching.
Turf Selection
Light is a basic requirement of turfgrass growth and is often the limiting factor in good turf development. All plants, including turf grass, have a minimum light requirement.
Bermuda prefers 8 hours of direct sunlight for optimal growth.
Zoysia will grow well in a little less light but still needs 6 hours of direct sunlight.
For any areas with less than 5 hours of direct sunlight, fescue is the best option.
We all tend to underestimate the amount of shade our trees, shrubs, buildings, and fences cast on our lawns.
Lawn areas that receive only dappled sun are best planted in fescue.
Over the course of the growing season take time to observe shade patterns in your landscape and make a plan for any areas with too little direct sunlight to support a thick lawn.
Zoysia is best established from sod and can be installed throughout the season.
Fescue does well established from seed. The best time to establish fescue from overseeding is in September or October. There is a second opportunity in March. But fall is by far the best time because as a cool season grass, it will have more time to establish a strong root system for the summer heat.
During April and May, establishing fescue from sod is best. Avoid sodding fescue during the summer heat.
Soil Test
When a lawn isn’t growing well, has poor color, looks sickly, and doesn’t respond as expected to fertilizer, a soil test should be done.
There are 13 essential mineral elements in soil. Their availability to be used by turfgrass is based on soil pH. Between pH of 6.0 and 7.0, all essential soil elements are available for optimal turfgrass growth. A soil test will determine if lime is needed to raise the pH or if sulfur is needed to lower the pH.
Fill a quart sized plastic bag with soil from 10-12 random places in your lawn. Using a spade take soil from 2-6” below the surface. Remove roots from the soil. Take the soil sample to your local Oklahoma State University County Extension Office. They will test the soil and send you a report for a nominal fee. The Oklahoma County office is located at 2500 NE 63rd St., Oklahoma City, OK 73111.
Or, give us a call and we will gather a sample and take it to the lab for you.
Just like Lawn Care Applications, Maintenance activities by themselves will not fix all your lawn problems.
But, without proper maintenance activities, lawn care applications will not be as effective.
We look forward to continuing the conversation of the three keys to a great lawn next month when we discuss how the environment impacts your efforts to have a beautiful lawn.
If you are subscribing to a Hall | Stewart Lawn Care Program, good maintenance practices are a key to getting the most out of our lawn care applications.
If you have any questions, please let us know. We enjoy visiting with you about your lawn.
Lorne Hall
Hall | Stewart Lawn + Landscape
(405)367-3873
Spring Dead Spot – Oklahoma’s #1 Turf Disease
Oklahoma is in the transition zone.
What is the transition zone?
It is the zone between where warm season turf grows best and the zone where cool season turf grows best.
Warm Season Turfs: Bermuda Grass and Zoysia Grass.
Cool Season Turfs: Fescue Grass, Rye Grass, Blue Grass
The transition zone is an overlapping area where warm season grasses do well in the heat of the summer while cool season grasses do well in the spring and the fall, and some cool season grasses, such as tall fescue, continue to do well through most summers.
The transition zone is the area where you can’t go wrong growing either warm season grasses or cool season grasses.
Developing and maintaining a great warm season turf can be a challenge in the transition zone where winter temperatures often get colder than warm season grasses prefer and where it is common for an April freeze to stunt warm season turf green-up.
Consistently warming soil temperatures are critical for bermuda to exit dormancy and become active.
Even though spring green-up of bermuda came early this year soil temperatures still have not consistently reached the point that bermuda lawns are at the summer best. Challenging areas remain. Lawns with partial shade, where soil temperatures lag, are trying to catch up. Thin turf areas and lawns with weak root systems, are also lagging behind.
Our goal each week is to discuss the things we encounter while visiting lawns and landscapes. This time of year, as the warm season lawns are greening up, we get a lot of calls about dead spots in Bermuda lawns.
“What are all the circular dead spots in bermuda lawns?”
Is it grubs?
Is it damage caused by a weed killer?
These are common assumptions, but they are neither.
It is a disease…Spring Dead Spot.
