Does Dog Pee Kill Grass? How To Protect Your Lawn

January 7, 2019. Posted by J Zambo in Lawn • San Antonio

A homeowner with pets and a brown, patchy-looking lawn might wonder: Does dog pee kill grass? Maybe you’re not even a dog owner, but your neighbor’s pet has a habit of using your yard to do its business. Could this be a contributing factor?

The short answer is that it’s certainly possible. Due to the high protein content of most dogs’ diets, these animals’ urine contains a high concentration of nitrogen and salts, which can have a burning effect on grass and can cause yellow or brown spots in an otherwise healthy-seeming lawn. People with female dogs may notice even more concentrated spots of discoloration in their grass, since female dogs tend to squat to urinate in a single location, rather than relieving themselves in shorter spurts onto trees, bushes and fire hydrants, as male dogs typically do. Also, larger dogs pee in larger volumes than smaller dogs, so their daily … Read Full Post »

Benefits Of Pruning For Healthy Plant Growth

November 21, 2018. Posted by J Zambo in Tree Care & Trimming • San Antonio

Trees might be the oldest, largest living organisms on Earth, but they’re not invincible. For a tree to live a long, healthy life in an urban environment, these plants need some human assistance.

Outside of their natural growing environment in the wild, trees often require pruning for them to improve clearance, develop a durable structure and maintain their aesthetics.

Pruning helps a plant exhibit its most desirable attributes. Many plants—including spring-flowering plants like spirea, viburnums, weigela and strawberry bush, as well as summer-flowering plants like roses, hibiscus and crape myrtle—stand to benefit greatly from proper pruning.

How so?

Pruning promotes health by enabling you to get rid of sickly or diseased plant parts. Trimming also helps with insect management. Lastly, removing dead or dying branches or stems enhances the beauty of your plants.

Here’s the bad news: improper pruning could potentially cause severe damage that can, in the most severe cases, contribute to the death … Read Full Post »

When To Apply Fungicide On Lawns: Experts Weigh In

October 12, 2018. Posted by J Zambo in Lawn Care • Corpus Christi

Homeowners lead busy lives, with a seemingly endless list of things that need to be done at any given time. Faced with the reality of juggling work, home and recreation, it’s easy for your lawn to become an afterthought.

As much as we wish this wasn’t the case, healthy and well-manicured lawns don’t take care of themselves. First, you need to make sure your grass is getting the amount of water and sunshine it needs—and not too much. Then, you need to make sure you are mowing your grass to the proper height. Although most homeowners stop here, to keep your lawn happy and looking great you’ll also want to have an understanding of your soil chemistry to determine what nutrients might be lacking.

What are some of the risks you run if you don’t care for your grass? Lawn diseases, weeds and a dead, yellow lawn, just to name a few.

Lawn … Read Full Post »

Fast Growing Trees: Which Types Best Fit Your Needs?

September 17, 2018. Posted by J Zambo in Tree Care & Trimming • San Antonio

When you moved into your home, you realized that you had a lot of room to grow—quite literally—in the tree department. You probably expected that over time, your trees would provide you with much-needed shade on a hot summer day, a reduction in your utility bills and an improvement to your curb appeal.

So, what if that wasn’t the case? What if you now want to make up lost time so that you can enjoy the benefits of having trees on your property?

Below, we will explore which fast-growing trees tend to grow the best in southern states—USDA Zones 6-10—and divide them up by type. We’ll also provide you with important information about what conditions create optimal growth so that you can add these valuable plants to your landscape.

Fast-Growing Trees For Privacy

One of the biggest reasons people graduate from apartments to houses is to get more privacy. While a fence is nice, … Read Full Post »

Tree Crowning: Is It Good Idea Or A Mistake?

September 10, 2018. Posted by J Zambo in Tree Care & Trimming • Austin

One of the things that drew you to your home was the beautiful trees. Perhaps you’ve never really had much of a green thumb, so you left the trees to their own devices. So far, that hasn’t been a problem.

Recently, though, you’ve noticed that those gorgeous trees have gotten a bit out of control. Where once they were uniform and well-manicured, now there are random branches jutting out here and there, giving your trees a ragged, lop-sided appearance.

You’ve considered dragging yourself up on your ladder to cut the offending branches. You’ve heard there is a technique called “tree crowning”, but you’re not really sure exactly how to do it—or even whether it would be a good thing to do.

