Dear Homeowner:

The following is a list of things that Jason Davis has recommended that we do in the spring time. I hope that you find it helpful in your endeavors as far as your landscaping/yard maintenance this spring. Make sure that you also check out the posts that Jason has written as far as weed control, etc.

Have a great spring!!

Julian Shaw, Chair
Landscaping Committee

• Apply a pre-emergent.
  
  • The one I recommend is Pendimethalin. It costs about $20 for a 50 lb bag. One bag will treat approximately 10-12,000 square feet. Just as a rough way to tell how big that is, the average size lawn is around 8000-10000 square feet, so one bag will be more than sufficient for all but the largest of yards.
    
  • This product usually comes impregnated on a fertilizer. There are many different types out there. The price of a fertilizer is dependent on two things: The amount of nitrogen the fertilizer contains, and the method of delivery of the nitrogen. The amount of nitrogen is easy to determine. This is the first number on the bag of the fertilizer. For example, a 25-5-10 bag will contain 25% Nitrogen. The higher the first number, the more you can expect to pay for the fertilizer. The other factor, (the deliver method) is not quite as obvious. This is referring to whether or not the Nitrogen is released slowly or all at once. Obviously, the slower the release, the longer the “greening” effect will last. If you look on the back of the bag, you’ll see the breakdown of the Nitrogen. It is usually stated as WIN (Water insoluble nitrogen) or WSN (Water soluble Nitrogen). The water soluble portion is immediately available whereas the WIN is slow release. You might also see it listed as slow release nitrogen and quick release, which are self-explanatory. The higher percentage of slowly available nitrogen, the more you should expect to pay for the product.
    
  • The pre-emergent will inhibit seed germination, and in doing so keeps new weeds from popping up. This product will not do anything for the weeds you have right now, but this is the first step in achieving a weed free yard. Getting rid of the weeds you have now will be covered in a different item. This is the preventative form a weed control.
  
  
• The Bradford pears have started blooming, so it's about time to plant some seasonal color for the spring. If you planted any bulbs they should be starting to come up. After we've had our last frost, you can buy/plant your spring color. My favorites for the spring are impatiens and petunias. These two will do well until the heat of the summer gets kicks in and then they’ve get really weak and probably go see God. The other option is to wait until around May and just plant some begonias or marigolds, as the plants can withstand the Texas heat.
  
  
• Spray your yard with a broadleaf herbicide. The class of herbicides that I recommend for this job is the Phenoxy class. There are several varieties and most of them are mixed together to provide a broader spectrum of control. This class of herbicide will kill all types of broadleaf weeds without damaging the lawn grasses. The way you can distinguish if the weed you want to control is a broadleaf or a grassy plant is to look at the leaves. If the veins run parallel to each other, then it’s a grass. If the leaves have a netted pattern of veins, then it’s a broadleaf. All trees (except Palms) are broadleaf, so if the weed you want to control have veins that resemble the veins on your trees, then it’s a broadleaf. The most common active ingredient in this type of herbicide is 2-4-D. The other ones that are usually mixed with this are Dicamba, MCPP, or mecoprop. These are all safe to use on Bermuda lawns. But if you have St. Augustine, I’d be a little leery using it, even if the label states that it's for use on St. Augustine.
  
  
• If you want to plant a new shade tree, your window is closing rather quickly, as the new tree will need time to establish it’s roots before the heat of the summer gets here. I’d make sure it is in the ground no later than the middle of March. The trees I recommend are also the most costly at the garden centers. The old adage is true with shade trees: You get what you pay for! I like Shumardii Red Oaks, Live oaks (if you want leaves on the tree year round) and Pecans. My next group of trees are the Chinese Pistache, and Maples. Stay away from the Bradford Pears and the Cedar Elms. Bradford Pears are very weak wooded and the Cedar Elms have a problem with aphids in the late summer that turn the leaves rust color. When purchasing trees, make sure and buy them from a reputable source. An example of the importance is that until the Red Oak tree matures, it’s is virtually identical to the Oklahoma native Pin Oak. After a year or two, the pin oak starts showing it’s weakness. It is not adaptable to the high pH soils that we have here in the Metroplex and consequently, the leaves never stay dark green, because although there is plenty of iron in the soil, this particular type of Oak is not able to extract the iron from the high pH conditions.
  
  
• Trim back all your ornamental grasses. Some examples of these are Pampas grass, Feathergrass, and even Lirope. Trimming back ornamental grasses allows you to remove the old tissue and make room for the new growth to come through. Keep in mind that these types of plants evolved under grazing pressure from the wild creatures. When we use these items in our landscape, the foraging creatures aren’t there, so we need to replicate what they do naturally. For Lirope, I simply use my string trimmer and trim it down to about 2 inches tall. For the ornamental grasses, I use the same equipment I use to trim my hedges. I just shear them down, to about 12-24 inches tall, depending on how big the plant is. Basically take it down to about 15-20% of its current size. You want to do this before it starts its spring growth. It won’t hurt the plant if you do this after the new growth comes out. It’s just that the bush will look prettier because the new leaves will be rounded instead of blunted by the trimming process.

These are just a few things I wanted to throw out there. Obviously, there are many other items that I could cover, but these are just a couple of items that are on my list of things to do at my house, so I figured most of you might need to do the same thing.

Jason Davis
Landscaping Committee