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Category: How To

Village Green Plano LandscapingGREENTALK BLOGHow To
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.

16 Dec 2020
0 Comments By Ken Hyatt How To, Ken's Quick Tip, Sprinkler System , , , ,

Do You Know How Much You Should Be Watering This Winter?

In winter, even though your lawn and plants are dormant, your soil still needs consistent watering to keep it healthy. One of the biggest mistakes you can make with your lawn health is to turn your sprinkler system off during our winter months.

This means in winter, we recommend you water one ten-minute burst one day per week.

Also, keep in mind that many of the newer sprinkler controllers have a seasonal adjustment (set to 20% during winter,) which is easy to use with your watering guidelines. Finally, if your lawn has a lot of shade, you can cut your watering about half of what we recommend and be fine. Shady lawns always need less water than those that get a lot of sun during the day.

Important Note for Rotary Head Sprinklers and Drip Systems.

If you have rotary head sprinklers (they slowly turn and send out long streams of water), we recommend running twice as long as you would regular sprinklers since it takes them longer to put out the same amount of water. Drip Zones (drip systems work by maintaining a level of moisture in the soil.) We recommend that in the winter they run one day per week for 10 minutes. Since different drip lines water slightly differently, it is important to pay attention to your beds to make sure they are getting the proper amount of water. If you have questions or need help with your sprinkler system, give us a call. Proper watering is vital for a healthy lawn, and we are always happy to help.

Proper watering is vital for a healthy lawn, and we are always happy to help. You can also find a how-to video on programming your watering guide on our website or YouTube channel. You can download a copy of our Winter Watering Guide here (be sure and share with your friends and family!)

As always, if you have any questions or need help with your sprinkler system, give us a call at 972-495-6990 or email me at Ken@VillageGreen-Inc.com.

12 Sep 2020
0 Comments By Ken Hyatt Dallas Lawn Care, FAQ, Fertilization & Weed Control, How To, Ken's Quick Tip, Landscaping, Landscaping Dallas, Lawn and Landscape Care , , , , , , , , , ,

Everything You Need To Know About Fall in North Texas

It is hard to believe but fall officially arrives in North Texas in less than a week.

As we wrap up the busy summer season and head into autumn Village Green starts shifting our lawn care focus away from top growth and towards root growth.

Bermuda lawns get a nitrogen fertilizer and our St. Augustine and zoysia lawns have switched to a root feeding fertilizer.

We treat St. Augustine and zoysia differently for two reasons. One is the lawns have been stressed from the summer heat and we want to help the roots become stronger as we head into fall.

The second reason is St. Augustine and zoysia are both prone to a fungus called brown patch that occurs in the moderate, usually wetter weather we have in the fall. Applying a high nitrogen fertilizer to St. Augustine and zoysia lawns is bad, because brown patch thrives on nitrogen.

Later this fall we will begin the transition to a fall pre-emergent to reduce fall and winter weeds.

Ask Ken: Our Top Fall Related Questions

As the weather cools our phones heat up. In the past week I’ve had time in the office to answer many fall related questions that I think would benefit all our customers. I hope you find the answers to these common fall questions helpful!

How much should I water in the fall?
Download our Fall Green Talk Newsletter for our fall watering guidelines.

What should I do with the leaves on my lawn and landscape?
Short answer is that leaves left on your lawn are bad (they can lead to fungal problems in your lawn.) Leaves in your beds are good (think free mulch!)

Should I plant or install a landscape in the fall in North Texas?
I know it sounds backwards, but fall and even in the winter are actually better seasons to plant landscapes in than spring. If you choose the right plants, the weather in North Texas doesn’t stay cold long enough to damage new plants, plus planting at this time of year lets the plants develop roots deep enough to be mostly established before summer which is the most stressful time of the year for plants in North Texas. Deeper and stronger roots is vital because it makes the plant much hardier in extreme heat and they require less water to thrive.

What are the best plants to get fall color into your lawn?
If you are looking to refresh your lawn we recommend these hardy, late-blooming plants. The best part about planting at this time of year is that the plants will have ideal conditions to grow strong roots over winter, so they’ll be ready to sprint into bloom next spring.

Some of our favorites are…

Pansies: If you want colorful blooms over the winter your go-to flower for sunny areas in North Texas are pansies. Pansies are hardy with the ability to weather single digit temperatures and wintry precipitation. In fact, they often bounce back and bloom after a wintry patch of weather after a few sunny days. To maximize their blooms, use a high phosphorous fertilizer (5-30-5 ratio.) Like most flowers, they prefer a loose well-drained soil so they don’t stay wet after watering. An easy way to accomplish that is to add potting soil to the bed. Pansies are like candy to rabbits, so if you have a large population in your area, it may be challenge to grow them.

Violas: They have pansy-like blooms except the blooms are tiny. You can plant these in similar conditions to pansies.

Kale and/or Cabbage: Oddly enough, if you have rabbit problems, you are safe planting kale and/or cabbage. Rabbits would rather eat your pansies versus eating your vegetables! These aren’t as colorful as pansies but they’re easy to grow. To make them look nice later in the spring, trim off the blooms.

Mums: These are wonderful fall plants. Like azaleas, they only bloom a few weeks out of the year, but when they bloom they look great, especially with pumpkins.

Cyclamen: These are beautiful but delicate flowers. I recommend planting a few of them for a nice change of color in your lawn or landscape. Don’t get carried away, as you cold lose them to harsh wintry weather.

Pumpkins: Another tip to introduce a pop or color is to get some pumpkins and/or gourds to place in your lawn and landscape. Our area has many pumpkin patches during the fall season a few well placed add a festive fall element to your yard.

If you are looking for some extra help with your lawn or landscape this fall give us a call. Founded in 1980, Village Green is a family-owned and operated lawn and landscape company celebrating 40 years in North Texas.

Call us at 972-495-6990 or email me at Ken@VillageGreen-Inc.com to learn more.

01 Aug 2020
0 Comments By Ken Hyatt Dallas Sprinkler Repair, How To, Ken's Quick Tip, Lawn and Landscape Care, Sprinkler System, Watering , , , , ,

Here’s How you Program a Rachio Smart Smart System Controller

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More and more of our customers are using the Rachio Smart Sprinkler Controller. In this in-depth video Ken takes you through the steps to program your Rachio Smart Sprinkler Controller for North Texas. If you have a lawn or landscape problem you need help with give Village Green a call at 972-495-6990 or email us at Ken@VillageGreen-Inc.com. We have been helping our North Texas neighbors have healthier lawns since 1980.