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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Winter 2006

What's the Word?

By Steve Varga, Chief Horticulturist

I am writing this newsletter in early November on a day when the rain is coming down in buckets and the wind is blowing it sideways. The street outside is flooding due to leaf-clogged storm drains; a tree just fell over in my neighbor's backyard. This is not the best day to write a newsletter about landscape care, but that I must.

A lesser horticulturist may have thrown up his or her hands and said "see you next spring." But not me. I have come up with the word of the month, and that word is sanitation. No...not taking out the trash. I'm talking about landscape sanitation. Storms which come through in November and December make a mess of our landscapes. Leaves, branches, seed pods and broken limbs often lie scattered about. Heavily-branched trees rock in the wind, often causing dangerous hairline fractures to develop in some limbs. Shrubs are often in dire need of internal thinning, and are clogged with dead, brown leaves. Dormant perennials often sit under piles of rotting, moldy plant refuse.

Do you see any of this in your landscape? Are you afraid to go and look? If you are, let us look for you. Why, you may ask? Because a clean, properly-pruned landscape provides:

• Better holiday security due to good visibility around the home
• Fewer over-wintering disease problems
• Less wind related tree damage
• Higher home value resulting from that "well cared for" look
• Fewer places for spiders, carpenter ants, and termites to hide

Now, I know you don't want to go out in the cold wet weather to do this kind of work, so let us do it for you. Just give us a call and we'll take a look and see what we can do to help.

Lastly, our sincere thanks for your business in 2006. We're looking forward to providing you the best service possible in 2007. Wishing you and your family a wonderful, safe holiday season, Steve Varga and the entire ProGrass team!

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:If I don't clean up a few inches of fallen leaves will it harm my landscape?

Steve:It depends on where they are. If the leaves are in the planting beds, a few inches are fine for eight to twelve weeks. However, a thick pile covering a small plant for this much time can smother it.

In a lawn area, a layer as thin as one inch which remains on the lawn for two weeks, can kill the grass. Leaves not only block light and oxygen, they also secrete acidic tannins which can kill a plant's roots.

Limestone applied by your landscape service person counteracts this to a point, but heavy piles for long periods do cause damage.

Although leaf cleanup around and under plants is no ones' favorite job, it must be done to maintain a healthy landscape. Damage done by piled leaves in the fall and winter will result in problems in the spring which are not easily remedied. ProGrass provides landscape cleanup services if you find you can't get to this task yourself. Contact our customer service department for more information.

Care Tips For Holiday Season Plants

With the holiday season here, many of us have festive plants like poinsettias and Christmas cactus in our homes to add some color and cheer. We also may bring the outdoors inside by decorating a Christmas tree. Here are a few care tips for seasonal plants.

• Poinsettias
  • Keep poinsettias out of hot or cold drafts which may cause premature leaf drop.
  • Place them in a spot where they will receive filtered light.
  • If possible, poinsettias prefer cool nighttime temperatures.
  • Water no more than every two weeks. Poinsettias like to dry out between waterings. When you do water, poinsettias prefer overhead watering so the leaves are wetted down. This makes the color last longer.
  • Do not fertilize poinsettias while they are blooming.
• Christmas cactus and Thanksgiving cactus
  • Direct sunlight is fine for Christmas and Thanksgiving cactuses.
  • Let dry out between waterings. Water about every 2 weeks.
  • Do not fertilize while the plant is blooming. However, a light fertilization in January is beneficial.
  • If possible, these plants prefer a cool nighttime temperature and no drafts.
• Christmas trees
  • When choosing a tree, raise the tree a few inches and drop it on the butt end. Very few green needles should drop off the tree.
  • Make a fresh cut on the tree before bringing it inside.
  • Keep the water level over the base of the tree. If the base dries out, a resin can form over the cut end, and the tree cannot absorb water.
  • The National Christmas Tree Association advises that plain tap water is best for keeping a tree fresh.

Plant Focus

Tsuga canadensis 'New Gold' 'New Gold' Canadian Hemlock

Pinus densiflora 'Aurea' Golden Japanese Red Pine

Conifers

A conifer is an evergreen with needles or scales. The conifer family is huge. Many will become very large shade trees, some form great hedges, and yet others are highly ornamental dwarf varieties suitable for small spaces such as a patio or courtyard. I think they are a great choice because they add year-round foliage and color to an otherwise bleak, leafless winter landscape. The available textures and colors are limitless and can be quite eye catching. This time of year, the most attractive landscapes all include a selection of ornamental conifers. ProGrass can suggest and install a wide selection of ornamental conifers to dress up a landscape. If you have questions about different conifers, please contact us.

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