Cooler Temps to Garden in!

Now that cooler temperatures have rolled in, it is a great time to get outside and get some gardening done! What type of landscape work does your yard need this time of year?

1.  Mulch, Mulch, Mulch - mulching all landscape plantings and the garden is a standard cold-protection technique.  It helps insulate the root systems of all your plants.  It also traps soil warmth built up during the growing season and preserves any soil moisture.

2.  Plant - Fall is the best time to plant as it gives the plants a few cooler months to establish themselves.  They will be bigger and more drought tolerant when the summer heat comes next year.

3.  Divide Perennials - if you have some perennials that are starting to be over crowded, now is the time to carefully dig them up and transplant the bulbs to a new location.  This not only gets you more blooms but it is healthier for

4.  Compost your lawn - For a healthier lawn next year, adding a fine layer of compost on the top of your lawn is the way to do it.

The first frost is predicted at the end of November in San Antonio so don't delay taking care of your garden!

Top 3 things you can do to help your landscape beat the heat!

1.  Mulch is vital to plants for keeping cool.  There are many benefits to adding mulch to your landscape

•  Keeps root zones cooler, moist and prevents evaporation.
• Prevents weeds which steal water and nutrients from your plants
• Properly mulched planting beds hold water longer. 

2.  Drip, Drip, Drip

Drip Irrigation is the best way to water your planting beds as it is much more efficient than traditional irrigation.  As much as 60% of the water used by traditional spray and rotor irrigation is lost to evaporation and never makes it to your thirsty plants.  Drip irrigation, however, is a much more effective delivery system that puts water directly onto the root zones of the plants.  When the drip tubing is properly covered with mulch, almost none of the water is lost to evaporation.

3.  Program your irrigation system

In order to optimize your ability to water your landscape

and follow the watering restrictions, it is important to review your programming for your irrigation system.  Resetting your controller so you are using your drip irrigation on all the allowable days and watering your turf on the correct day of the week will keep your landscape in good shape and keep you in compliance and avoid citations with the watering authorities.
  

Drought Action Plan

As mentioned last week, San Antonio is already in Stage 2 water restrictions and it is forecasted that we will go to Stage 3 this summer.  The biggest change with stage 3 is that customers are only allowed to use spray irrigation every other week.  This will make it extremely difficult to keep your landscape healthy this summer.  So what can you do?  Besides the drip irrigation we have been discussing, here are some simple things you can do to give your landscape a fighting chance this summer.

 

There are several things you can do to get your yard ready for the drought:   

1.  Mulch your planting beds

2.  Protect new trees and plants from wildlife

3.  Already weakened trees need pruning to remove dead limbs as we reenter a drought season

4.  Trees stressed by the drought are susceptible to many different diseases including Oak Wilt and Hypoxylon Cankor.  Be sure to supplement water your trees once a week using drip irrigation in the root zone.  

5.  When replacing turf areas and plants, ensure 6" enriched topsoil is installed and use plants native to our area.

Beat the Heat!

Top 3 things you can do to help your landscape beat the heat!

1.  Mulch is vital to plants for keeping cool.  There are many benefits to adding mulch to your landscape

• Keeps root zones cooler, moist and prevents evaporation.
• Prevents weeds which steal water and nutrients from your plants
• Properly mulched planting beds hold water longer. 

2.  Drip, Drip, Drip

Drip Irrigation is the best way to water your planting beds as it is much more efficient than traditional irrigation.  As much as 60% of the water used by traditional spray and rotor irrigation is lost to evaporation and never makes it to your thirsty plants.  Drip irrigation, however, is a much more effective delivery system that puts water directly onto the root zones of the plants.  When the drip tubing is properly covered with mulch, almost none of the water is lost to evaporation.

3.  Program your irrigation system

In order to optimize your ability to water your landscape and follow the watering restrictions, it is important to review your programming for your irrigation system.  Resetting your controller so you are using your drip irrigation on all the allowable days and watering your turf on the correct day of the week will keep your landscape in good shape and keep you in compliance and avoid citations with the watering authorities

Get your Weekends Back!

Do you hate having to mow your lawn every week?  How about having to fertilize and remulch seasonally?  It can really take up a lot of your precious free time! 

Look to Preferred Landscape and Lighting’s Maintenance and Enhancement department to care for your outdoor living space.  We offer lawn and landscape maintenance to include: grub worm control, organic lawn fertilization service, tree trimming / pruning and tree and shrub care, as well as specialized Oak wilt prevention (arborist services). Our lawn care business can design and develop and maintenance schedule to fit your budget and special needs, even if it is to just fertilize your yard one time.

Drought in San Antonio

Like the majority of Texas, San Antonio is experiencing drought conditions this summer.  The current water restrictions in place allow homeowners to use their irrigation systems only once per week and that likely will become even more strict in the next few weeks.  Is there anything a homeowner can do to help their landscape survive the drought?  Yes!! 

Tip #1:  Mulch is vital to plants for surviving the drought

There are many benefits to adding mulch to your landscape
1.  Keeps root zones cooler, moist and prevents evaporation.
2.  Prevents weeds which steal water and nutrients from your plants
3.  Properly mulched planting beds hold water longer. 

Come back and check tomorrow as we continue our series on surviving the Texas Drought.