Emerald Coast Lawn Tips

06/01/2026

HOW OFTEN SHOULD YOU BE WATERING YOUR LAWN RIGHT NOW?

The Gulf Coast has recently been blessed with rain showers several times a week. Grass should not need any supplemental irrigation in addition to the rainfall we are receiving right now. I personally have had my irrigation system shut off for the last 10 days. I will keep it off as long as we’re experiencing rain at least a couple times a week.

Having the irrigation system run in addition to to the rainfall, creates a favorable environment for disease to develop in the lawn.

Are you having problems keeping your lawn healthy? I offer FREE LAWN CONSULTATIONS! PM, call or text me at 850-240-7935

05/29/2026

05/29/2026

Question from a follower:
WHAT IS THE BEST THING TO USE FOR BLACK SPOT ON ROSES?

Here is my answer:
Disease is challenging to control on roses. Any fungicide labeled for treating roses is good to use. The challenge is keeping the fungicide on the leaves until the disease is cured. Rain or irrigation will wash the fungicide off the plant so frequent re-application is necessary. Also, any dead leaves that remain under the plant contain disease spores that can re-infect the plant. So in a nutshell, keeping the foliage treated with a fungicide and keeping ground around the plant clean of dead leaves is the best way to treat disease on roses.

Are you having problems keeping your lawn healthy? I offer FREE LAWN CONSULTATIONS! PM, call or text me at 850-240-7935

05/28/2026

How to get your workout in while gardening. 😊

05/27/2026

WHAT IS THE IDEAL TIME OF DAY TO WATER YOUR LAWN?

Irrigation should occur in the middle of the night, while the dew is already on the ground. There are a few reasons for this: 1. Watering outside the “dew window” extends the number of hours during the day the grass stays wet, increasing the opportunity for disease to develop in the lawn. 2. At night, the evaporation rate is less than in daylight hours so more of the water put on the lawn gets to the roots. 3. It’s usually less windy at night, lessening the chance of the water spray drifting away from its target area.
Anytime after midnight is a good time to set the irrigation to start and it should finish the last zone no later than 8:00AM.
45 minutes per zone is usually a good duration for most systems to run.

Are you having problems keeping your lawn healthy? I offer FREE LAWN CONSULTATIONS! PM, call or text me at 850-240-7935

05/26/2026

SELLING YOUR HOME? THREE SIMPLE, COST EFFECTIVE WAYS TO QUICKLY IMPROVE YOUR LANDSCAPE.

1.Treat w**ds and patch in dead areas of your lawn with sod.
If you haven't been as diligent as you should have been at keeping up the
condition of your lawn, some areas may have declined. It's not necessary to re-sod your entire lawn if only a few areas are bare. Sod can be patched in to the bare areas and will establish in a few weeks during the growing
season. Having a professional come treat the w**ds in the lawn before it is put on the market is a good idea because you don't want to run the risk of injuring the lawn with herbicide by doing it yourself right before you go to sell it.

2.Clean out planting beds and refresh the mulch.
Even if the lawn is not in perfect condition, it doesn't take much effort to create pristine planting beds by removing all the w**ds and applying fresh mulch. Clean planting beds adds tremendous eye appeal to the landscape.

3.Simplify your landscape.
Sometimes less is more. Many times you can enhance your landscape by completely removing overgrown shrubs, planting beds or reducing the size of planting beds in the yard. Over time mature landscapes tend to get a "jungle" look. You can add a lot of curb appeal by simply thinning out the jungle and simplifying the landscape.

Of course the best thing to do is to keep your lawn and landscape healthy and maintained all the time so very little is needed to be done when you go to put your house on the market.

Are you having problems keeping your lawn healthy? Contact me for a FREE LAWN CONSULTATION! PM, call or text me at 850-240-7935

05/22/2026

WHAT IS THE BEST MULCH TO USE IN PLANTING BEDS?

Mulch serves two basic purposes in landscape planting beds, w**d prevention and aesthetics.
There are three basic types of mulch, pine straw, bark and shredded wood.
Pine straw is the least expensive and can even be gathered for free if you or a neighbor have a lot of pine trees in the yard, but it has the shortest lifespan, needing to be refreshed at least twice a year.
Shredded wood mulch comes in a variety of colors including natural, red, dark brown and black. After it is installed it settles and forms a good "mat" against w**ds and can last up to a year.
Bark nuggets also come in a variety of colors. However one of the disadvantages of using bark is it is so light and "chunky" it never settles and has a tendency to migrate outside the bed lines with heavy rain, wind or maintenance.
The thicker the mulch is installed, the better it will prevent w**ds. It's not a good idea to use w**d guard under the mulch because as the mulch breaks down, it becomes a growing medium for w**ds. Weeds will start growing in the decomposing mulch on top of the w**d cloth and their roots become imbedded in the fabric making them hard to remove.

Are you having problems keeping your lawn healthy? I offer FREE LAWN CONSULTATIONS! Call or text me at ‪850-240-7935‬.

05/21/2026

WHY DO MY NEW SHRUBS KEEP DYING?
One of the most common causes I see for newly installed shrubs declining and dying is improper planting.
If the new plant is installed in a hole that is too deep so that soil or mulch covers the top of the root ball and some of the trunk of the plant, the constant moisture from the soil or mulch will begin to rot the base of the trunk and the plant will eventually die.
To properly install a new plant, leave about one inch of the root ball above the level of the existing soil grade and make sure there is no mulch pushed up against the trunk. This way, the base of the trunk will stay dry and healthy.

Are you having problems keeping your lawn healthy? Contact me for a FREE LAWN CONSULTATION! PM, call or text me at 850-240-7935

05/20/2026

HOW TO CONTROL VIRGINIA BUTTON W**D IN YOUR LAWN

Virginia button w**d is one of the most invasive w**ds along the Emerald Coast! It can be recognized by its green and purple leaves and the tiny white flowers it produces. Each individual w**d is capable of producing dozens of seeds. In addition to its prolific seed output, Virginia button w**d spreads laterally across the lawn and creates dense clumps, choking out healthy grass. When mowed, it thrives close to the ground.
Spring pre emergent w**d applications can help prevent this w**d but post emergent applications are often necessary to control it and keep it from spreading through the lawn.
There are only a few post emergent herbicides that will kill Virginia button w**d without injuring the grass, they include Speedzone, Quicksilver and Celsius.

Are you having problems keeping your lawn healthy? I offer free lawn consultations! PM call or text me at 850-240-7935