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Category: How To

Village Green Plano LandscapingGREENTALK BLOGHow To
29 Mar 2022
0 Comments By Ken Hyatt How To, Ken's Quick Tip, Landscape Solutions, Landscaping ,

Important Tips on Transplanting Plants

In today’s video, Ken shared a couple of tips that are helpful to note when transplanting plants.

When you dig the plant up, if the soil drops off the root ball and the roots are exposed, the plant will likely not survive. If we have a good and large enough root ball, the plant typically will be fine.

The second important thing when transplanting a plant is making sure you give the plant enough water. It is nearly impossible to overwater a transplanted plant, and it is vital to water the plant by hand to make sure it is getting enough water.

Keep in mind that it is common for the leaves to drop off the transplanted plant. As long as you can see some new leaf growth, the plant should be fine.

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If you have a landscape project job in mind for 2022, we would love the opportunity to discuss your project. Our landscapes start at $2,500 and go up to $100,000 + on large scale projects. Call 972-495-6990 or email Info@VillageGreen-Inc.com for more information.

27 Feb 2022
0 Comments By Ken Hyatt How To, Ken's Quick Tip, Landscape Solutions, Landscaping ,

Don’t Commit Crepe ‘Murder’ this Spring

Mid-winter and early spring is the time of the year when many of your neighbors believe they should dramatically prune their crepe myrtles, so they will have extra blooms come summer. They may call it pruning. At Village Green, we call crepe murder.

The thing to remember about crepe myrtles is that they are a tree. And like any other large tree on your property, you only prune them as needed. You would never think to chop off of the top of your oak tree at 20′ each year. The same is true of your crepe, myrtle. The only thing you are doing is creating an ugly tree that will end up with spindly branches that have a hard time supporting the weight of its summer blooms.

If you want to see an example of proper crepe myrtle pruning, check out the Dallas Arboretum. Their crepe myrtles are so well maintained that they used to host a tour for the blind because of the beautifully sculpted feel of their crepe myrtles’ untrimmed trunks.

If you are looking for a company to help with your lawn health or landscape, please give Village Green a chance to earn your business. Founded in 1980, we are a family-owned and operated lawn and landscape company based in Plano, Texas. Call 972-495-6990 or email Info@VillageGreen-Inc.com for more information.

11 Nov 2021
0 Comments By Ken Hyatt Fertilization & Weed Control, How To, Ken's Quick Tip

The #1 Thing To Do To Prevent Winter & Springs Weeds

As we head into late fall and winter Village Green will transition to a fall pre-emergent to reduce fall and winter weeds in our Fertilization & Weed Control Program lawns.
For this preventative to work, it is vital that you properly water your lawn within two weeks of the application.
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Download our Fall Watering Guide
Pre-emergent herbicides are designed to control germinating weeds seeds. As the name implies, pre-emergent is targeted towards weeds that have not yet emerged from the soil. It is not intended to control existing weeds or weed seeds. The weed will only be killed when it begins to sprout and hits the herbicide barrier. It is possible for seeds to remain dormant and not be harmed by the pre-emergent herbicide application. This is why weed control is a constant process. There will always be seeds under the surface, and a portion will germinate each season. Annual applications must be made to reduce large infestations significantly.
At Village Green, we typically spray a liquid pre-emergent, which comes out in big droplets. When you water within two weeks of our application, it will spread the pre-emergent out and down into your soil, activating it and creating that barrier we are looking for to prevent those weeds.
 
If you need help controlling weeds in your lawn, Village Green would love to earn your business. Founded in 1980, we are a family-owned and operated lawn and landscape company—Call 972-495-6990 for more information.

21 Aug 2021
0 Comments By Ken Hyatt Best Plants Series, How To, Landscape Solutions, Landscaping, Lawn Solutions , ,

What To Do If You Have Leaf Cutter Caterpillars

We recently featured the Canna Lily as one of our picks for our Best Plants Series.

The Cana Lily is a great choice for a customer who is looking for tropical looking plant for their landscape. They come in a variety of colors (both their blooms and leaves.) They also work well in certain spaces (where you need a tall vertical plant.)

But one of the downsides of the Canna Lily is you can get leaf cutter caterpillars which can make the leaves look ugly. In this video I’ll show you the damage leaf cutters can cause and how to get rid of them.

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If you are interested in learning more about our favorite plants be sure and visit our Best Plants Series on our YouTube channel (while you are there be sure and subscribe to our channel.) You can also watch some of our recent videos below.

