Commercial & Residential 817-454-9387

28 Apr

Posted at 08:49h in Landscaping

Crabgrass is a burden for many homeowners. It’s important that you learn how to prevent it when necessary. If you have any present, you must learn to control it.

This guide is your tool for crabgrass prevention and control. You can do this yourself or leave it to the professionals if the problem is too much. Crabgrass may be growing in your yard right now and you may not be aware of it.

By the time you finish reading this, you can decide which course of action is best for you. A small amount of crabgrass is manageable (unless it gets to be too much). Let’s dive right into this quick guide right now.

What to know about crabgrass?

Crabgrass is a weed that is grown on an annual basis. You will usually find it in areas where the soil is sandy and the climate has plenty of sun. Crabgrass will be grown in areas such as your driveways and sidewalks.

Likewise, any areas of your yard where insects may have inflicted damage will be susceptible to such growth. Crabgrass is identified for having leaves that are pointed and wide. They can be grown from a shared stem.

They are light green in appearance and will have nodes that are swollen and shaped like zig-zags. If the soil temperature is about 55 degrees, it will be a prime germination environment for them. If you are using a broadleaf weed control product, it won’t be effective against crabgrass.

How to prevent and control crabgrass

Here are some ideas to consider when preventing and controlling crabgrass:

Keep your lawn mowed and fertilized

This will be your best defense against crabgrass growth. As long as it’s mowed and fertilized on a regular basis, you will less likely encounter it.

Use a pre-emergent

The best time to apply a pre-emergent will be during the fall or early spring. You’ll want to do it before the seeds are able to germinate. It will create a barrier that will prevent crabgrass growth.

Keep in mind that raking and digging may break this barrier. So be careful when you are tending to your yard.

The good news is that many pre-emergents will be effective. However, some of them may be harmful to your health or the environment. It’s important to find one that may be eco friendly while not posing a threat to you.

Final Thoughts

If crabgrass is an issue, you can prevent it from growing. Likewise, you can also control a small amount if possible. If it gets to be too much, that’s when you need to call in the professionals.

Streamline Design is your crabgrass control experts in the Dallas-Fort Worth area that will be perfect for getting the job done. The less crabgrass you have in your yard, the better. Plus, you’ll have a much healthier looking lawn than ever before.

Don’t take any chances. Call the experts that will handle all your crabgrass elimination needs. Call today at 817-873-1999 for more information. 

03 Mar

Posted at 15:00h in Landscaping

Your lawn requires a bit of care to keep it looking nice. This care should be considered based on the season in your area. While mowing is typically associated primarily with the spring and summer months, there are best practices to consider for every season.

You may not actually have to mow year around. However, it’s a good idea to be familiar with how to mow, when to mow, and what to do during off-season for mowing.

In this guide, we will walk you through all of the seasons and what you should plan for when it comes to mowing.

Scheduled Mowing

During the seasons where mowing needs to happen regularly, it’s a good idea to establish a mowing routine. We know you might not always be able to mow exactly on the same day or the same time but you should be able to plan pretty close.

How often you need to mow really depends on your lawn and your grass. Some types of grass should be cut shorter than others so you might also familiarize yourself with the type of grass your lawn has.

Some grasses do require mowing all year long but this is not the norm.

If you’re curious how often to mow, here’s a good rule of thumb for you. Typically, grass should be mowed to approximately 3 inches in height. Mowing it too short can be really hard on the grass. Of course, keeping it too long is simply not visually appealing.

Depending on your climate, you can probably set up a mowing schedule that handles the mowing every other week.

If your area gets a lot of rainfall or has a rainy season, you may need to mow more often during those seasons. The rain will cause the grass to grow much faster.

Off-Season Lawn Care

When you are getting close to the end of your typically mowing season, you should mow in such a way to prepare for this.

In most cases, you will be able to tell when you’re nearing the last mow of the summer. When you mow for the last time of the season, cut the grass just slightly shorter to prepare for your off-season.

This means rather than 3 inches, you might mow to a 2-inch grass height instead. For this final mow, we also recommend bagging the grass as you go. This will help keep your lawn from gathering more debris during the off months.

In the off-season you will not mow your lawn. However, you might need to mulch leaves or clear leaves from the yard. You can do this with your mower to make it easier. Mulching the leaves or cleaning them up allows your lawn to get important nutrients that it needs to survive.

StreamLine Designs All-Season Lawn Care

Lawn care is not just for spring and summer. While this is the mowing season, there are things to be done all year. We can help care for your lawn in every season and base that care about what your lawn needs in the season.

Get your quote for lawn care today.

