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Lawn & Shrub
Thank you for considering Andy’s and our family of licensed professionals. If you want a lawn that you can be proud of, a lawn that won’t take lots of your time to maintain, a lawn that is healthy and free of weeds and you live in the greater Birmingham area, you have come to the right place.
Andy’s proudly serves some of the finest homes in Vestavia, Hoover, Homewood, Mountain Brook and surrounding Birmingham areas. Our lawn care programs are custom designed. We test the soils in the areas we serve and develop lawn programs for each of the different grass types growing in our region.
If you have an immediate lawn care need, please give us a call today: 205-824-0371. If you would like a free turf analysis and estimate to take care of your lawn needs use our simple online form. We will be out within 48 hours to give you your free lawn analysis.
Remember, no matter if you have Bermuda, Zoysia, Centipede or St. Augustine, we have a program that will work for you.
LAWN DISEASES
Sometimes bad things happen even to the healthiest lawns. Lawn diseases are bad things. They can be difficult to distinguish from other problems such as pests and poor maintenance. We have some tips to help you identify your lawn problems. Chances are that some of you reading this already have a disease problem. If so, the most common control is to use a fungicide. Various types of fungicide exist, so if you’re tempted to do it yourself, make sure you use the right one.
Brown Patch – commonly starts as a small spot and can quickly spread outward in a circular or horseshoe pattern sometimes as large as two feet wide. Often times, while expanding outward, the inside of the circle will recover, leaving brown areas resembling a smoke ring. The best prevention for brown patch is to aerate often, reduce shade to affected areas and follow a low nitrogen fertilization schedule.
Dollar Spot – gets its name from small silver dollar size brown spots. Dollar spots tend to thrive during drought conditions with heavy dews in lawns with low levels of nitrogen. The best prevention for dollar spot is aerate often, water well in the mornings, remove excess thatch and follow a fertilization schedule to help increase the amount of nitrogen levels in your lawn.
Rust – gets its name from the orange “rusty” appearance it gives leaf blades. Rust tends to flourish in conditions of morning dew, shade, high soil compaction and low fertility. The best prevention for rust is to aerate your lawn, water well in the morning hours, reduce shade to grass, mow more frequently and bag grass clippings. Follow a fertilization schedule to help increase the amount of nitrogen levels in your lawn.
Fairy Rings – Fairy rings can grow in most grasses, and are distinguishable by circular rings filled with fast growing dark green grass. Around the perimeter of the ring, the grass will typically turn brown and after time grow mushrooms. Fairy rings typically grow in soils that contain wood debris and decaying tree stumps. The best prevention for fairy rings is to aerate the diseased area, water well in the morning, remove excess thatch, and fertilize more to increase the amount of nitrogen levels in your lawn.
Powdery Mildew – Grass looks as though it is sprinkled with flour. Shady areas are the most susceptible. Grass will wither and die. Water only in the morning, reduce shade by pruning trees, aerate and check drainage in the area.
CORE AERATION
Without regular care, lawns can thin out and lose color. This may be due to excessive thatch buildup, hard or compacted soils, and periods of high temperature, high humidity or drought. Core aeration is recognized by turf experts as the best treatment to control thatch, reduce compaction, fill in bare spots, and make it easier for nutrients to reach the roots of your turf and revitalize growth.
Aeration removes thin plugs of soil from the ground and deposits them in the turf. This plug contains not only soil, but more importantly, hungry microbes that begin digesting the layers of thatch. Over time, regular aeration will help reduce and control thatch, making fertilizing and watering your lawn more efficient.
Annual core aeration is beneficial. Ideally, treatment is done in the growing season. Call us today to schedule your core aeration at: 205-824-0371.
LAWN INSECTS
Most insects are harmless to your lawn. Many are beneficial to the overall health of your soil and in turn the health of your lawn. However, some insects, if left untreated, can damage your lawn often in a short period of time. That is why each time your lawn is serviced we check for damaging insects. Corrective or preventative measures will be taken if necessary.
Several insects that are particularly damaging are:
SOD WEBWORMS – are small brown caterpillars which develop into dull gray moths. The moths fly over the grass in early evening dropping eggs. Watch for damage 10-14 days after observing the moths. Sod webworms feed only at night. Damaged grass blades appear notched on sides. Early August is typically when we see the heaviest damage, although damage may occur as early as June. A heavy infestation can destroy a lawn in only a few days.
ARMY WORMS – the larval form of moths feed on turf grasses, chewing them down to the ground. Army worms generally don’t over winter, but several generations occur each season. If conditions are right, they can reach high populations in lawns and cause severe damage.
GRUBS – these turf destroying grubs are plump, c-shape insects. They are whitish with dark areas near the rear and a distinct brown head. The adults are beetles (Japanese, May or June beetles). Adult female beetles lay their eggs in the soil. The eggs hatch and the grubs spend most of their life as grubs beneath the soil feeding grass roots. Most grubs have rather long life cycles lasting several months to years. Grub feeding destroys the roots leaving the tops to wither and die. In heavy infestations, pruned off to the extent that turf can be rolled back like a carpet.
