Have the heat and bugs ravaged your lawn? If so, lawn renovation is in order. It’s a multi-step process and now is the time to get started. In fact, it can be thought of as a set of “cookbook instructions”, however, the risk is that one or two steps will be overlooked. If this happens,…
Category: Weather
Lawn Sprinkler Gaps
“So, Rocky, what do you see in my sister?” “Well, Pauley, it’s like this. I got gaps, she got gaps, but together, we got no gaps.” Unfortunately, just like two of the actors in the movie Rocky, all lawn sprinkler systems have gaps; gaps in coverage; aka uneven application patterns. If you ever doubt this,…
Tree Troubles – Nonspecific Symptoms
Fir and spruce trees are known for providing beauty and function in Nebraska. Unfortunately, they’re also known for being hard to diagnose when troubles arise. With most trees and shrubs, specific symptoms are present when they are ailing from insects, diseases and abiotic maladies. That’s most trees and shrubs. Not so much with fir…
Hail of a Day
For many of us in the Omaha area we woke up early May 28th to a thunderous roar of hail. Depending on the location in town the size of the hail stones ranged from pea to quarter sized. Our back yard it was quarter sized and lasted for about 10 minutes. Large leafed plants took…
Fall Tree Planting in Spring
If you want it to look good this fall, plant it now…in spring. Everyone loves the gold, bronze, red and purple colors of shade trees in the fall, but many put it off and put it off. Why not enjoy the green of spring and summer and the glory of fall all in one?…
Warm Season Veggies
Cool season veggies are great – cauliflower, Brussel sprouts, cabbage and George Bush’s favorite – broccoli. As the soils warm however, the time for planting warm season veggies is upon us. Crops such as peppers, eggplant, squash, tomatoes and cucumbers thrive on warm growing conditions – 75 to 85 degrees F. Hopefully, your weekend project…
Flooding From a Tree’s Perspective
While flood waters are in and surrounding your home, it’s best to focus on the basic needs of life – food, water and shelter. After initial needs are met, those of us with medium to large trees should consider the influences of an extended period of time with excessive water in contact with the roots,…
Bark Bummers
Bark Bummers This time of year is good and challenging for Midwesterners. The challenging? The weather. Nuff said. The good? It’s a great time to notice potential problems in trees and shrubs in the landscape. At this point in the season, there aren’t any leaves, fruit or flowers (except for a couple species) to…
Using a Lawn Service…after Snow Removal?
Here in the dead of winter, a valuable service to hire to maintain a residential property is a snow removal company. No more aching back, slipping and falling and shivering in the cold. Of course all of that comes at a price, so you have to determine if it’s worth it. As well, as their…
Is This Plant Dead?
You hear these terms – “the dead of winter” and “dead to the world”, but what do they really mean? In most cases, they’re exaggerations or synonyms for other situations; in this case, really cold weather with no end in sight and really, really tired. In the plant world, the question of “is this plant…