Shrub Trimming - How to do it right

Shrubs are aesthetically appealing and add a lot to flower beds, but what are you supposed to do when they get out of control? What is the best way to keep a healthy plant and a beautiful lawn?

Trimming vs. Pruning-
When people say "Shrub trimming" they are generally referring to shearing a bush. This is usually done to shape the shrub. How does this relate to pruning and what is the difference? Pruning can be done to any plant and its purpose is more geared towards improving the health of the plant. Here are a few techniques and some information on trimming and pruning your shrubs.

When to trim-
Trimming should be done in spring and the fall on a yearly basis. In the spring, it is important to trim before
the plant buds, otherwise the flowers will not bloom. In the early fall the branches will probably be a little long and they will need to be trimmed again.

Why trim?
You may be wondering if you really need to trim or why you need to. Shrubs and trees can get out of control and look very messy. The best way to restore order to your bed is to trim them, usually to a specific shape. Pruning can also be important for the health of a plant because it removes useless parts of the plant. This can be beneficial in 3 ways. 1. Dead limbs allow disease to spread through the plant quickly. 2. By cutting off the ends, you encourage new growth and your bush will stay healthy. 3. Aesthetically, orderly plants are much preferred over disorderly.

How to trim-
There are three basic ways to trim plants, some of which are for looks and others are for health reasons.

1. A heading cut is a small cut to the end of a branch, twig, or stem. Every cut you make allows for a new shoot to grow. When done correctly, this method will make keep your plants bushy and full.

2. Thinning is another method in which you remove the branches at the point of origin. When done in moderation, thinning reduces the shrub density without encouraging regrowth. 

3. Trimming is the final method. This is done to shape the plant and make it look clean. An important thing to remember about this is that you shouldn't cut to the bare branch because it looks bad.


Tyler Kaiser
T. J. Landscaping Inc.

Red Thread

              

What is Red Thread?
Red thread is a disease that is both unsightly and can spread over your lawn if you let it. "Red Thread" (sometimes called pink patch) refers to a fungal organism that makes brown patches in a lawn and causes a red, thread-like strand to grow. Often the grass will recover from this in time, but there are a few things you can do to stop this disease from spreading rapidly in your lawn.

Causes and solutions for Red Thread
Red thread is normally caused by one of three things.
1. Red thread thrives when the grass is wet, but the roots are dry. This can be caused by over watering or improper watering. If there is water on the grass blades, when the weather is optimal, red thread will spread very quickly. The best way to solve this is to water no more than every 3-4 days. Also, be sure to water only in the morning or early afternoon, so the grass is not wet all night. And finally, liquid aeration treatments will help insure that the roots get water.

 2. Poor Grass is another factor that plays into the growth of red thread. Perennial Ryegrass is the most susceptible type of grass to red thread. This is often planted by builders and landscapers because it sprouts quickly. If your lawn is predominantly ryegrass, it will be difficult to eliminate red thread. The best solution is to super-seed in the late summer to get some grass that is more resistant to this disease.

3. Poor soil is also a catalyst for red thread. New lawns are especially susceptible to red thread because the soil is not very biologically active. There are many solutions to this, including organic fertilization, aeration and compost top dressing.

Now you know more about this disease that makes your lawn unhealthy and unsightly and are armed with the tools necessary to deal with red thread.

Tyler Kaiser
T.J. Landscaping

Summer Lawn Care

Summer is approaching fast, and here are a few tips that could prove useful in keeping your lawn green throughout the hot summer. Many lawns brown out and dry in the summer heat for various reasons. Lack of water, mowing height and intense heat all factor into this problem. 

1. How and when to water your lawn in the summer

In the hot summer months you will want to keep your lawn well watered. It is always best to water in the early morning, allowing the grass to dry by nightfall. Wet grass in the evenings and through the night will foster fungus and mold. Always remember that is it better to water deeply a few times a week than to water shallow every day. Deep watering encourages the roots to grow deeper and become healthier. The average healthy lawn should get around 1 inch of water per week.

2. Mowing tips for maintaining a healthy lawn

a. Mow when your lawn is dry.