Spring Dead Spot is widespread in Oklahoma and holds the title as the number one disease of bermuda lawns in the region. You can count on there always being some Spring Dead Spot, but some springs the disease is worse than others. When the fall, winter and spring conditions are right for Spring Dead Spot, any bermuda lawn in our region has the potential to be a host for the disease.
Let’s look at the history, symptoms, disease cycle, causes, and possible solutions for preventing and controlling this mysterious bermudagrass disease.
Spring Dead Spot patches will begin to grow healthy grass in the patch after a couple of years.
History
Spring Dead Spot has been a problem for a long time. The first case was discovered in Oklahoma in 1936 by a golf course superintendent following a harsh Oklahoma winter.
By the 1950s the unknown disease had become so prevalent in our state that Oklahoma State University plant pathologists began simply referring to the disease as Spring Dead Spot.
In the 1960s the disease became so widespread in suburban Atlanta lawns, particularly hybrid bermuda, that the University of Georgia launched a research program. After three years of research the university still didn’t know the cause and never could get the disease to reproduce in test plots.
In more recent years Oklahoma State University has focused research on the disease. What they have found is that the disease is tough to eradicate, tough to manage, and unpredictable.
Symptoms
Spring Dead Spot makes an appearance in the spring with ugly, rounded, bleached white dead spots in bermuda lawns. The spots range in size from a few inches to a few feet in diameter. If you dig up the roots in the area, they will appear black and rotting.
Damaged patches tend to recur in the same spots year after year. After a couple of years, the center of the spots will begin to develop a patch of healthy turf.
Spring Dead Spot typically isn’t active in newer lawns. It is common for it to first make an appearance 3 or 4 years into a new lawn. And just as strangely, the disease often becomes less active after a few years. All this just adds to the mystery of the disease.
This coincides with my experience: the disease is more common in newer neighborhoods and rarely found in older established areas of the city.
Because the pathogen causes rotting of the roots, rhizomes and stolons, the susceptibility to winter injury increases in the affected areas. The colder the winter or the harsher the April freeze, the more spring dead spot damage we see.
An example of healthy bermuda grass growing in the middle of a Spring Dead Spot patch.
Disease Cycle
In Oklahoma, the disease becomes active starting in September as soil temperatures begin to cool and reach 70 degrees and remains active through the winter if soil temperatures stay above 50 degrees.
Recovery starts in the late spring and continues through the summer as healthy turf around the Spring Dead Spot area grows into the damaged area.
Because the damaged spot often doesn’t have time to completely heal and develop strong roots, the same spots reappear each spring. Research shows the spots can reappear in the spring because of freeze damage even if the disease isn’t active that year.
Causes
The most serious Spring Dead Spot outbreaks occur in highly managed bermuda, often hybrid types. It is a common problem on turf that receives heavy nitrogen fertilizer applications, mowed at low settings, and receives frequent foot traffic.
The spring dead spot fungus attacks the roots, rhizomes, and stolons of bermudagrass during the fall and winter. This activity does not directly kill the plant but instead makes the bermudagrass more susceptible to freezing injury. As a result, spring dead spot is most severe in the northern range of bermudagrass adaptation and is usually more severe after extremely cold winters.
Any factor that restricts bermudagrass root growth increases its susceptibility to Spring Dead Spot:
Turfgrass that receives excessive late-season applications of nitrogen to extend green color are more prone to the development of Spring Dead Spot.
Potassium deficiencies.
Poor soil drainage.
Soil compaction.
Cultural Practices for Spring Dead Spot Management
No single management practice will provide complete control of Spring Dead Spot. The best prevention and control of Spring Dead Spot comes from practices that promote a dense turf and a healthy root system. Because the disease is more prevalent in tight compacted soils, which often have poor root systems, annual aeration is important as it will promote a healthy root system and lessen the probability of the disease.
Although the impact of soil pH is unclear on the development of Spring Dead Spot, an annual soil test to ensure the correct pH is maintained will encourage plant vigor and reduce turf stress.
Recovery improves with a fertilizer routine that ensures the lawn will receive 3 to 5 pounds of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet during the growing season with the first application being made in April to May as soil temperatures consistently rise.
