A World of What-If’s
How to Prepare for the Unexpected this Season
Spring signals new opportunities and new challenges, but we often don’t know what those challenges are until they happen. Trends and research only go so far, because nature can always throw curveballs. If you’re a turf care professional, one way to prepare well for the upcoming season is to simulate scenarios in your mind, and then play out how you’d respond to them. Think of it as a fire drill before the fire ever happens.
Below we’ve outlined different curveballs that spring and summer could throw at you, and how preparation and LebanonTurf products can help you hit a home run.
What If Dandelions Come Earlier than Expected?
Not all “flowers” are created equal. Pesky dandelions are a bright yellow sign that weeds are attacking the yard. Often times, professionals will treat the lawn in the spring with pre-emergent herbicides to prevent crabgrass from ever seeing the light of day. However, if the dandelions spring up first, you have to take a different route.
LebanonTurf pre- and post-emergent products combine two weed-killing tactics into one. This line of products attacks the broadleaf weeds that are already present, and the crabgrass from coming at all. So, the race to prevent dandelions is no longer a race, because even if they get a head start, you’ll end up winning.
What If I Get Too Much Rain?
Precipitation is always a guessing game. In some regions, just a couple of heavy storms can tip the scales from a dry summer to a wet summer. In the ups and downs of weather, how do you maintain consistency with your lawn feeding?
Slow-release nutrient technology helps deliver consistency to lawns for months at a time. LebanonTurf uses several different types of patented sources of nutrients, including Meth-Ex® 40, a high efficiency methylene urea and MESA®, a specially formulated nitrogen known for delivering brilliant color response. So, when the weather is unpredictable, with LebanonTurf technologies you can count on your lawns still getting the nutrition they need.
What If I Need to Seed Some “Spots”?
When the grass greens up in the spring, some lawns will face the issue of bare spots. So you’ll need to address the situation quickly, with your customers’ business on the line. You’ll also need to get it right the first time, and with seeding, that can be challenging.
We suggest a two-pronged attack, pairing one of our A-list approved seed blends (Trifecta or WinningColors) with our newly formulated PennMuch seed accelerator. The “A-list” approval recognizes turfgrass varieties that perform well under reduced inputs and exhibit drought and heat tolerance, leading to a more sustainable environment.
PennMulch is a pelleted seed establishment mulch that improves the germination environment, and keeps the seed in place with the new Hydrobond tackifier. Since a lot of variables and enemies can attack seeds as they begin to grow, using PennMulch can help clear the way for successful seed growth to fill in those bare spots quickly.
What If I Had Grubs Last Year?
Grubs are a common enemy of turf professionals, and if you had them last year, they’re likely to return this spring. So how do you attack them and keep them from causing damage, and more important, how do you keep them from coming back?
LebanonTurf’s Proscape Fertilizer with Acelepryn plus Dimension takes on the issues with effective insecticides. It provides that long-term feeding that your turf needs, while controlling pesky grubs. It also packs a third benefit of pre- emergent crabgrass control into the same bag.
What If I Need to Plant Some Shrubs?
Planting flowers, trees or shrubs is a great way to change the look of a lawn quickly, but it can be expensive if you don’t get results. To protect your investment, use ROOTS Tree Saver from LebanonTurf. It is specifically designed to reduce transplant stress while improving soil hydration and fertility. Apply ROOTS Tree Saver to the root zone at the time of planting, and you’ll improve plant nutrition and soil fertility during the stressful transplant process.
What Do I Do to Keep Weeds from My Shrub Beds?
Whether you have newly planted shrubs or a beautiful landscape of them from previous years, you need to protect them. Weeds can appear and rob soil nutrients while making the shrub beds look less-than-ideal.
To prevent weeds from taking hold, use Woodace Preen Plus from LebanonTurf. One application can prevent over 150 weeds from invading shrub beds and other landscape areas for up to eight months.
What About My Annuals?
Annuals are also a big investment, and they need all the help they can get to thrive in the uncertain spring and summer. That help can come in the form of ROOTS Flower Saver Plus. Similar to the Tree Saver product from LebanonTurf, Flower Saver Plus is a root zone treatment for flowers designed to improve the health, vigor and stress resistance of most landscape plants. It also contains mycorrhizal fungi to improve absorption of water and nutrients.
In short, Flower Saver Plus makes your flowers stronger from the moment your plant them, so they’ll be ready to do what they do best: make the landscape—and you—look good.
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For more information about LebanonTurf, our products or how to improve the quality of your turf, visit our website.