Turf Pro Inc. Newsletter

March 2015

In This Issue

First Application

Snow Mold in Lawns

When to Mow Your Lawn

Apple Scab

Oak Wilt

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As always, we thank you for your business. If you ever have any questions regarding your lawn and/or landscape feel free to contact us either by calling (734) 699-0010 or through e-mail at turfproinc@sbcglobal.net.

Sincerely,

Michael J. Weakland

Turf Pro Inc. President/Owner

First Application Timing

You may be seeing some other companies out fertilizing neighbors' lawns already and wondering where we are. Our application timing is based on soil temperature.

To be most effective, the first application should not be done until soil temperatures reach about 40° F at a 3"-4" depth. A recent soil temperature reading was still only at 32°F. Remember, we're talking about soil temperature, not air temperature, and soil temperatures rise more slowly than air temperatures. If done too early, the product won't last into the season when it is really needed most.

We expect soil temperatures to reach ideal conditions in early April, so that's when we will begin our applications. They will be done from early April to mid-May.

Check out this bulletin from MSU for more pre-season lawn care tips!

What's that White Fluff on your Lawn?

If you're seeing a white fluff on your lawn as the snow is melting, it's probably nothing to be concerned about. It's called Snow Mold and we've been seeing it in customers' lawns recently. It's caused by a fungus that thrives in matted down turf that's been covered with snow for an extended period.

Snow Mold in one of our customer's lawns (taken 3/17/2015)

If you see it in your lawn, there's no need to worry. You can lightly rake the affected areas with a leaf rake, not a garden rake. This provides better circulation to the turf, which will help to dry out the area and reduce the damage caused by the fungus. Once the grass begins actively growing within a few weeks, it should grow right out.

Close up of Snow Mold (taken 3/17/2015)

Important

First Mow of the Season

As a reminder we will start the first round of fertilizer in April, depending on soil temperatures. Turfgrass early spring greening and growth activity is triggered by temperature and rainfall, not by fertilizer. A good tip to help get it to green up sooner is to mow the lawn with the cutting height a notch or two lower than your normal mowing height. You can do this as soon as the the lawn dries out enough to cut and before the grass actually needs its first cutting, which should be by the end of March. This will do wonders to help your lawn green your before your neighbors'.

Make sure to sharpen the blades if you didn't at the end of last season!

Spring is Just Around the Corner! Have Your Flowering Crabapples Looked Bad in the Past?

Soon the temperatures will be warming up and things will be starting to turn green. Now would be a good time to think a little about your yard, specifically your flowering crabapple trees if you have them. Apple Leaf Spot, or Apple Scab, is a common fungus that can damage your crabapple trees. To prevent damage you must preemptively spray the trees in early spring before they leaf out. If you wait to spray them until after they have leafed out fungicides become ineffective. Continue reading below to find out more about Apple Scab.

Apple Scab

Typical leaf spot damage on a flowering crabapple tree.

Apple scab, or leaf spot, is a common problem with flowering crabapple trees. It is a fungus that first affects emerging leaves in the spring during moist conditions. Although apple scab rarely kills flowering crabapple trees it can cause heavy defoliation by mid summer. Leaves become covered in brown spots and the tree becomes unsightly as it drops leaves and thins out. The best way to treat apple scab is to spray the trees with fungicide in early spring when the leaves first emerge, often followed up with a second application two weeks later. After the tree has leafed out it becomes difficult to control the fungus and damage will likely occur in infected trees. So the best way to deal with this disease is to spray the trees preemptively. There are many disease resistant varieties availabe but if your trees have had apple scab in the past it is likely that they will show damage again, especially under the right weather conditions.

If you would like to further discuss your tree and shrub care needs, feel free to give us a call at 734.699.0010 or email us at turfproinc@sbcglobal.net.

Here you can see some examples of untreated flowering crabapple trees displaying heavy leaf spot damage late in the summer. By this point there is little that can be done. The tree will survive but will be unhealthy and unsightly looking. Preventative treatment is the best way to keep your flowering crabapple trees healthy.

Oak Wilt

Oak Wilt can kill a tree within months.

Customers with oak trees on their properties need to be aware of the right and wrong times to prune them. Oak Wilt is becoming more common in Michigan. You should prune during cold weather months only (November 1 to April 1). Pruning at other times can open your tree up for possible Oak Wilt disease, which can kill the tree within months.

Sincerely,

Michael Weakland / Owner
Turf Pro Inc.

A Thought To Remember
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