Growing and maintaining the perfect lawn starts with proper care habits. After choosing the right grass for your area, it is vital that you keep up with regular maintenance. This includes making sure that you mow your lawn at the proper height.

Before you look into the correct mowing height for your grass, you need to consider the type of turfgrass. For example, St. Augustinegrass needs to be mowed at a height of 2.5 to 4 inches, while bermudagrass needs to be at a height of only 0.5 to 1.5 inches. If you mow the turf to a level below the recommended level, you will scalp your grass. Scalping leaves it susceptible to weed, disease, and insect problems.  For greener grass with a better root system, you can mow at a higher height. Mowing at a higher height allows for better drought tolerance and more photosynthesis.

For quality lawn care in Jacksonville, FL, as well as Tampa, Orlando, and South Florida, you can trust the dedicated crew at Southern Green. We have years of experience working on landscapes all across our great state and are ready to come to your home to provide you with fertilization, lawn pest control, and other custom care services.

Stress to your landscape caused by people or vehicles can damage a perfect lawn. Before you start letting people walk all over your lawn or park their cars in your front yard, you should understand how stress can affect your grass.

There are two ways that traffic can damage and even kill grass on your landscape. One of the most common ways is the injury of shoot tissue. This is when physical damage like tissue stripping, tearing, and abrasions can reduce the photosynthetic capacity of the leaves and kill the grass. The other way is damage to the roots from traffic weight. When the roots have been damaged, they won’t be able to get the water or nutrients they need to survive. It can be tough for most warm-weather grasses to recover from this kind of damage, with zoysiagrass recovering quickly and centipedegrass having the most trouble recovering.

When you need to revitalize your landscape, you can trust the team at Southern Green to assist you. Our business provides lawn care in Jacksonville, FL, as well as Orlando, Tampa, and cities throughout South Florida. From aeration to fertilization, we have the skills and knowhow to take care of your damaged landscape.

Building a beautiful landscape means finding excellent plants to go along with your gorgeous, lush lawn. Before you start selecting plants for your landscape, there are a variety of issues you need to consider, including your irrigation system.

Having an irrigation system is great for your grass, but it can be harmful to your landscaping plants. There is a possibility that your system will over-water your plants, which will kill your investment and make your landscape look bad. Conversely, the irrigation system may under-water your plants, which means you will have to water these plants on your own and make sure that the watering you do is enough to keep the plant looking nice and lush. Testing how much water lands in the zone where you are thinking about planting is vital before you start selecting plants for your landscape.

For dependable lawn care in Jacksonville, FL, as well as other locations throughout Florida, you can trust the team at Southern Green. We can speak to you about your landscape choices, assist you with ornamental trees and shrubs, or help you fight pests. All you have to do is call us at (866) 767-0772 to speak with our specialists and make an appointment for our treatment services.

Starting a lawn can be daunting! Whether you are planting a new lawn in your brand-new home or are just starting from scratch, seeding may be your best choice, as it is the easiest and most economical choice.

The best time to plant depends on your location. If you are located in North Florida, you should plan to seed your lawn from April to July. Individuals trying to grow in South Florida can seed all year long. The key to seeding with warm season grass in Florida is to start during the spring and summer, as this allows a full growing season before any possible cold weather starts.

While you are planning, you should consider what kind of grass you want to grow. If you do not have a lot of money to spend, you may need to consider the amount of seeds you need for your landscape. Bahiagrass needs as much as 10 pounds of scarified seed for a 1,000 square foot landscape, while you only need a quarter pound of centipedegrass seed for the same space. Take a look at the current prices at your hardware store or plant nursery.

Do you need assistance with your new landscape? The specialists at Southern Green can help. We are known for providing unparalleled lawn care in Jacksonville, FL, as well as Orlando, Tampa, and South Florida!

Going organic when caring for your landscape is a great idea! Going organic means you won’t have to worry about harmful chemicals being used on the lawn and it can actually improve the quality of your soil. Before you make the investment, it’s important to learn how to choose the right organic products for your landscape.  Ask yourself these questions:

• Is Independent Research Available? – Just because a company has claimed on their packaging that the product has worked in testing, it does not mean that an impartial, independent review has been done. Before making the purchase, you should get the product information together and spend some time looking up independent research about the product online.
• Are the Researched Results Accurate? – When you read the independent research, you should make sure that the information actually corroborates the advertised results. You should also review to see if the results work in a variety of conditions. Just because the product works in the North, it does not mean it will work in Florida climates. For example, if you purchase an organic pest control product that features an insect predator, you should verify that the predator naturally exists in Florida.

