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Tag: Winter

Village Green Plano LandscapingGREENTALK BLOGWinter
20 Dec 2022
0 Comments By Ken Hyatt Sprinkler System, Watering, Watering Solutions , , ,

How to Protect Your Sprinkler System from Freeze Damage

With the winter blast heading our way, we’ve been getting a lot of phone calls from worried homeowners wondering what they should do to protect their sprinkler system from damage.

First, ensure your lawn and landscape are well watered a few days before the polar plunge. That is the best way to protect your lawn and plants from damage.

If you wonder what this means for your sprinkler system, you’ll want to watch this quick video with helpful information.

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If you want a healthier lawn without all the hassle of maintaining it yourself, call 972-495-6990 or for more information about our affordable lawn health plans.

12 Dec 2022
0 Comments By Ken Hyatt Lawn Health , , , ,

Should You Overseed Your Lawn with Winter Rye

In the fall, we get asked if it is a good idea to overseed a lawn with Winter Rye Grass. Overseeding is scalping a lawn and then ‘overseeding’ with Winter Rye which stays green all winter in North Texas. Many homeowners want a green lawn year-round, so they overseed without realizing that it can cause problems to their lawn’s health.

Overseeding is not a good idea (especially if you have a St. Augustine or Zoysia lawn,) and in today’s quick [640],shadow=true,start=,stop=, we’ll explain why.

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If you want a healthier lawn in 2023 without all the hassle of maintaining it yourself, call 972-495-6990 or email paula@villagegreen-inc.com for more information about our affordable lawn health plans. In business since 1980, Village Green is a family-owned and operated business based in Plano, Texas.

14 Feb 2022
0 Comments By Ken Hyatt Fertilization & Weed Control, Ken's Quick Tip, Lawn and Landscape Care, Lawn Solutions, Watering , ,

Mid-February Lawn Health Update

In this quick video, Ken gives a Winter Storm Landon update and what we are currently seeing in North Texas lawns.

As we work our way through the last weeks of winter, Ken shares what we are doing in our customer’s yards to make sure they are ready for spring which is only five weeks away.

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As always, if you have any questions or need help with your lawn or landscape, give us a call at 972-495-6990 or email Info@VillageGreen-Inc.com. We would love to earn you business.

12 Dec 2021
Ken Hyatt
0 Comments By Ken Hyatt Irrigation, Sprinkler System, Watering, Watering Solutions , ,

2022 Winter Watering Guide

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’s overall health is to turn your sprinkler system off during our winter months.

We recommend that you water one ten-minute burst one day per week during the winter.

Also, keep in mind that many of the newer sprinkler controllers have a seasonal adjustment which is easy to use with our watering guidelines.

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 they run daily or close to it (roughly 1 to 2 minutes per day in the winter.) Since various drip lines water slightly differently, it is important to pay attention to your beds to ensure they get the appropriate amount of water.

Download Winter Watering Guide.

18 Mar 2021
0 Comments By Ken Hyatt Brown Patch, February 2021 Freeze Solutions, St. Augustine Grass , , , , , ,

What Is Wrong With My St. Augustine Lawn?

Over the past couple of days, the number of calls and emails we are getting about St. Augustine has dramatically increased.

Many homeowners are wondering if the epic North Texas February freeze killed their St. Augustine grass (or at least big chunks of their lawn.)

If you are wondering what is going on in your yard, you will want to watch this update on what we see in the Dallas area in our St. Augustine lawns.

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If you are looking for more lawn and landscape related information regarding our February winter storms be sure and check out our [640],shadow=true,start=,stop= on our YouTube channel or watch our videos below.

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

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 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.