You may be tempted to mow your lawn right after watering or rain, but when wet grass is cut it spreads around weeds and fungus. This is bad for the lawn. Wait for the lawn to dry out if you can. There is a much lower risk of damaging your lawn.

b. Don't cut your grass too short

It is important for grass to grow longer in the summer, despite the fact that short grass looks better at the golf course next door. As a general principal, your lawn should be cut at 3-3.5 inches. Keep your lawn healthy by only cutting the top 1/3 on any given week. This will keep the grass green, aesthetically pleasing, and protected from parasites and diseases.

c. Keep your blades sharp

In the summer, it's especially important to cut the grass, not hack it down. Sharp blades will ensure the grass gets cut, make it easier to cut and give your lawn an appealing look. Also, make sure to leave the clippings on the lawn a few times throughout the season to provide nutrients for the soil. But don't leave clumps of grass, as that will create a thatch layer that will prevent nutrients from contacting the soil.

3. Fertilizing your lawn

Fertilize after you mow, when the grass is dry. If the grass is wet, the fertilizer will stick to the grass and burn it. Use a spreader to get even distribution. It is best to fertilize 2-3 times per year: spring and midsummer. Also, be sure to put down grub treatment in the early Summer. It serves as an "insurance policy" to protect the treatments applied throughout the season from lawn damage. 

These practices will keep your lawn healthy, green, and the envy of the neighborhood.

Tyler Kaiser

T.J. Landscaping Inc.

Mulch beds: Remove, Restore, Renew

Freshen-Up the Mulch Beds

1. Remove
-Clear out dead leaves in beds
-Remove dead annuals
-Deadwood
-Cut down perennials

2. Restore
-New mulch
-Edging beds
-Prune evergreens
-Fertilize/Pre-emergent herbicide

3. Renew
-Re-design garden beds
-Plant perennials
-Plant annuals that add color

Aaron Filipe

T.J. Landscaping Inc.

Landscape Lighting in Attleboro, MA

Here is a post from one our friends in the industry Lightscapes by Design, on the subject of Landscape Lighting and the benefits that it offers.

Timothy Kaiser

Service Manager

Outdoor Landscape Lighting

One of the fastest growing segments of the landscaping industry is the incorporation of low voltage landscape lighting to your home.  This may be a surprise to some of you, but as you drive around at night, if you look, you will see an increased amount of residences softly lit. Landscape Lighting is far more than simply illuminating parts of your property. If you haven’t given outdoor landscape lighting much thought – I am going to start this article explaining the basic benefits associated with low voltage lighting. They are:

-Security - While landscape lighting is breathtaking, it also provides a safe, secure and welcoming environment to come home to.  We have seen high wattage floodlights leave dark shadows and unseen areas around properties. A much better choice is strategically placed low voltage lights that show even lights of distribution throughout.

-Safety - One of landscape lighting's most practical sides is that it is a great way to mark pathways or accent garden areas. If your goal is to get the full use out of your garden, yard and patio areas, consider adding decorative landscape lighting to these areas. With landscape lighting you will also feel safer in your yard as you come home to relax in. A great design will ensure the homeowner and their guests can safely navigate the property and provide eye catching lighting scenes through out your property.

-Evening Enjoyment – Unless it is the winter season, what typically happens when it gets dark? We go inside. You don't have to anymore. A garden with low-voltage lighting can bring a whole new setting to the home and provide the perfect spot for outdoor entertaining. Your landscapes emerge at dark under subtle lighting to create wonderful shapes and beautiful sculptured drama. Other prized possessions you may have such as Ponds, statues, trees, and shrubs all produce a serene environment when lighting is applied.

-Beauty - Your home most likely has beautiful architectural elements - why not highlight them? Designers not only paint pictures with light, they also create dramatic scenes of your property or business. For instance, enhance the texture of a stone facade by grazing it with light, highlight the columns on your porch, wall wash your stone wall - are all examples that create dramatic lighting scenes around your property.