When you need someone dependable to provide you with exceptional lawn care services, rest assured the team at Southern Green is ready assist you. We offer lawn care in Jacksonville, FL, as well as Tampa, Orlando, and many South Florida cities.

The eternal battle against thatch can feel frustrating, but you can never give up.  Losing your lawn to thatch can cost you a lot of money; not to mention the hours of labor you’ll spend re-establishing it.  It is for this reason that, when thatch threatens to kill your lawn, you’ll find yourself wanting to do everything you can to save it.  There are many ways to fight thatch- from vertical mowing and aeration to power raking, but one thing you should never do is scalp your lawn.

Some people believe that scalping their lawn makes sense, as they think mowing the grass to a shorter height will allow them to easily access and remove the thatch. Unless you are working directly with a lawn care professional or county extension agent, this is a bad idea. Scalping a St. Augustinegrass or centipedegrass lawn can kill your entire landscape. The most ideal plan for those committed to taking care of this problem on their own is to use a heavy-duty vertical mower. This piece of equipment will slice directly into the thatch to remove it!

Whether you are concerned with thatch problems or are just looking for someone to come and aerate your lawn, rest assured that the team at Southern Green will be able to assist you. We provide lawn care in Jacksonville, FL, as well as Orlando, Tampa, and South Florida cities.

As residents of the great state of Florida, we are able to grow grass that you won’t find in most other parts of the country. One of these unique grasses is seashore paspalum. This specialty grass is typically used in coastal areas, working well near saltwater.

When you are maintaining a seashore paspalum landscape, there are a variety of rules you must follow to get the best out of your grass. Most importantly, these lawns should be mowed at 1 ½ to 2 inches with mowers that feature sharp blades. By doing this, you can avoid tearing the leaf tissue. When too much of the leaf is removed, this grass begins to develop problems. If the grass starts to take on a scalped appearance, you can mow at a higher lawn mower height until the problem is corrected.

Seashore paspalum is most active during the summer months, which means you should mow your lawn more than once a week to guarantee that it looks good and doesn’t develop any thatch problems. While mowing, you can leave your grass clippings on the lawn, as they are readily decomposed and do not contribute to thatch.

Keep up with your seashore paspalum landscape with help from Southern Green. Our team provides unparalleled lawn care in Jacksonville, FL, as well as Tampa, Orlando, and South Florida cities.

In our last post, we highlighted a few of the great St. Augustinegrass cultivators available for your landscape. Today, we are sharing some more selections! Choosing St. Augustinegrass for your lawn does not mean that you have to have the same landscape as your neighbors. Check out these cultivators to make your lawn standout from the crowd:

Seville – This cultivator is a semi-dwarf, fine-leaf variety of St. Augustinegrass that has a dark green color and low growth habit. Because this cultivator has a compact growth habit, it is prone to thatch and typically has shallow rooting.

Bitterblue – For a grass with a fine, dense texture and a dark blue green color, Bitterblue is the cultivator for you. People have been using this variety of St. Augustinegrass since the 1930s, as it has good cold and shade tolerance.

Floratine – An updated version of Bitterblue, this cultivator is known for its fine leaf texture and short growth habit that allows for closer mowing than common St. Augustinegrass. The characteristics are so similar to Bitterblue, many have problems telling the two apart.

Invest in your property when you choose lawn care services from the crew at Southern Green. We have more than 17 years of experience providing personalized lawn, shrub, and outdoor pest control services to homeowners throughout Florida. Come to us for lawn care in Jacksonville, FL, as well as Miami, Tampa, and Orlando.

Also known as Japanese or Korean lawngrass,  Zoysia japonica is one of the many great grass options available to Florida residents. This type of grass was introduced to the US in 1895 and has quickly become a popular selection for individuals seeking grass that has a fast growth rate and excellent cold tolerance. There are many great options available, including:

• Belaire – Developed by the USDA and released in 1985, this option is great for individuals seeking medium green grass. It’s got an open growth habit, a coarser leaf texture, and a fast establishment rate.
• El Toro – This California version of Zoysiagrass is known for its cool season color, low thatch buildup, and increased shade tolerance. When you are interested in establishing a lawn quickly, this is a great lawngrass for you.
• Empress – For a grass with a fine-bladed texture, a tight growth habit, and green color, try this native version of Zoysia japonica. Many people seeking soft textured turf for homes, golf courses, and parks like this selection.

Once you have established your lawn, you can rest assured that the staff at Southern Green can provide you with unparalleled lawn care in Jacksonville, FL, as well as Orlando, Tampa, and Miami.