Applications of more than .5 pounds of nitrogen after September 15 must be avoided. Some research shows that heavier applications of potassium in the fall promotes winter hardiness. Others believe soils in our region already contain sufficient potassium if the soil pH is near neutral.
The desire to have a green and actively growing bermuda lawn as long into the fall as possible may be the most common practice that leads to the development of Spring Dead Spot.
If you have small areas of the disease in your lawn, the best solution is to remove the soil in the damaged area to a depth of 12” and replace it with new soil.
Raising the mower height going into September will increase the leaf surface resulting in higher levels of carbohydrate reserves in the roots. The result will be more insulation for winter temperatures.
Spring Dead Spot after a few seasons of recovery.
Chemical Management
A fungicide applied in the fall as soon as soil temperatures fall to 70 degrees followed by a second application in 30 days may result in control of the disease. It is important to commit to two applications as research shows a single application is generally not effective. Spring applications of fungicides are not as effective as the disease is not active in the spring.
Keep in mind fungicide results can be inconsistent from year to year. Control through fungicides requires a 2-to-4-year commitment for consistent results.
Prevention and control of Spring Dead Spot can be tricky.
The disease can be very frustrating.
Everyone wants their turf to look the best, and if you have a bermuda lawn, there is always the chance Spring Dead Spot will make an appearance.
If you are experiencing Spring Dead Spot, keep in mind the best recovery occurs over time and with warmer temperatures. Don’t give up!
Commit - To best maintenance practices, including aeration, to develop a thick turf with a healthy root system.
Most Critical - Avoid the temptation to promote late season growth.
Remove & Replace Soil – The best solution is to remove 12” of soil in the affected areas and replace it with new soil.
Schedule - A fall fungicide treatment plan.
If you have more questions about Spring Dead Spot, or any other lawn care issue, please give us a call.
Lorne Hall
Hall | Stewart Lawn + Landscape
(405)367-3873
The best way to repair small areas of Spring Dead Spot is to remove the damaged soil to the depth of 12” and replace with fresh soil.
May Lawn & Landscape Tips
May, the month that your lawn, your landscape and your life transition from spring to summer.
May, a month of pleasant evenings and gradually warming days.
May, another wonderful month to spend outdoors enjoying your lawn and landscape.
May, the month the green of lawns becomes deeper, and the colors of flowers become brighter.
May, the month your attention turns toward summer trips and activities.
Hold on… it’s not summer yet and there are several important lawn and landscape tasks to get your lawn and landscape ready for summer.
The showy Forest Pansy Redbuds have a brilliant reddish-burgundy tone in May.
The tried and true ‘Stella de Oro’ Daylily will start adding splashes of color this month.
Turf Fertilizer
Bermuda lawns need a good feeding between late April and the end of May. Bermuda will respond well to a balanced fertilizer with at least 28% to 30% nitrogen and only a small amount of phosphorus and potassium. Fescue turf also needs to receive one more fertilizer application to get them ready for warm days of summer. Once we consistently reach summer time temperatures fertilizing fescue will do more harm than good.
Weed Control
Weeds that were not prevented, both grassy and broadleaf weeds, require additional treatment to control. Now that warm season turf is actively growing, control of weeds can be stepped up. During May, it is best to spot spray any persistent perennial weeds, being careful to limit turf damage. Remember the absolute best weed control is thick and healthy turf.
Nutsedge started showing up in lawns early this year and in the right growing conditions it will continue to grow through May.
Nutsedge typically shows up in lawns in May, but this year it started in April. Because there isn’t a way to prevent nutsedge, spot treatments can be expected. If nutsedge has been a chronic problem in your lawn, annual aeration will make a difference. Nutsedge thrives in tight, wet soils and since aeration reduces compaction, we find yards that are aerated annually have less nutsedge issues.
Maynight Salvia, the perfect name for the perennial that adds bright blues and purples to the May landscape.
So many perennials burst to life in May, one is the Shasta Daisy.
Anytime we make an application of weed control or fertilizer, please let us know if you have any concerns 10-14 days after our visit. If the turf isn’t greening up properly, or if weeds are not wilting, we want to know. If you are new to our program, we know it will take time to get your lawn to the healthy condition you desire. But we expect to make progress with each visit. We know this may require additional visits and if you are on our full 7- Step Program, we will make the needed extra visits.