If you are looking for help with your lawn or landscape, please give Village Green a chance to earn your business. Founded in 1980, we are a family-owned and operated lawn and landscape company. Call 972-495-6990 or email Ken@VillageGreen-Inc.com for more information.

31 Mar 2021
0 Comments By Ken Hyatt Fertilization & Weed Control, How To, Lawn Solutions , , ,

This is What We’re Doing in Your Lawn in Spring

A little over a month out from our record-breaking February freeze, most of our lawns are in what we call a tweener stage. There is a little green here and there in some lawns, but most are not out of dormancy yet. Probably only 20% to 30% in our area. That will change over the next few weeks, and we should start seeing the majority of our lawns green up nicely.

Our fertilization and weed control plan is not a one-size-fits-all program, so our application is customized specifically for your lawn. That means we pay attention to the conditions and do what will be best for the long-term health of your lawn.

Bermuda lawns will get treated with a good nitrogen fertilizer, pushing the grass to green up quicker.

St. Augustine lawns get the opposite treatment. A tropical plant, St. Augustine, is typically stressed after our winter months, so we apply a 5-10-31 ratio fertilizer which pushes root growth over top growth. If we pushed top growth to green up the lawn faster, we would be doing the lawn more harm than good in the long run. Root health is vital during these treatments and will pay off in a lush lawn later this year.

We are also putting out a pre-emergent on most of our lawns to help prevent spring and summer weeds. If the lawn is stressed, we will forgo the pre-emergent and apply a root stimulating fertilizer that will help the plant green up a little bit now but is really about long-term root health, which will produce a fuller, greener lawn later on this year.

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If you aren’t a current fertilizer customer, we would love to earn your business. Founded in 1980, we are a family-owned and operated lawn and landscape company. To learn more about our fertilization and weed control packages, call 972-495-6990, email Ken@VillageGreen-Inc.com or visit our website for all the details.

23 Mar 2021
0 Comments By Ken Hyatt How To, Landscape Solutions ,

Our Annual Plea To STOP Crepe Myrtle Murder

Mid-winter and early spring is the time of the year when many of your neighbors believe they should dramatically prune their crepe myrtles, so they will have extra blooms come summer. They may call it pruning. At Village Green, we call crepe murder.

The thing to remember about crepe myrtles is that they are a tree. And like any other large tree on your property, you only prune them as needed. You would never think to chop off of the top of your oak tree at 20′ each year. The same is true of your crepe myrtle. The only thing you are doing is creating an ugly tree that will end up with spindly branches that have a hard time supporting the weight of its summer blooms.

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If you want to see an example of proper crepe myrtle pruning, check out the Dallas Arboretum. Their crepe myrtles are so well maintained that they used to host a tour for the blind because of the beautifully sculpted feel of their crepe myrtles untrimmed trunks.

If you have any questions or need additional help with your lawn or landscape give us a call at 972-495-6990.

12 Mar 2021
0 Comments By Ken Hyatt How To, Ken's Quick Tip, Landscape Solutions, Lawn and Landscape Care , ,

How To Know If Your Plants Survived The Winter Storm

We’re getting many calls and emails from customers trying to determine if their plants survived our epic February 2021 winter storm in North Texas.

Sadly many plants will not survive our record-breaking cold weather, but the good news is we see signs that many will survive.

Curious if your plants will survive or not? Watch this quick video where I show you how to perform a simple test to see if we feel a plant will come back.

If you need additional help with your lawn or landscape Village Green would love to earn your business. Founded in 1980, we are a family-owned and operated lawn and landscape company. Call 972-495-6990 or email me Ken@VillageGreen-Inc.com for more information.

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25 Feb 2021
0 Comments By Ken Hyatt Dallas Lawn Care, How To, Ken's Quick Tip, Landscape Solutions , , ,

Important Lawn & Plant Freeze Damage Update

Last week we experienced some of the most extreme winter weather I have ever seen in North Texas.

With temperatures that went from 0 to 70 in a matter of days, coupled with heavy snow for our area, our plants and lawns had to withstand some brutal conditions. Now that we’re warming back up and heading into March, we are getting many inquiries about short-term and long-term freeze damage.

Below are two videos that I hope you find helpful. The first one covers what we’re seeing with local plants and landscapes. The second covers what we see in lawns with varying types of grass in our area.

