April 2019

All I can say about March 2019 is that it wasn’t as wet as last March, and we only had one moderate snow event.  Still, it’s been consistently cooler than normal. We’ve only had 1 day in the 70s as I write this Newsletter on March 27, whereas we normally have quite a few.  Thus, much of nature is sluggish getting started this year.  To this point, it’s mostly lawns that are making the spring seem slow to come since they are behind in their greening.  For the most part, other early-active spring plants (bulbs, perennials, flowering trees) seem to be on schedule.  We’re expecting some milder weather this weekend, so hopefully, by the time you receive this many of you will have already been out on your lawns and in your gardens.

One thing that we’re finding early this spring is that the excessive moisture of all last year has had a pretty negative effect on lawns as the growing season gets started.  There are patchy/thin areas on many lawns; there is an excessive amount of moss and slime mold in areas of poor air circulation (shady areas); there are lots of weeds on lawns that weren’t treated in the fall; and lawns that weren’t mowed late (after Thanksgiving) are off-color and somewhat matted in appearance. Last year was definitely a difficult year, but turf is resilient, and by making sure that we follow recommended maintenance procedures this spring, lawns ought to be back to their normal, magnificent selves by mid-spring.

April is the month when lawns and landscaped areas alike need to be tended to intensively as they come to life.  Crabgrass and broadleaf weeds must be controlled, and lawns need to be fertilized; core aeration and liming are much-needed conditioning activities that can be done now.  Now is the time for fertilizing all trees, shrubs, perennials, bulbs and other desirable plants, for landscape beds to be cleaned up and refreshed with new mulch, and it’s when insects on susceptible trees and shrubs are best controlled before they become problems.  Hopefully, all mowers and other maintenance equipment have been sharpened and serviced so that they can be ready for action.

Lawn Depot Turf Management is already well into its first round of fertilizing and controlling crabgrass in our lawns.  For those of you who have been going back and forth as to whether you want to do your own lawn maintenance or not this year, we want to remind you that our renowned Turf Management department is still accepting new customers for both full season treatment plans and special, one time only activities (core aerating, liming).  For those of you who are interested, please stop in at the Garden Center or use our online request an estimate form. We’ll be out within a few days to take a look at and measure your lawn, and we’ll email you your estimate

            The Lawn Depot Garden Center is now fully stocked inside with all the lawn and garden products that we use in our Turf Management division, so you can achieve the same top-quality results if you choose to do the work yourselves.  And remember that we offer our 4 Step Fertilizer Program(for 5,000 sq. ft. or 10,000 sq. ft.) for those of you who prefer to get all your fertilization products at once, and at a savings over 10%.  Our Nursery Yard is coming alive as our perennials are growing beautifully and we continue to bring them out of their hoop houses for you to browse and purchase. Toward the end of April, as overnight temperatures and soil temperatures moderate, we’ll begin bringing in annual flowers and vegetable plants.  As always, we do not want to offer tender plants for sale when it’s not yet safe to plant them outside.  Frost is one deterrent, but cold soil temperature is another.

As spring explodes all around us, we hope you’re all as enthusiastic for it as we are.  Our talented Lawn Depot staff is ready with all the answers for all your gardening and lawn maintenance question.  Stop in and look around; ask any of our people about plants, pests, schedules and anything else that’s on your mind.  Or, give us a call at 215-348-5553 if you can’t make it over.  Our Garden Center spring hours are: Monday-Friday 8-6, Saturday 8-5, and Sunday 9-3.  As always, we’re looking forward to seeing you all, to renewing old relationships and forging new ones.

    Bob Button

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