1

Lawn Maintenance

Choose the optimal mower for your type of grass. Use a rotary mower for tall, soft grasses like fescue, bluegrass or ryegrass; use a reel or cylinder mower on low-cut grasses such as bentgrass, Bermudagrass or St. Augustinegrass. Each type of grass has a recommended mowing height; set the height of your mowing blade to your grass’ recommended mowing height. It is time to mow your lawn when your grass is 1/3 taller than the recommended mowing height. It is okay to leave the grass clippings on the lawn, providing you are mowing frequently. If you wait too long to mow, the clippings with clump and block out sun, damaging spots of your lawn. Fall and Spring are the most important seasons to fertilize your lawn. Do not over-fertilize in Spring, you may encourage grass blade growth at the expense of your lawn’s roots. The most accurate method of determining what types and how much fertilizer to apply to your lawn is to have it tested.

2

Plant  Maintenance

Plants can be more challenging to fertilize, as different plants will need different types of fertilizer. File the tags that come with your plants and shrubs. If they do not contain information on fertilizer type and frequency, consult a gardening book. Wet the soil before applying fertilizer. If you are applying dry fertilizer, wet the fertilizer after you have applied it.

3

Tree & Shrub Trimming and Removal

There are several reasons why trees and shrubs need to be trimmed:

• To maintain shape and proportion within landscape
• To promote healthy growth or to remove dead or unhealthy portions of tree or shrub
• To keep branches from damaging home or power lines

There are several reasons why trees and shrubs sometime have to be removed:

• The tree or shrub has become a threat to the home, either the roots are causing foundation damage or the tree threatens to fall on the home
• The plant is sick beyond repair, or threatens to spread disease to other trees or shrubs
• The tree or shrub needs to be removed because of a new landscape design or feature

How big a project is it to remove a tree? It depends on several factors:

• The height and width of the shrub/tree
• How close is the tree/shrub to your home or other structures?
• How thick are the branches?
• Do you plan to remove the stump, or leave it in the ground?
• What type of passageway exists between the tree/shrub and the street?

4

Sprinkler System Installation

Installing a sprinkler system requires careful planning. The amount of work depends on the size of your yard and gardens:

• Map your yard. Contact utilities to find the location of buried electrical, gas, and telephone lines, and integrate these into your map.
• Determine your water pressure, using a water pressure gauge. Follow directions on your sprinkler system to create sprinkler circuits (segments) that can be powered by your water pressure.  
• Get permits as required by local ordinance.
• Dig the trenches for the pipe
• Lay the PVC pipe
• Install the sprinkler heads
• Mount and wire the controller system. Connect the sprinkler system to the controller system.
• Program controller and test the system
• After making adjustments, fill in the dirt to bury the sprinkler pipes.

Here are some questions that will help you determine the scope of your project:

• Are you installing repairing/updating a sprinkler system, or installing a new sprinkler system?
• Are you installing a sprinkler system under an existing lawn/landscape or in a bare yard?
• Will your sprinkler system need to be installed under any driveways or pathways?
• In addition to a lawn sprinkler system, are you planning to install an irrigation system for your flowers, shrubs, or vegetable garden?
• What is the approximate area that will need irrigation?