With simple practices and new technology, existing sprinkler systems can be made more efficient, lowering your water bill, reducing run-off and eliminating waste.  Waterwise habits will result in a healthier lawn and landscape, in addition to conserving water.
Water Saving Tips:
Adjust your system to the weather. You should learn how to operate your controller. Most important is to know how to add or subtract days of the week that you water. Once the times are set really all that is needed is to adjust how many days per week you are watering.
Different plants get different schedules. Flower beds and pots need to be watered more frequently that turf so set their schedules on separate programs. Don’t water everything every day.
Inspect your system monthly. If not more. You should watch your system run so you know if there are problems that should be addressed before they become big problems.
Get a professional audit. Hire an Irrigation Associated certified professional to perform an audit and make recommendations for improvements.                                                                                                                                                   Install a rain-shut off switch. Nobody wants to waste water or be the guy on the corner whose sprinkler runs even when it’s raining. Today a rain shut-off switch can be added to most any system.
Consider drip and microspray irrigation for beds and pots. This efficient style of irrigation keeps water off the house, which minimizes wood rot, and allows you to water only where you want.                                                                                                                                                                      Water in the morning. The best time to water is between 2 a.m. and 10 a.m. when the wind is low and the water doesn’t evaporate so fast. It also helps knock the dew off the lawn which aids in disease control.                                                                                                                                                  Water slowly.  Our heavy clay soil only accepts .25 inches of water per our so anything over that just runs off down the storm sewer.  Use the rain/soak/rain method.  Let your zones run just long enough to deliver .25” of water and then move to the next zone.  Then start over and run through each again about 1 hour apart.  This will deliver a deep soaking that is good for the roots.                                       Water when needed.  Soak the root zone and then let it dry.  It is much better to water deeply and infrequently that to water a little bit every day.  With a few exceptions most lawns can be watered on a Mon. Thurs. schedule until it gets hot and then move to Mon. Wed. Fri.

These tips will keep your lawn healthy, save water, and save money.

Bye Bye Bugs!!!

Bugged by bugs?  Ticks ticking you off?  Wish the fleas would flee?

If you’re tired of being eaten alive when you barbecue or picnic in your yard, send those bugs packing with a lawn treatment.  A simple treatment will get rid of nuisance insects like fleas, mosquitos and ticks plus less obvious insects that can damage your lawn deep down.  One treatment will control bugs for a minimum of six weeks.  Just call us to schedule a treatment today.

What is a bagworm?

Bagworm on Arborvitae

June is bagworm season.  Many people don’t realize they have bagworms because they camouflage themselves.  They form a 1 ½ – 2-inch bag that hangs downward from the branches and is gray or brown colored.  Many people mistake them for small pine cones.  But inside that bag is the female bagworm and, depending on the time of year, all of the eggs she has laid.

Damage:  The bagworms attack both deciduous trees and evergreens, but their favorite plants are juniper, arborvitae, spruce, pine and cedar.  Bagworms wrap a strong piece of silk around the branch or twig to attach themselves.  This can girdle the branch and cause it to die.  Sometimes this damage doesn’t show up until the next season when the branch grows bigger and is strangled.  Bagworms also strip the plant of foliage as they eat.  To move from plant to plant, bagworms can either suspend themselves on silk and let the wind carry them or larger larvae can crawl short distances. 

Life Cycle:  By early fall, the larvae permanently suspend their bags.  Males emerge as furry black moths with clear wings about an inch wide.  The females don’t develop into moths, but remain worms and wait inside their bags.  They emit a strong scent to attract the males who mate through a hole in the bottom of the bag.  After she has laid several hundred eggs inside her bag, she dies.  The eggs will hatch the following May and crawl out of the end of the bag in search of food.  They use silk that they produce along with plant materials to make a small bag around their hind end.  This gives them the appearance of tiny ice cream cones.  As they feed and grow, they enlarge the bag and hide inside if disturbed. In fall, they form their bags and the cycle starts over. 

How to treat them:   Adult bagworms can be cut off with a knife or garden shears, but you must be sure to cut the silk band that holds them to the branch so it doesn’t remain and girdle the branch.  This works well with small infestations on smaller trees.  But many times, infestations can be widespread or occur on taller trees that make physical removal difficult.  Then, insecticides are your best choice.  The best time to use insecticides is June because the small larvae are more vulnerable to insecticides.  Call Heritage if you need help getting rid of bagworms or any insects on your trees, shrubs or lawn.  We can take care of it for you.

It’s amazing how many people think sprinkler systems are just for watering the lawn. There are so many more ways your sprinkler system can help you keep your yard looking nice.  Why should the grass get all the attention?  What about all of those beautifully landscaped areas next to the house?  When you go on vacation, do you come home to wilted landscape plants and thirsty bushes?  Or do you have to hire the neighbor kid to water them while you’re gone?  Many of our customers have struggled with these issues only to discover that they can have those areas easily incorporated into their existing sprinkler system. 

