Newsletter

Welcome to the ProGrass information center! My name is Steve Varga and each month I will be providing you with updated seasonal information on landscape care. Please check back regularly for current information that will help you have a better landscape and get the most out of your ProGrass services. Also be sure to check my care tip sheets and if you have any questions please click on my question and answer icon.

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Fall 2006

Welcome to Fall!

By Steve Varga, Chief Horticulturist

If you're like me, you're feeling that 2006 has flown by. It seems like I just planted my tomatoes and now I'm seeing the leaves on my trees show Fall colors. During Fall, many plants go into dormancy and build energy reserves for the coming Winter. Use the next few months to prepare your landscape for its long winter rest.

• Sprinkler system winterization helps reduces freeze damage. It only takes one very cold night to crack a pipe or sprinkler head. Have your system professionally blown dry with compressed air.
• Dormant sprays help reduce over-wintering insects and diseases. They are part of our plant care program, which also includes soil enrichment and insect management.
• Fall flowers and bulbs add great color. Planted in the proper location, they'll give you color during the drab winter. Plant them before cold soil prohibits the development of a good root system.
• Root-developing soil injections help the roots of trees and large shrubs grow properly, allowing them to absorb water and nutrients more efficiently. This treatment is also part of our plant health care program.
• Tree pruning by a professional ensures the future beauty and health of the largest and most obvious plants in our yards. If done improperly or not at all, the result is damage and misshapen growth.
• Shrub thinning and shearing slows or controls the size of your plants. All plants grow with no end point. They will not stop. Yearly shearing or hand shaping with thinning allows your plants to grow and last indefinitely, saving you the cost of removal and replacement.
• Fall plant additions work wonders for making your landscape more unique and interesting. It is amazing how much better a landscape looks by removing poor choices and adding better ones. The moist fall and winter is a great time to do this.
• Mulching protects plant roots and reduces erosion. These benefits are seldom thought about when adding mulch, but are important. If the mulch layer in your beds looks thin, be sure to add new mulch soon.

If you have any questions about these or other Fall landscape care items, be sure to call ProGrass. Enjoy the Fall season and thank you for your trust in ProGrass!

Referral Contest Bonanza Giveaway

Refer a friend to ProGrass before Dec. 31, 2006 and you'll be entered in our drawing for one bonanza of a prize:

• One year PremiumCare weekly mowing & maintenance service
• One lawn core aeration with gypsum treatment
• Bark mulch installation
• One year NaturalCare tree & shrub health care service

Total Value: Up to $3,000

Just have your friend give your name and address when he or she contacts us for a free, no-obligation estimate.One winner; drawing to be held by Jan. 31, 2007. No cash/credit/trade value. Residential only. Landscape size restrictions may apply. Notification by mail or phone.

Ask Steve

Q:I'm seeing a white, powdery substance on some plants. What is it?

Steve:This sounds like powdery mildew. Luckily, this is generally more aesthetic than damage-producing.

Powdery mildew often affects plants like deciduous azaleas, roses, squash and zucchini, apples and sometimes even in grass in very dry areas. The symptoms are easy to recognize: a mat of white, powdery-looking fungal fibers. The powder is caused by spores of Sphaerotheca pannosa.

These spores move from plant to plant on air currents. Germination and growth occur in dry soil conditions when warm daytime temperatures are followed by cool, humid nights

This time of year, affected leaves are usually ready to fall off anyway so the plant doesn't put a lot of energy into fighting back against the fungus. Affected leaves will eventually fall off and the fungus cannot live on dead plant tissue. However, on roses and azaleas, you may want to consider NaturalCare treatments as the fungus can stay dormant on live tissue, then reappear the next season.

ProGrass Participates In GreenCare for Troops With Project EverGreen

In August, ProGrass was happy to volunteer as a participant in the national outreach program, GreenCare for Troops.

Landscape care companies around the country have volunteered to help these families with services such as lawn fertilization and pruning, during deployment. Each participating landscape company may decide what level of service it is able to contribute.

In announcing the new program, Pat Nibler, ProGrass vice president said "Lawn and landscape maintenance becomes a definite hardship when a family's major breadwinner is on active duty away from home. The "GreenCare for Troops" program seeks to ease this stress by helping affected families with the important task of caring for their yard and landscape".

ProGrass has committed to provide help to ten military families, the maximum number allowed by the program. "We encourage other landscape firms to step up and do as much as they can to help these military families", notes Pat Nibler.

The GreenCare program was developed by Project EverGreen, a national non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the importance of green spaces in our lives.

Families interested in applying for the free program may contact Project EverGreen either by visiting their web site or by calling toll-free to 1.877.758.4835

Plant Focus

Ginkgo biloba

The Ginkgo, known as the maidenhair tree, is a very unique plant. It is often grown for its unusual fan-shaped foliage and interesting corky bark. With the purest yellow Fall foliage colors found in nature, Ginkgo stand out as a bright spot in landscapes. During the growing season, Ginkgo displays fresh cool green foliage that grows from plump cluster buds along the branches. Few, if any insects or diseases plague the species.

Ginkgo is one of the longest surviving plant species on Earth, dating back 270 million years. Around 1100 AD, Chinese Buddhist monks cultivated Ginkgo for its medicinal properties. Japanese monks also planted Ginkgo in their temple areas. After the bombing of Hiroshima, the Ginkgo was one of the few plants to survive unaltered by any nuclear radiation.

Several varieties are available that range from the natural tall open canopy to more compact upright types. There are even a few grafted globe-shaped plants for small areas. Many are available at local nurseries.

Plant Focus plant choice from Steve Varga, ProGrass Chief Horticulturist.