Oakleaf Hydrangeas will start gracing the landscape with their white blooms this month.
Tree & Shrub Care
We subscribe to an integrated pest management approach. When it comes to insects and disease you always have to be on the lookout. Take a few minutes each week to inspect your landscape for insects and disease.
Spider Mites – During the summer months when it is hot and dry, we are on the watch for spider mites, the Two-spotted Spider Mite. But there is also the Spruce Spider Mite that is active in the spring and fall. They can be found on spruce, pines, junipers and arborvitae. It can cause considerable damage early in the season before we are even thinking about spider mites. The first indication of the Spruce Spider Mite damage is off-green color needles. Spider mites are not controlled by normal insecticides. If you try to control them yourself, you must use a product labeled as a miticide. Insecticides will not control spider mites.
The first indication of Spruce Spider Mite damage is an off-green color on your spruce, pine, juniper or arborvitae.
Bagworms - May is the month to be watching for bagworms on needle evergreens. Bagworms are quite easy to control when they are small. But they are very hard to see when they first start to develop. If you notice bagworms, or have a concern about your plants, please let us know.
Bagworms
Spider mites are small and almost impossible to see on the plant. If you are concerned you have spider mites, shake the plant over a white sheet of paper. If the little specks start moving they are spider mites.
Be on the lookout for bagworms this month. They are much easier to control when they are small.
Leaf spot
Leaf Spot - Leaf spots disease increases in May when it is common to have sufficient moisture and temperatures are just right for development of the fungus. The best host for leaf spot is an already unhealthy plant in an area with poor air circulation. Control includes spraying with a fungicide at least two times in a 10–14-day period, keeping fallen leaves picked up and disposed of, and thinning the tree or shrub to improve air flow.
Aphids – A small insect that isn’t easy to spot, but the honeydew, sticky substance they excrete is easy to spot. Aphids develop on the underside of leaves, often reaching large populations before you notice them. Early detection is important, and if caught early, a high-pressure blast of water may do the trick. As the weather warms, populations increase, and insecticide treatment will be needed.
Looking to add interest you summer shade garden? Impatiens (annual) will add a splash of color while Coral Bells and Hostas (perennials) will add a richness to the garden.
Lawn Maintenance
Both warm and cool season turf grasses need frequent mowing now. One of the most important things for good turf health is to avoid removing more than 1/3 of the grass in one mowing. Not only does it not yield you the best-looking lawn when you cut below the leaf and into the stem of the grass, it also weakens the root system. Try to maintain your bermuda on the middle setting or just below the middle setting in May. For fescue, raise the setting one notch this month and cut the lawn 2.5-3” tall. By early June it is best to have fescue at a maximum height going into the summer.
When mowing frequently, only remove 1/3 of the grass, don’t bag the clippings. Mulch them back onto the lawn. Grass leaf blades are mostly nitrogen and water and are very beneficial to the lawn.
Dianthus is a perennial that graces the May landscape with vibrant blooms and gray and green foliage.
May Night Salvia, Dianthus and Gold Moneywort make a colorful combination in the May landscape.
Full sun planting of lantana, penta, angelonia, and sunpatiens.
Sun Coleus
Fescue color is at its best this month.
Lantana and Sun Coleus make a great summer combination in full sun, hot areas. May is the month to plant them.
Seasonal Color
If you haven’t planted your summer color yet, May is the month to get it done. Most landscapes look best with a splash of bright color creating a welcoming environment near the front door. Impatiens and Caladiums are great choices for full shade areas. Begonias, petunias, and geraniums do well in sun to part shade. And for full sun, periwinkle, lantana, sunpatiens, angelonia, sun coleus and penta are good at handling the heat.
Penta
Caladium
Clematis vines produce an abundance of showy flowers starting this month and continuing into the summer.
Take into consideration the mature size when planting seasonal color. The temptation is to over plant.
