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Patti ( a long time Lawn Care customer) says she always had problems with the lawn at the end of her driveway. It was always thinner, weaker and more weedy.

I recommended that she seed the lawn to increase the density, to thicken it up to help keep the weeds and crabgrass from taking hold.

She has done a great job of seeding.

Lawn Edges -hard to get Lawns to Grow

 

But when I was there, I happened to put my Fiskars Tool into the soil there to help loosen it up a bit. However, the tool hit gravel 3-4 inches below the surface.

It seems to me that, in spite the automatic sprinklers, this patch is likely to continue to be a problem area, The gravel was likely there from when the sidewalk or the driveway was being constructed, installed or paved. The lawn would do better with some good soil of a reasonable depth. Gravel will not hold the moisture. It will also heat the soil in the summer making it harder to grow a decent patch of lawn.

Lawn Edges -hard to get Lawns to Grow

Turf King the Lawn Care Experts in Dundas, Burlington, Hamilton, Grimsby, Smithville and more

Lawns look best with the proper amount of fertilizer and nutrients to keep them healthy and looking good.

If they are under fertilized, they will have poor colour. The green will not be rich. The grass will not look lush. Lawn care programs should feed the lawns with just the right amount. 

If the lawn receives too much nutrients, the lawn can be burnt by the excess nitrogen.

Too much or too little fertilizer- lawn care problem

This lawn shows large areas of under nourished grass. Then there are several patches where the lawn has been burnt by excess nitrogen. And in between, the lawn is nice and green.

So- any guesses as to why this looks like this?

This lawn is in a park- where the general lawn areas are not fertilized. But the nearby residents walk their dogs along here. Guess what happens.

Some areas are burnt by the excess urea in the pet urine. But some areas respond by taking in the nutrients and greening up. 

Make sure your lawn care program is supplying your lawn with the right amount of fertilizer- not too little and not too much. And a fertilizer applied in a haphazard way can also burn your lawn. Let the professionals take the guess work out of your lawn care. Then you can relax and enjoy your weekend doing the things you enjoy.

For more info on Pets click here

For more info on Fertilizer click here.

Poison Ivy- is  a weed that Lawn Care operators dis-like

First of all, people in Ontario are buying Roundup for all kinds of uses. The only legal use for Roundup by homeowners is to control weeds that pose a threat to health and safety - like poison ivy and its relatives. But many people use it for weeding their driveways and patios.

Secondly, poison ivy is not always easily identified. "Leaves of 3" they say.

So here are some leaves of 3 that are not poison ivy

Poison Ivy Look alikes by Turf King Lawn care

The plant above is a Goutweed. Many people have the variegated variety growing as a perennial in their flower begs as a colourful ground cover. Normally this plant is grown by cuttings and shoots. These vegetatively reproduced plants are clones of the original. However, if the variegated plant is allowed to flower and go to seed, the seeds may produce plants without the variegation. And the green leaved plants have leaves of three.


Poison Ivy Look alikes by Turf King Lawn care

 Poison Ivy Look alikes by Turf King Lawn care

 Another plant with three leaves is the raspberry. It is often found in wooded areas as it will tolerate some shade. The stems of raspberries have thorns and this is a sure giveaway that it is not poison ivy.

Poison Ivy Look alikes by Turf King Lawn care

Manitoba Maple is also known as Box Elder. It is a large, fast growing tree. Young seedlings however, sometimes have the three leaflets. As the plant gets larger and older the leaves may end up having 7 leaflets- see photo below. The leaves are also lobed similar to the Poison Ivy. Manitoba maple does not have a shine or sheen to the leaves.

Poison Ivy Look alikes by Turf King Lawn care

Here are a couple of 3 leaved plants found along the trail at the Royal Botanical Gardens

jack in the pulpit

Honewort

Here is an older Manitoba Maple- the leaves of three are no longer visible.

 

Finally here are a few pictures of young poison ivy, seedlings or leaves that pop up from the roots travelling just under the soil surface. 

Poison Ivy --Young plantPoison Ivy Young Plant

and finally a mature plant, This plant is about a metre tall. 

Poison Ivy mature bush

One thing about Poison Ivy is that is has a spectacular fall colour as seen below. Just don't go collecting these leaves for your fall colour table.

Poison Ivy Spectacular Fall Colour

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