SPITTLEBUGS – adults are about 3/8 inch long, dark brown or black and have two orange stripes across the wings. Orange colored eggs are deposited in bits of hollow stems and other debris. Nymphs, ivory colored with a brown head, hatch in about two weeks and begin to feed immediately by sucking juices from the grass. They cover themselves with a frothy mass known as “spittle”. There may be one or several nymphs in each spittle mass. The masses are found from just below the soil surface to a few inches above it. A heavily infested area will feel squishy when you walk across it due to numerous spittle masses.
CHINCH BUGS – are most damaging to St. Augustine grass. But, you may see them on grasses such as zoysia, Bermuda and centipede. The chinch bug inserts its slender beak into the grass and sucks the plant juices. As the chinch bug sucks the plant juices, it releases a toxin that causes yellowish to brownish patches in turf. Typical injury appears as spreading patches of brown, dead grass. This pest is a sun loving insect and seldom attacks grass in dense shady areas.
INSECTS ON SHRUBS
LACE BUGS – suck sap from the underside of leaves. Leaf stippling and bleaching of leaves usually appear in the summer and can be distinguished from mite feeding by the presence of cast skins and dark specs of excrement that lace bugs deposit on the lower leaf surface. They produce honey dew which drops to the foliage below and becomes blackened by sooty mold fungi.
APHIDS – are small, soft-bodied insects with long, slender mouth parts that they use to pierce stems, leaves and other tender plant parts and suck out the plant fluids. Aphids often feed in dense groups on leaves or stems. When the weather is warm, many species of aphids can develop from newborn to reproducing adult in 7 to 8 days. Because each adult aphid can produce up to 80 offspring in a matter of a week, aphid populations can increase very quickly.
WHITE FLIES – are tiny, sap sucking insects that are frequently abundant in vegetables and ornamental plants. They excrete sticky honey dew and cause yellowing or death of leaves. White flies usually occur in groups on the underside of leaves. White flies develop rapidly in warm weather and populations can build up quickly. Management of heavy white fly infestations is very difficult. The best strategy is to prevent problems from developing in your garden.
SPIDER MITES – are just visible to the human eye. They look like little red spiders. They also make a visible web that looks like debris on the underside of the leaf, not on top. Mites usually start becoming a problem in late spring and reach a peak by late summer. In summer, their life cycle is about 7 to 10 days that is hatching to laying eggs after a week or two.
GRASSES
BERMUDA GRASS – requires full sun in order to thrive and functions best when well maintained with proper nutrient, mowed often and kept at about &Mac184;” – 1” in height. Feed it, water it, mow it and Bermuda will be happy.
ZOYSIA – is a popular grass because it is known to tolerate shade. Do not make the mistake of thinking it will tolerate full shade, it will not. In order for zoysia grass to perform to its best ability, you must mow at the correct height. This is determined by what your terrain will allow you. 1” – 2” in height works well. Emerald must not be allowed to clump and lay over. Zoysia needs nutrients. It is known to be prone to fungus when weather conditions such as humidity and wet conditions prevail. Preventative fungicides are very effective in helping emerald zoysia and Z-52 stay healthy.
CENTIPEDE – is a somewhat tricky grass to grow properly and to keep healthy. It loves full sun, will tolerate heat and some drought conditions. It does not like cold temperatures and will not tolerate shade. Centipede grass has a shallow root system and sometimes our winter weather can cause injury killing areas of the lawn. Centipede grass prefers to be kept at 2” – 3” in height. It prefers a lower pH so check your pH yearly. This is a grass that is best left to a professional if you have not had any experience with it. Preventative fungicides and insecticides are a good course of action for this grass.
ST. AUGUSTINE – is a grass that is somewhat more tolerant of shade than any of your other sodded grasses, but do not plant in complete shade. It must receive some direct sun but will tolerate some filtered sun. Preventative care is a must in this lawn. Chinch bugs are fatal to this grass. It is best to prevent this insect during the growing season. Fungus is also a culprit and systemic fungicides are an excellent course of action. Check pH yearly. St. Augustine functions best in the range of 7.0 – 7.5. Winter injury can occur due to a shallow root system. This is a grass that is best left to a professional who will be able to check for these problems and keep you advised.
FESCUE – is a cool season seeded grass that is known to tolerate shade better than any other type of grass. It is seeded in the late fall, October-November. Just keep in mind that this grass is just the opposite of our southern grasses as far as feeding and caring for it. Fescue actively grows in the fall so you would be fertilizing this grass in the winter. Summer heat and drought conditions are hard on this grass and if in full sun, you may lose some of the grass. Keep this grass cut at 2” – 3” in height. Keep pH in the range of 5.5-7.0 for best results. Keep well irrigated in the summer.
SHRUB CARE
Shrub care is a difficult area for some homeowners. Difficult because you have a variety of plants in your landscape and you are not sure when plants need to be fed, when to apply insecticides and fungicides, and what truly spells fungus related problems. In this situation it is best to call a professional who will not only save you time and money but your plants as well.
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