FREDERICKTOWN – After a decade of owning TD Landscaping Company in Fredericktown, Terri and Scott Huvler know what it takes to have a beautiful lawn.
The basics are fertilizing and watering your grass on a regular schedule, Scott told the Mount Vernon News.
“Cutting it less frequently, letting it grow longer,” can also contribute to a beautiful lawn, he said. “Do not bag the clippings.”
In terms of landscaping, it all depends on the plants.
“It depends on when they bloom, when they need to be pruned,” he said.
It’s also important to maintain a weed-free landscape.
“Then you maintain the plants depending on their growing characteristics and their life cycle,” Scott added.
He noted that most plants and lawns will survive even if you don’t water them, but they can thrive if you have them on a regular watering schedule.
“You’re probably better to do nothing than to try to over-water or under-water, because you will put it under stress either way,” he said.
The best time to water is in the morning.
“The plants or lawn has the ability to dry off during the day,” Scott said. “If you water during the heat of the day, you can lose water to evaporation.” Watering your plants in the morning as part of a daily routine is ideal.
“That being said, if your schedule is such that you can only water at other times, that’s how it works,” he said. “But if we’re talking agronomically, the best time is in the morning.”
Scott recommends watering your lawn or plants every other day.
“Then you monitor the lawn and plants to see how they’re doing,” he said. “If it’s 80 degrees, high humidity, you need to water more. If it’s cooler and you know there’s going to be intermittent showers, you don’t have to water for a couple of days.”
Cutting your grass too low can also be damaging to a lawn.
“We recommend that you cut your grass at three- to three and half inches,” Scott said. “The reason is you are shading the soil, keeping the turf thicker. Between those two things, you keep weed competition out and you should be able to water less frequently.”
When planting grass seed, Scott advises to make sure the seed has contact with the soil. You can use something as simple as a rake to ensure the contact or a more complex tool.
“The best time to do seeding is in the spring and the fall, but it can be done pretty much year-round,” he said. “The reason for the fall is that you have less competition with weeds and there is usually more adequate moisture.”
A factor to always consider when planting trees and shrubs is how big they will eventually be.
“You don’t want them to interfere with the structure of the house or power lines,” Scott said. “There’s a thought process that goes into picking plants. Once you do that, it’s simply giving the plant the proper care, including pruning them at the proper time.”
