About Contact Portfolio Resources
Resources:
Please look over the following helpful resources on care and maintenance of your installations.
Newly installed Turf Lawn Care
Care of newly installed Shrubbery
Proper Month to Month Lawn Maintenance Schedule
Pond/Waterfall Maintenance Tips
Newly installed Turf Lawn Care
Watering the new lawn:
During the first week, special attention will have to be given to make sure the turf and 4” of soil under it is kept moist at all times. It absolutely cannot be allowed to dry out and will not come back if it does. It is preferable to water during the heat of the day rather than at night if possible to avoid wilting of the grass. Wet conditions at night promote growth of disease. During the second and subsequent weeks you must continue watering to maintain adequate moisture to the upper 4 inches of soil to promote root development.
If your lawn is installed during the dry season, for the first two days, the grass will have to be saturated until it is soggy. Water once a day for the next ten days.
(too little too late!!)
Watering the lawn after its mature and established:
There is no predetermined schedule for watering a mature lawn. Instead, it should be watered as needed, when the first signs of stress are visible. A good sign of water stress is wilting of the grass or turning blue, but to catch it even earlier, if you can see your footprint after you walk on the lawn and the grass doesn’t spring back up, it is starting to stress. If this happens, water the grass until you fill a can in the sprinkler pattern with 1” of water. Avoid evening or late night watering if possible as this can create conditions for disease. If water is in short supply, or restrictions are in place, you must allow the grass to go dormant. Do not water until or unless you are capable of continuing to water in adequate amounts.
Mowing:
You may mow your new lawn as soon as it needs to be mowed. Usually, you can expect that to happen quite quickly because the grass is installed with a quick release fertilizer to promote accelerated root growth. Be careful to make sure the ground is not to soft from watering first or you may cause ruts from the wheels. Here in southwestern BC, the grass should be kept down to about 1 ˝ inches(4cm) to 2 inches(5cm). Never mow more than 1/3 of the total grass height if possible. If you cut too much off, you will send the grass into shock. Change direction of your cutting to ensure an even area cut. If the grass blade tips are shredded, it is an indication the mower blade needs to be sharpened. Use a bag catcher to collect clippings if you have a weed problem, this prevents weed seeds from being spread(especially if there’s a weed problem)
TIP: Due to the quick release starter fertilizer mentioned earlier, you should anticipate more frequent mowings than normal for up to 2 months or so depending on the season and the weather. You may be mowing up to twice a week, and also removing large quantities of grass clippings. If you have a large area of new turf, and think you may not be prepared to deal with that, it may be a good idea to contract the services of a mowing contractor for that time period to help you get started.
Fertilizing:
Measure the lawn area and take note of the directions on the fertilizer bag as far as how much to spread, and when to spread it(there are different fertilizers for different seasons). We recommend slow release lawn fertilizer, as quick release fertilizer may leave you with what we like to call the "lawn on steroids" effect, where you will be cutting grass as a bi-daily chore, and hauling off the contents of your overflowing compost bin from grass clippings. We also recommend spreading the fertilizer slightly thinner than the recommended rates, over fertilizing is far worse than not fertilizing at all as you can be guaranteed to burn the grass . Use a spreader to evenly spread the fertilizer, and walk at a consistent pace. Do not fertilize wet grass to avoid burning the leaf blades. Avoid fertilizing during the heat of the summer months.
Care of newly installed Shrubbery
Just like a person moving into a new environment, plants go through a period
when they need extra help to settle in. Understanding this and providing the
basic needs of new plants will increase their chances of thriving. New plant
care does differ significantly from established plant care and just a few extra
minutes of your time can make all the difference.
Is there a single element that is the most crucial?
Absolutely. It's water. Water is needed by all plants and plants gather water
principally by absorbing it with their roots from the soil. While a new plant
has limited roots reaching into the surrounding soil, it is important to keep
that area consistently moist, but not wet. How much water you will need
to provide depends on the soil type, ground temperature, air temperature, how
windy it is and the type of plant. Because so many factors can influence the
amount or frequency of watering, there is no magic formula. You will have to
judge your own situation.
How will I know if I am giving the new plants what they need?
The most common and obvious sign of trouble with a plant is wilting. The
confusing part is that while plants most often wilt from lack of water, they can
also wilt from too much water. Check the soil by digging down a few inches and
feeling it before adding water. If it is still moist, lack of water is not the
problem. Watering when plants have wilted from lack of water is easy. Drying out
a plant that is too wet is difficult, especially since we don't have control of
the rain.
Bark mulch spread along the bottom of new shrubs helps both protect the roots from being harmfully exposed to the air due to a blast of water from the hose, but also holds water in the ground and evenly disperses it.
Although soaker hose(not sprinkler hose!) theoretically will work, typically better results yield from people who diligently hand-water their shrubs.
Proper Month to Month Lawn Maintenance Schedule
Note: In all cases please make sure to follow all directions on the bag of anything you spread over your lawn, many times you would do better to under-fertilize than over-fertilize. You may end up cutting three times a week, or worse yet burning your lawn... All N-P-K numbers below are approximate, you may not find the exact product, something close will do just as well, just don't get something thats three times as stong.
February to March
-Apply Dolomite Lime as per bag instructions
March
- Apply Moss Control with a 9-6-3 fertilzer/iron combination
March to May
- Dethatch and Aerate if necessary
April to May
- Topdress and Reseed or overseed if necessary.
- Apply a 16-32-6 Starter Fertilizer
- Water regularily
May to June
- Fertilize with 32-4-8
or
- Fertilize with 21-7-7 Weed and Feed
August to September
- Fertilize with 15-0-30
or
- Fertilize with 6-8-15 Weed and Feed
or
- Fertilize with 4-9-15
Pond/Waterfall Maintenance Tips
Follow this link to get to a PDF form of Aquascape's "Pond Owners Handbook" for Pond/Waterfall resources, ideas, and info. Its a super helpful guide from the inventors of the modern water garden!!
http://www.aquascapeinc.com/upload/29952_Pond_Owners_Manual_FINAL.pdf
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