TruGreen Gets to the Root of Fall Lawn Recovery

Post-Heat Wave Tips for Salvaging and Beautifying Lawns

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Sep 15, 2011, 09:21 ET

MEMPHIS, Tenn., Sept. 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Summer 2011 will go down in U.S. weather history as one of the most extreme in 100 years, but its impact on homeowners will continue long after the leaves have fallen. Lawns and landscapes across America are exhibiting signs of distress associated with prolonged record high temperatures and shortened growing seasons. The trained specialists at TruGreen, the nation's largest professional lawn care service, are guiding homeowners through the essential lawn recovery process this fall. TruGreen is helping to get America's yards prepared for the coming winter, protecting homeowners' investment in lawns and supporting lush, healthy landscapes in spring.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110915/DA68904-a)

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110915/DA68904-b)

According to Ben Hamza, Ph.D., director of technical operations at TruGreen, despite fall being a time when homeowners tend to neglect their lawns, autumn is actually a critical season to help lawn recovery from summer stress. Fall treatments are beneficial as roots continue active growth leading up to dormant winter months.

"Our nation's yards have been challenged by Mother Nature this year, leaving shallow-rooted turfgrass that puts the entire lawn at risk of decline," Hamza said. "Homeowners struggled with their lawns during the excessive heat wave and drought, but it's not too late to take necessary corrective action to remedy the lawn condition caused by a scorching summer."

TruGreen's Hamza is helping to educate Americans on lawn recovery steps that promote spring growth. He reinforces that implementing crucial lawn care actions in the fall can help to protect against the need for a hefty reinvestment in your yard's future.

Boost Curb Appeal: Fall's favorable weather conditions make it the ideal time to replace dead or floundering plants – an instantly gratifying way to create healthier landscapes and improve curb appeal. When planting trees and shrubs, dig a hole twice in diameter of the width of the plant's root ball. Place the plant in the hole so the top of the root ball sits one to two inches above the soil surface. Fall is also the appropriate period for the successful seeding of bare grass areas and overseeding to improve lawn thickness.
Mow and Mulch as Needed: Continue mowing through the fall season while your lawn is growing and avoid removing more than one-third of the leaf blades with each cut. Mow at the highest recommended height for your grass type and return grass clippings back to the soil for added lawn nutrients.
Get to the Core: Core aeration removes small plugs of turf, thatch and soil from your lawn increasing the flow of air, water and nutrients to roots. Plugs break down and feed nutrients back to the lawn's root system while allowing more room for roots to expand.
Feed the Roots: A good feeding in fall gives roots of lawns and landscapes an energy reserve to kick-start healthy spring growth. Proper nutrition also supports recovery from harmful drought damage.
Spot Concerns: Keep your eye on your lawn's bald spots, brown areas and weeds. Discoloration prior to winter dormancy could be a sign of drought damage or a pest infestation, and weeds fight your lawn for nutrients. Look to a professional company, such as TruGreen, for accurate diagnosis and effective treatment options.
Quench Yard's Thirst: A regular, deep watering (one to two inches a week) in morning hours through late fall will provide adequate moisture to keep cool-season grasses (e.g. bluegrass, fescue, rye) healthy while warm-season grasses (e.g. Bermuda, Saint Augustine, zoysia) require less water in fall. Infrequent, deep watering encourages a deeper, stronger root system, and frequent, shallow watering has the opposite effect. To tell if you're watering enough, place empty one-inch deep food cans in the coverage pattern of your yard's irrigation system. Reduce the frequency of watering if adequate rainfall is recorded and the soil feels moist to the touch. Also, be sure to adhere to local watering restrictions.

TruGreen's customized approach to lawn and landscape care recovery is delivered by TruGreen certified specialists trained in weather and growing conditions specific to a homeowner's area. TruGreen provides a detailed visual lawn analysis, specialized fall weed and feed, and lawn aeration as a part of the company's fall lawn recovery package. TruGreen also offers customized fall tree and shrub care service to help roots and foliage recover from summer heat and prepare for colder weather.

About TruGreen

Memphis, Tenn.-based TruGreen is the nation's largest lawn care company, serving more than 2.5 million residential and commercial customers across the United States with lawn, tree and shrub care. As the industry leader, TruGreen continues to pioneer the development of new technology for lawn care and devotes substantial resources to evaluate new products and equipment. The company is committed to responsible lawn care, including offering and promoting the use of natural, organic services and sustainable practices. Today, there are approximately 250 TruGreen branches in the United States and Canada, including about 50 franchise locations. TruGreen is part of the ServiceMaster family of brands, one of the world's largest and most versatile service networks. Go to www.TruGreen.com or www.facebook.com/TruGreen for more information about TruGreen.

About ServiceMaster

With a network of more than 5,000 company-owned and franchise locations, Memphis-based ServiceMaster is one of the world's largest residential and commercial service networks. The company's high profile brands are TruGreen, Terminix, American Home Shield, ServiceMaster Clean, Merry Maids, Furniture Medic and AmeriSpec. Through approximately 24,000 corporate employees and a franchise network that independently employs over 31,000 additional people, the ServiceMaster family of brands serve more than 8.2 million customers every year and hold market-leading positions in residential and commercial lawn, tree and shrub care, termite and pest control, home service contracts, furniture repair, home inspections, residential and commercial cleaning and disaster restoration. Go to www.ServiceMaster.com or http://twitter.com/ServiceMaster for more information about ServiceMaster.

SOURCE TruGreen