The most important thing we can convey is that tree crowning is very rarely recommended by reputable lawn care experts. Although it may achieve your aesthetic goals, tree crowning will often damage … Read Full Post »

Planting With Compost: Expert Advice From The Pros

September 5, 2018. Posted by J Zambo in Fertilization, Lawn • San Antonio

What do cow manure, grass clippings, dead leaves, coffee grounds and dinner scraps have in common? All of the above can be used to create or feed a compost pile, which you can then use in your garden to help keep your trees, plants, vegetable crops and soil healthy and thriving. Planting with compost is easy, as long as you know what you’re doing. Ready to learn everything you need to know about how to make and use compost in your garden? You came to the right place!

First, let’s talk about what compost is and what it’s used for. At its most basic, compost is simply partially decomposed organic matter—in other words, plant and other material that is nutrient-rich because it’s in the process of breaking down. Gardeners use compost to add important nutrients and microbes to the soil, in order to build its structure and help plants thrive. If … Read Full Post »

Best Trees For Central Texas: A Homeowner’s Guide

August 22, 2018. Posted by J Zambo in Lawn, Tree Care & Trimming • Austin

If you live in Austin, San Antonio or any of the surrounding cities, towns and rural spaces that make up the vast and beautiful Central Texas region, you already know something about Central Texas trees: In order not just to survive but to thrive, they have to be able to withstand periods of high heat and drought as well as occasional frigid snaps and deluges of water when the rainy season hits in spring and fall. That’s right—Central Texas trees have to be as tough, hardy and resilient as the people who live here. The best trees for Central Texas landscapes include varieties that can withstand all of the above, along with a variety of soil compositions, including plenty of rocks and limestone. Let’s take a deeper look at some of the best trees for Central Texas gardeners and the outdoor spaces they love.

Texas Ash Tree: A Classic Choice For … Read Full Post »

How Often To Water Lawn In Summer

June 6, 2018. Posted by J Zambo in Lawn • Austin

As we all know, the official start to summer is in late June.

The truth is, homeowners in Texas and other southern states know that temperatures can start inching up in April or May, depending on the year.

Because of this, many people wonder when and how to adjust their lawn watering schedule to ensure that grass and plants survive our dry and hot summer months.

Do you water a little bit every day? Water only once a week, but leave the sprinklers on for a long time to let the water really soak down? Forgo watering altogether because you had a rainy spring and your plants are looking great?

Then, you may wonder when exactly to set your sprinklers. What time should you water your lawn, if and when you do?

Maybe you have been inconsistent in your watering from year to year, and it’s just not working. Perhaps you have a water-logged … Read Full Post »

When To Fertilize New Grass: Secrets From Lawn Care Pros

April 3, 2018. Posted by J Zambo in Lawn Care • Austin

No one likes having a patchy lawn. So last year you decided to do something about it. You seeded new grass into problem areas and waited for it to grow. Grow it did—until it started dying off. What happened? How can you stop this from happening again and get your lawn back to the healthy, vibrant green you remember? Lawn care professionals understand that knowing when to fertilize new grass can make the difference between a thriving yard and grass that is less equipped to handle the brutal Southern heat.

In this post, we’ll discuss when to fertilize new turf, the difference between lawn starter fertilizer and regular fertilizer, how often to apply starter fertilizer and the answer to the question: When should I fertilize my lawn after seeding?

What Will I Learn?

Do I Really Have to Fertilize My Grass?
Lawn Starter Fertilizer vs. Regular Fertilizer
Knowing When to Fertilize New Sod
How Ofter to Apply Starter … Read Full Post »

How To Keep Deer Out Of Your Garden For Good

March 20, 2018. Posted by J Zambo in Landscaping, Lawn • Austin

Many people think of deer as sweet, beautiful and adorable animals—Bambi, anyone?—yet many homeowners in both urban and rural areas view deer as pests. This is because these animals have an irritating habit of munching on rose bushes, trees and other plants and flowers that people cultivate in their gardens, and leaving a tattered, raggedy mess in their wake. Interested in how to keep deer out of your garden for good?

The first and most important thing to remember is that deer are intelligent animals with acute senses and a highly adaptable nature. This means that whichever repellent method you try, the deer that are plaguing your plants are sure to learn and adapt quickly—and then it will be time to try a new technique.

So when it comes to repelling deer, what works and what doesn’t? Which techniques are the most effective for keeping deer away from your yard and … Read Full Post »