Irrigation
Even though we haven’t received a good rainfall in the past 10 days, April delivered on the promise of “April showers” with the metro averaging 4.25” through the month. May is another month that both your lawn and landscape, as well as your bank account, will benefit from monitoring rainfall and adjusting your irrigation system. Assuming normal temperatures in the 80’s, your lawn and landscape require 1” of water per week in May. Anytime we receive a ½” or more rainfall, put your system on a rain delay or simply turn it off for a few days. The best irrigation management is one that includes keeping an eye on rainfall, soil moisture, and temperatures.
If you have subscribed to our Irrigation Management program with the Rainbird Wi-Fi Link, we will make watering decisions based on soil temperatures, soil moisture, temperatures, and recent rainfall and adjust your controller via the Rainbird app.
Moisture Retention
Tired of high-water bills during the summer months? Hall | Stewart has a solution for you, Moisture Retention. The program includes two applications (April-May & July-August) of a unique root zone moisture management product that reduces the overall watering requirements of your lawn and landscape resulting in less frequent watering. For more details give us a call or spend a few minutes visiting our post from April 5th.
Endless Summer Hydrangeas will produce their first blooms this month.
Oakleaf Hydrangeas are adding flower buds now that will grace the landscape later this month with large white blooms.
Hydrangea Pruning
Surprisingly, most hydrangeas handled the 100+ hours below freezing in late January well and started budding early due to the spring-like February weather only to be set back by mid-March’s hard freeze. Slowly over the last 30 days they started putting on new buds again. If you haven’t already, now is the time to prune the brown stems. In most cases this is the only pruning recommended for hydrangeas. During the summer, if you want to you can snip off spent blooms, but it is not required. Otherwise, keep the pruners and shears away from your hydrangeas. And…never prune in the fall. Need more information on hydrangea care, visit our recent post on hydrangeas.
Last year, I added a Summer Crush Hydrangea to my landscape. I’m anxiously awaiting the first blooms of the season in late May.
If you have any questions, please drop us an email or give us a call at (405)367-3873.
Our mission is to help you have your best lawn and landscape…
one that improves the appearance, enjoyment and value of your surroundings.
Lorne Hall
Hall | Stewart Lawn + Landscape
(405)367-3873
The same plantings in July.
Wisteria
Periwinkle
Remove the brown stems on your hydrangeas left from the winter back to the first bud this mont.
Azalea Care
Azaleas were stunning again this spring. Azaleas require a little more care, but they are worth it. Fertilize azaleas this month. After blooms fade and before the end of June prune azaleas if needed. Pruning after mid-summer will result in less blooms next year. Azaleas look best when minimally pruned and allowed to retain their natural shape. Prune by removing longer shoots by reaching down and making cuts where they come off a larger branch. This will improve air moment and promote healthy growth. Avoid shearing azaleas. Add a fresh layer of mulch to keep the soil cooler and retain moisture during the warm summer months to come. The best mulch for azaleas is pecan hulls or pine bark.
Oakleaf Hydrangeas add graceful white blooms to the landscape in May.
Gold Mound Spirea not only add interest to the landscape with their foliage, they also deliver an additional touch of color with red-violet blooms this month.
The Epic Summer Battle: Outdoor Fun vs The Mosquitoes. Coming Soon to Your Backyard!
Springtime…occasional rains, warming temperatures, green lawns, blooming landscapes, and the desire to be outside enjoying our wonderful world.
Awe, the makings of a perfect world…
And it could very well be a perfect world if it wasn’t for one problem… Mosquitoes!
4 Key Ingredients for Increased Mosquito Activity:
Heavy spring and summer rainfall.
Warm and humid weather patterns.
Stagnate water.
Unresolved drainage issues.
The size and intensity of the mosquito population from
year to year is dictated by the amount of moisture,
both rainfall and stagnate water, in the environment.
The key to enjoying our lawns and landscapes more this spring, summer and fall is understanding the life of a mosquito, what you can do to win the battle, and how a mosquito control program can help you win the battle.
Hall | Stewart believes in an integrated pest management (IPM) approach to mosquito control. Success is equally the result of prevention and reduction.