Thank you for trusting Village Green with the care of your lawn. If you have any questions or need help to diagnose an issue, you can send us your photos via email or, better yet, give us a call at 972-495-6990. We also welcome you sharing this with family and friends who may find this information helpful.

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13 Feb 2021
0 Comments By Ken Hyatt Dallas Lawn Care, How To, Ken's Quick Tip, Landscape Solutions , , ,

Important Tips To Weather The Arctic Blast

With extreme cold and wintry precipitation in the forecast for North Texas, we wanted to share some some essential lawn and landscape tips and info to make sure you are ready to weather the arctic blast.

Below are two videos that we hope you find helpful. One is all about what you can do to protect your plants from the extreme cold temperatures. The second video is one I hope you won’t need but valuable information regarding what tools to have on hand if you experience a pipe bursting from the extreme cold.

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Below are a few tips to help you prepare.
Water
It seems counter-intuitive, but plants with moisture do better in extreme cold than those that are under-watered.

Cover Sensitive Plants
We recommend you use a cloth sheet (old sheets make a great cover.) Don’t use plastic. The idea is to trap heat against the ground, so plastic doesn’t help. When the sun comes out, it can make things worse by scorching your plants. If you have pansies, you don’t have to worry about covering them to keep them alive (although covering will prevent their blooms from being damaged.)

Turn Off Your Sprinkler
All cities in our area require a freeze sensor on sprinkler systems. If you aren’t sure about yours, the simple solution to preventing dangerous icing is to turn off your sprinkler system (remember to turn it back on once the cold snap has left our area.)

Thank you for trusting Village Green with the care of your lawn. If you have any questions, give us a call at 972-495-6990.

16 Jan 2021
0 Comments By Ken Hyatt GreenTalk, How To, Ken's Quick Tip, Landscape Solutions, Landscaping, Lawn and Landscape Care , ,

Our Top 5 Quick & Easy Landscape Improvements

If you want to improve your lawn and landscape and don’t know where to start, consider these five quick and easy tips. We think you’ll find that dollar for dollar, they are the easiest, more cost-effective ways to improve the look of your lawn and landscape quickly.

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REPLACE RUSTED STEEL EDGING AROUND LANDSCAPE BORDER
We like to put in a stone border using the dry stack method, which is where we lightly trim the stone and put them on decomposed granite. This method will hold the stone securely in place, allowing you to easily and quickly reposition the stone if needed in the future. This quick update isn’t costly and makes an excellent addition to the old, rusted steel edging many people have in their landscape. The cost of this type of update depends on a few things, but a general price range is $2,000 to $2,400.

ADD RIVER ROCK IN UNDER THE TREE(S) IN YOUR LAWN
These areas often won’t grow grass because of an abundance of shade, and river rock with a stone border make the area look very nice. And better yet, the stone grows well in the shade! The cost of this type of update depends on a few things, but a general price range is $2,400 to $2,800.

CONNECT YOUR DOWNSPOUTS
One of the biggest problems we see with landscapes is not under-watering, it’s overwatering. Connecting your downspouts to a drainage system and running the water out through the curb is a great solution and will resolve over watering in your beds. The cost of this type of update depends on a few things, but a general price range is $2,500 to $3,000.

ADD DECOMPOSED GRANITE TO YOUR SIDE YARD
Often, grass has a hard time growing between the home and fence, and these areas are nothing but mud pits. If you added decomposed granite pea gravel and nestled in flagstone, your side yard will be more usable and drain properly. The cost of this type of update is generally $3,000 to $3,700.

ADD MULCH TO YOUR BEDS
The recommendation is always to have 2 to 3 inches of mulch in your beds. Village Green does Seasonal Bed Maintenance where we install the mulch, lightly weed, and trim any shrubs that need it. We also will add weed preventative and fertilizer. The crucial part of this, though, is adding the mulch. Two to three inches of mulch will insulate your plants’ roots from the heat and cold and hold in moisture. Having a couple of inches of mulch also will help cut down on the weeds in the bed. The cost of our Seasonal Bed Maintenance program depends on a few things, but a general price range is $1,100 to $1,300 a year.

These are the top 5 small landscape jobs we do that can significantly improve your lawn and landscape.

If you have a landscape project in mind, Village Green would love to earn your business. Founded in 1980, we are a family-owned and operated lawn and landscape company specializing in landscapes that start at $2,500. Call us at 972-495-6990 or email us at Ken@VillageGreen-Inc.com for more information.