SPRING 2004 ONLINE NEWSLETTER

Welcome to a new season of Royal Greens lawn care. Let’s hope that this year’s weather is less extreme than last year’s!

In any event, we will be here to answer your questions and help solve problems as they arise. You can call the office to speak to someone during office hours or leave a message anytime and we’ll return your call. Be sure to leave your name and phone number where you can be reached. Our website is another way to contact us. It is checked several times daily. The web address is www.royal-greens.com. It also contains program information and past issues of Royal Proclamations.

Heads (or ears) up information

This year the periodic cicadas will return to our area. The event is scheduled for May and June.

Adult cicadas have red - orange eyes and a dark “W” on their wings and are 1 1/2 - 2 inches long.

Adult cicadas cause no visible feeding damage. Plant damage is done by the female when she lays her eggs. She gouges slits into twigs to deposit her eggs. Favorite shrubs and trees include: oaks, maples, dogwoods, apples, crabapples, nut, and ornamental plums. Evergreens are rarely attacked. Damage can be substantial to young trees if the cuts are made on the main stem. Mature trees usually easily handle the wounding.

Check landscape materials that you purchase for damage. The best protection for young trees and shrubs is to completely cover them with netting with openings smaller than 3/4 of an inch.

Some power equipment such as gas weed whackers and hedge trimmers can mimic the call of male cicadas. Female cicadas with mating intentions could dive bomb your engines thinking it is a singing male!

Your Lawn

Controlling crabgrass before it emerges is the most critical issue at this time of year. We are continuing to use a pre-emergent crabgrass control with our fertilizer (unless otherwise specified in your program). In response to the crabgrass proliferation from last year’s wet weather, this year we are increasing the amount of crabgrass control that we apply.. The product that we use is the most effective on the market.
If you edge your sidewalks, driveway, etc, you should continue to do so all season. Once you have broken the barrier, crabgrass and other weeds will germinate in the cracks. Continued edging will keep the weeds in check.

Your Ornamentals

Early spring is a great time to prune your ornamental trees and shrubs. Flowering shrubs should not be pruned until after they have flowered. They set their buds last year so you definitely do not want to remove them. This also gives them almost an entire year to develop new bud - bearing branches.

Many of your ornamentals may have been “pruned” by Mother Nature this past winter. Remove the damaged branch as close to the ground as possible or where it joins a healthy stem. Remove weaker, crossed, and tall branches in the same manner. Remove low stems that are becoming spindly from lack of sunlight.

You can begin planting new ornamentals once the ground has thawed enough to work it. The earlier you plant, the more time it gives your plants to establish before the heat of summer.

Remember - the proper mowing height is 2 1/2 - 3 inches.