10 Nov 2014
0 Comments By Kyle GreenTalk, How To , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

How To Get Healthy Pansies in North Texas

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAWe’ve never understood why the name pansy got associated with wimpy when they’re the toughest flower we’ve ever seen. Pansies can weather single digit temperatures and wintry precipitation one day and bounce back and start blooming a few sunny days later. They are truly a hardy little flower and should be your go-to flower in North Texas if you want colorful blooms during the colder months of the year. A few tips on how to get the most out of your pansies…

  • 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 grown them. I haven’t found anything that is 100% effective to keep rabbits away, but many recommend using fox or wolf urine as a deterrent. You can buy discount urine here: ThePeeMart.com (only on the internet, right?). The downside to using this is you have to apply it every few weeks. • Mix blood meal into your soil. Not only is a great organic fertilizer for pansies, it also acts as a rabbit deterrent.
  • The key to nice blooming pansies is to fertilize them a little but mostly, don’t over water them. That’s the fastest way to kill them.
  • If pansies are planted too early and are exposed to warm weather, the plant will get tall and leggy and won’t really recover – the recommended soil temperature is below 65 degrees.
  • Finally, you can cover pansies when the temperatures drop below freezing. That keeps the blooms from being burned off. If you don’t cover them you’ll lose the blooms and they have to re-set again, but they will look nice again a couple of weeks later. 

When it comes to pansies your choice is often between these two varieties: Majestic and Crown.

Majestic has a larger bloom and is two-tone, with an eye in the middle. Because these have large blooms, you can’t get the mass of blooms you would from the smaller ones but the two-tone color lets you blend a mix of colors. They are also good if we have a wet winter (they seem to survive better.)

The Crown has smaller blooms, and fill in becoming a mass of solid color.

Lately growers have introduced quite a few other varieties, with a lot of different names, but tat the end of the day the same rules apply. You either like two-tone larger blooms or a solid mass. It really is a personal preference.

As far as color, pastels seem to be the weakest of all pansies, especially if we have a wet winter. They always struggle more than other colors.

Village Green offers full landscaping design and installation for our customers. I invite you to view our online portfolio and if you are thinking of adding some fall color, or doing any landscape work to give us the opportunity to earn your business. We’re happy to do a free quote and answer any questions you may have. Simply call 972-495-6990 or email ken@villagegreen-inc.com.

21 Jan 2014
0 Comments By Kyle Dallas Sprinkler Repair, GreenTalk, Sprinkler Repair Dallas , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Winter Watering Guide

Irrigation - ServiceIf you want to protect your landscape from freeze damage, don’t turn off your sprinkler system in the winter.  Granted you don’t need to water as much as you would in the summer, but watering a small amount during winter will make sure your lawn and landscape are ready for the spring growing season and protected against freeze damage.

In the winter your soil will lose on average, 1/4″ of water per week.  To help illustrate, imagine filling a gallon bucket with water and setting it out in your yard.  When you check your bucket a week later, you’re going to find it still has water, but you’ve lost about 1/4″ from evaporation.  That’s what happens to your lawn and landscape during the winter and if you skip watering for weeks (or months) you’re going to make the roots of your plants more susceptible to freeze damage.  Another reason to water regularly is that any pre-emergent treatments that are applied to your lawn need water to spread and push them into the soil.  This process is what creates the barrier in the soil to prevent the weed seeds from sprouting in late winter and early spring.  A pre-emergent can survive a couple of weeks without water, but after that it will disappear and not be effective.

Most plants in our area like water all winter long.  Take St. Augustine as an example.  It is a tropical plant so it hates the cold.  In fact, watering your St. Augustine lawn in the winter may be more important than your summer watering since the biggest killer of it is freezing.  Unless you have chosen a very sensitive plant, I rarely see any winter damage of any plants if they have been watered correctly over the winter months.  

Be sure and visit the Village Green Resource Center for helpful links to your city watering guidelines as well as our downloadable Village Green Watering Guide.  If you need more help please don’t hesitate to contact us at 972-495-6990, email me at ken@villagegreen-inc.com or fill out our contact form.  We’d be happy to help walk you through the process to make sure you are getting the most out of your winter watering schedule.  For those who want more advanced help, we offer affordable sprinkler system inspections, tune-ups, and sprinkler control replacement that will guarantee appropriate and adequate water coverage for your lawn.  If you contact us by February 15, 2014, you can get our early bird sprinkler tune-up special for only $59 (a savings of $45!.)