Those are your basics for adding outdoor landscape lighting to your home and gardens. If you are planning on adding lighting around your home, a word of caution: be careful not to over-light your landscape, since too much light might prove unattractive. The secret is to be creative and light only what you want. If possible, hide the light source. You want the attention to be on the light emitted and the elements of the landscape itself, not the light fixture that illuminates them. Which means you should choose fixtures that are functional. Seek fixtures that are unobtrusive, durable, easy to control, energy efficient and, most importantly, diffuse just the right breadth and depth of light needed. Underground wire and your transformer are the remaining pieces to get your project underway. Proper planning, research, materials and design will give you the achieved lighting effects you are looking for. The effect will be sure to add value, evening enjoyment and beauty to your home in the years to come.

About us: Lightscapes by Design offers sales, design, consultation, custom installation and maintenance for all your outdoor lighting needs. We are a dedicated landscape lighting company since 2007. No matter what your lighting objective, from walkway path lights to a complete low voltage lighting system, Lightscapes by Design will help you design the best lighting solution that suits your outdoor needs. ‘We bring your landscapes to light.’

Visit us at the Lightscapes by Design website: [http://www.lightscapesbydesign.com]

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Overseeding in Attleboro, Ma

Have you ever asked yourself: Why does my landscaping/fertilizing company always ask about over seeding my lawn?
In this fourth installment of the lawn care series we will discuss the benefits and best practices for overseeding.

First we need to understand how grass grows. Here in New England lawns are comprised of usually cool season grasses which are mostly bunch type grasses. These grasses are comprised of the roots, crown and the blade. Grass plants expand as new grass blades called tillers grow beside the original crown. These then grow there own roots and crowns. Grass blades have a short six week life span therefore the plant is constantly creating new blades  As the grass ages it grows the production of tillers slows which can thin out a lawn. Overseeding helps to keep the lawn young, thick and weed free. 

Some warnings:
-If seed is applied to heavily when the grass matures it will be too thick and overcrowded.
-The seed needs to stay moist, if dries out it will die.



Here at T.J. Landscaping Inc. we recommend to overseed in the fall sometime in late September or early October if the lawn needs it. We cut the grass to about 1.5-2"aerate and top dress,  and then broadcast the seed. We use different grass types depending on the lawn and and the growing conditions. Generally we seed at 2-4 lbs/1000 sq.ft. and any bare spots we add extra seed. We follow up with starter fertilizer and then kept the seed watered. We try to wait 2-3 weeks before resuming the mowing to avoid blowing the seed around. Depending on the variety of seed used the new grass sprouts in 3-5 weeks. If done in the fall, the roots will have time to grow before winter and will also take off in the spring before the summer heat.

Lawn Aeration Attleboro, MA

This is the third installment of the lawn care tips and techniques.

What is aerating?
There are two types of lawn aeration 'spike aeration' and 'core aeration'. Spike aeration is a way to poke holes in the lawn. They are very small holes and almost worthless. Core aeration on the other hand removes half inch diameter by 2 to 3 inch long cores or plugs out of the soil.

What is the benefit? 
Aerating a lawn can have many benefits if done properly. First it must be core aerated or anything that actually creates small holes, removes the soil and spreads it on the lawn, to have any real benefit. It reduces the compaction of the soil which is a better condition for denser, healthier root system. Another reason it allows for air, water and nutrients to get down to the roots of the lawn. Generally this is done just before over seeding the lawn.

How to properly aerate a lawn.
To properly aerate a lawn there are a few considerations. Season, weather, and what to do after. First, this is something that is best in the fall when the grass is focusing on the root growth, but early spring is okay but not ideal. Next is the weather. The soil must be moist, if it is too wet you will rip up the lawn, if it is too dry equipment may not be able to get deep enough cores. It is generally best to follow aeration with top dressing, fertilizer, or grass seed, depending on your purpose.

How we aerate at T. J. Landscaping 
We generally aerate in the fall just before over seeding, also depending on what the clients want to do we recommend top dressing the lawn and/or fertilizing. We leave the plugs on the lawn which make it look like Tootsie Rolls and next time we mow they are spread over the lawn adding to the nutrients as well. 


Timothy Kaiser,
Service Manager