The life of a mosquito
The mosquito life cycle consists of four stages: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. The first three stages of their life are spent in water. Only adult mosquitoes live outside of water.
Egg Stage: Female mosquitoes lay eggs the surface of still water or a surface that is saturated. Any place where water is standing or is too wet is an invitation for a mosquito to lay eggs.
Larval Stage: The eggs hatch into larvae which live and feed on microorganisms in the water.
Pupa Stage: After the larval stage, the mosquito develops into a pupa . Pupae are comma-shaped and float on the water's surface, breathing through "trumpets."
Adult Stage: The adult mosquito emerges from the pupal case and rests on the water's surface while its wings dry and harden. Once ready, the male and female mosquitoes will then look for food and mates.
Adult females are the only mosquitoes that bite. They typically attack in the evening but occasionally are out during the day. Most afternoons you will find them resting in shrubs, trees and other shady areas.
After a female mosquito has obtained blood meal from a person or animal, they lay their eggs in water or a moist area where their eggs will receive sufficient moisture to hatch.
Typically, an adult mosquito doesn’t fly higher than 10-15’ and don’t venture more than a mile from where life began.
The entire life cycle from egg, to larva, to pupa, to adult, and back to an egg again only takes 4-5 weeks.
The mosquito life cycle repeats itself over and over starting in March and continuing until the first frost in November.
What you can do to win the battle
Mosquito control is everyone’s responsibility when it comes to removing and eliminating larval breeding sites. All standing water is a desirable breeding ground for mosquitoes.
With mosquitoes spending three of their four stages of life dependent on standing water. Anywhere water accumulates from bird baths, flowerpots, toys, poor draining gutters, a perfect playground for the insect.
The first step in mosquito control is to remove any standing water –
pots, gutters, birdbaths, poor draining lawn areas, etc.
From March through November, any object containing 5–7-day old water is a potential playground for the pest. Even pet bowls can be a breeding ground for mosquitoes. Drain and refill pet bowls and bird baths every 3-5 days at the minimum.
KEY POINT: Routinely remove standing water.
Mosquitoes won’t lay eggs unless there is water.
Their eggs won’t hatch unless there is water.
The egg won’t become a larva unless there is water.
The larva won’t become pupa unless there is water.
Less standing water equals less mosquitoes.
Adult females are the only mosquitoes that bite. They typically attack in the evening, but occasionally are out during the day. Most afternoons you will find them resting in shrubs, trees and other shady areas. After they obtain blood meal from a person or animal they lay their eggs in water or a place where it will get wet. They prefer dark colored containers and shaded areas for egg laying.
What Hall | Stewart can do to help you win the battle
Barrier treatments are the most effective and proven method for managing pests. A barrier can be made by treating all vegetation, shrubs and trees, from the ground up to a height of 10-15’.
Because adult mosquitoes often rest in the shade of plants, insecticides must be applied to both the top and bottom of plant leaves which is difficult to achieve with a traditional pump-up, handheld spray can.
Power backpack misters are the ideal equipment for barrier treatments as they force droplets into the vegetation and underneath leaves. Other common resting sites, such as under decks, gutters, and other moist shady areas are included in the treatment areas.
Hall | Stewart’s Mosquito Control Program uses two control methods:
An insecticide is used to provide an initial a quick kill and residual control of adult mosquitoes.
A larvicide is used to adversely affect the reproductive cycle of the mosquitoes by preventing larval development resulting in fewer adult mosquitoes.
Due to the short life cycle of mosquitoes, regularly scheduled monthly barrier treatments will provide a significant reduction in the number of insects.
Landscapes with an abundance of cool, shady and moisture areas benefit from the use of mosquito traps and mosquito buckets. If this describes your landscape setting, let’s visit how a more advanced process of mosquito control can help.
The battle is a team effort. You can win by reducing the breeding grounds for mosquitoes and by subscribing to the Hall | Stewart Mosquito Control Program.
We want you to have peace of mind when it comes to outdoor enjoyment this summer.
If you have not already subscribed to our Mosquito Control Program, call (405)367-3873 or respond to this email.
Lorne Hall
Hall | Stewart Lawn + Landscape
(405)367-3873