02 Feb

Posted at 16:00h in Landscaping

Cold winters are the bane of plants. When temperatures drop below freezing, plants lose water through leaves and needles, which causes them to die. To keep your trees healthy again next summer, you need to know how to protect them.

Fortunately, there are many different tips you can implement right now. So try these tips for protecting your trees and shrubs from winter frost.

Tree Wraps

Tree wrapping is a highly-effective method that assists the trunks in maintaining warmth. You can use any number of materials to achieve this, from thick towels to cardboard. The goal is to wrap the trunk of your trees in the material.

You want to continue wrapping the trunk until your wrapping touches the first branches. And to ensure that your wrapping stays securely in place, use heavy-duty tape to tie everything together. You can also use a felt material or various kinds of insulation to help keep your trees warm and combat the effects of frost.

Take Your Potted Plant Indoors

If you live in an area where it experiences frost, bringing potted plants inside is the best way to protect them. But it’s not just during the winter months when you have to worry about your plants. There are other seasons that can be difficult for your plants, like early spring.

When you bring them inside before the frost, be sure to do so around dusk. Hanging baskets are an ideal place to transfer your potted plants. Ideally, you want your plant to be in an environment with a temperature range of 45°F to 75°F.

You also want an environment that has bright light but not too much sun exposure during the day so that they don’t dry out too quickly. These are all things that can be accommodated indoors.

Water in the Afternoon

In the wintertime, frost can damage your plants and trees. In order to avoid this, water your plants in the afternoon so that they have plenty of time to soak up water before nightfall.

To help keep your plants alive through winter, you can also create a ‘halo’ around your plant by planting taller plants around it. This, combined with a stringent watering cycle, can help your plants fight the effects of frost.

Keep in mind that when you water your plants, you want to make sure that the water penetrates about a foot or more deep. This will ensure that the water reaches the roots of the plants.

Don’t Forget to Mulch

Mulching gardens with leaves or compost and covering them with a row cover will also work to protect against cold winds and frost. The mulch acts as natural insulation to help keep your trees and shrubs safe from winter weather.

Apply a Cloche

This bell-shaped protective cover will give your shrubs the protection they need to stay safe and healthy. Often made from glass or plastic, cloches are ideal for your smaller plants, allowing them to stay warm in the cold winter months.

02 Feb

Posted at 15:52h in Landscaping

Aeration is one of the keys to keeping your plants healthy. Plants need oxygen to grow and thrive. Oxygen moves through the soil and roots and is absorbed by plant cells for growth. Aeration can help improve the amount of oxygen that gets into the soil, improving the overall health of your plants.

Oxygen-rich soil leads to healthier, happier plants. Your plants will also be less susceptible to disease, as well as insect infestations when they are getting enough aeration. To learn more about the benefits of aeration and what you can do to implement it into your garden, we invite you to keep reading to learn more.

Why Choose Aeration?

When plants are exposed to an environment without enough oxygen, they can suffer. For example, plants may display yellowing leaves or tall grass. Here are some of the benefits of aeration for your plants:

  • Increased resistance to insects and pests
  • Decreased susceptibility to disease
  • Improved root system
  • Reduced thatch
  • More oxygen
  • Stronger turf

As you can see, aeration is essential for plant health. If you want to keep your plants happy and healthy, consider adding aeration into your garden regimen. It’s completely worth it to maintain good soil quality by providing your plants with what they need: plenty of oxygen.

Different Ways to Achieve Aeration

There are many ways you can aerate your soil to get the oxygen into it that your plants need. Composting is a great way to get air into the soil because of the air pockets created by decomposing organic matter. If you don’t want to compost, there are other ways to aerate your lawn or garden.

One of these ways is with an aerator, which will create air pockets in the soil so that oxygen can be absorbed more easily by plant roots. You can also till or dig up some of the topsoil and then replace it when done—this too will create air pockets in the soil. 

There are also chemical aerators that are available at most nurseries or garden centers, but please do not use these if you have a septic system on your property.

How to Identify if Your Plants Need More Air

One of the best ways to identify if your plants need more air is to simply check their leaves. Plant leaves can give a lot of clues as to what they may need, and it’s important that you know how to read those clues. Signs that the plant needs more air include yellowing, dryness, and wilting.

It’s also important to check for insects on your plants. If there are a lot of ants or other pests on your plants, chances are there is not enough oxygen in the soil.

Another way you can tell if your plants need more air is by burrowing into the ground with a shovel. If you hit dirt instead of roots after five to six inches, it’s time to aerate. By taking action now, you can ensure the health of your plants.