We have added lines to include landscaped areas and large potted plants near entrances, on decks, patios and around pools.  You can even set it up to auto fill a fountain!  There are so many options to keep your yard (all of your yard) looking great with no hand watering maintenance.  Stop struggling to keep up with the watering and spend more time enjoying your yard!  We’ll be happy to come out and give you an estimate on installing a complete sprinkler system or adding on to your existing system.  So step away from that hose and give us a call.

What is backflow?  In water supply systems, water is maintained at a significant pressure to enable water to flow from the faucet, shower, etc.  When pressure fails or is reduced, (if a water main bursts, pipes freeze or there is unexpectedly high demand on the system) water from another source (ground, holding tank, pool, sprinkler system, etc.) can be drawn into the system contaminating the drinking water.  There are over 10,000 reported cases of backflow contamination each year – some of them fatal.  A backflow prevention device keeps this from happening.  A typical device has test cocks and shut-off valves and must be tested each year. 

Missouri requires that you have your backflow device tested every year and so do many of the Kansas water purveyors.  Only a licensed technician can perform these tests.  If you receive a letter requiring you to have your device tested, or you just want it tested for peace of mind, call us.  Three of our irrigation technicians are licensed to perform the tests.  If you haven’t had yours tested for a few years, it is a good idea.  Nobody wants water from their sprinkler getting back into their drinking water.

April 22, 2010
Heritage Lawns and Irrigation Service Day at the Olathe Memorial Cemetery honors both the environment and our heroes. By treating for weeds at the Civil War Memorial and the World Wars Memorial and applying lime to more than 2 acres of the cemetery Heritage is able to give back to the community.  We like to be active in our neighborhoods and the chance to help spruce up something as notable as the civil war memorial that is over 100 years old is truly an honor.  The next step will be some seeding this fall to thicken the turf and let the natural competition help choke out the weeds in the future. 

A special Thank you to the guys for great attitudes even in the rain and to Helena for their donation of the lime.  See more pictures on our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=3678267&id=106660604309#!/pages/Olathe-KS/Heritage-Lawns-Irrigation/106660604309  

Filling a spreader with limeCivil War Memorial donated in 1893

Civil War Memorial donated in 1893

Brian Haggerty, Lawn Coach

What is a Lawn Coach?  It’s the same guy taking care of your lawn all year long.  Why is that important?  Because Lawn Coaches provide communication. Communication between you and your Lawn Coach is critical.  You’ll get to know him on a first name basis and even get his cell number.  Our Lawn Coaches are professional, licensed and certified experts.  Together, we can get beyond the “see the weed, spray the weed” mentality and start building a greener, healthier lawn that will require fewer and fewer chemicals. 

Not only does our Lawn Coach program allow us to make your lawn beautiful, it also allows us to deliver excellent customer service because of the relationships that it builds. You won’t feel like just another customer.  If you have thoughts, problems or concerns about your lawn, your Lawn Coach will be able to answer them.  He’s familiar with the problem areas and specific issues because he’s been there all season.  It’s just a smarter business model.  You can’t cure lawn problems if you don’t know the lawn.

The Lawn Coach program also helps build a sense of pride and ownership.  Your lawn is a reflection on your Lawn Coach, so he actually cares what it looks like.  He’ll walk it for problem areas, test the soil, talk about your wants and needs and THEN make a game plan. He understands that a thick healthy, green lawn starts from the ground up, not the weeds down.  Plus, he knows he’ll be returning in a few weeks and he’ll be seeing you again.  He wants you to be happy.  Sending out a different guy each time just doesn’t make sense to us.  He’s just a stranger who happens to be taking care of your lawn. 

If you’re looking for a lawn care company that will do more than just spray weeds, you’ll really like our Eco pride System with your own lawn coach.  We work to get the soil in balance first, which is the foundation of the whole Eco-Pride system.  Then, as your lawn gets healthier and healthier, we can use fewer and fewer chemicals because a thicker lawn will choke more weeds out naturally.  Only Heritage gives you your own Lawn Coach and the Eco-Pride system.  And that’s why we can promise great lawns and great service.

Forsythia in full bloom

Well, the countdown has begun. No matter what the calendar says mother nature works on her own schedule and pretty soon those crabgrass and foxtail weed seeds will start germinating. They pop every year when the soil temperature has been 55 for about a week. It is very predictable but the problem is that it very seldom occurs on the same day each year. On wet cool springs it may be April 15 or on hot dry springs it may be April 1st. To make matters even a little more difficult it may happen 2 weeks earlier on a south facing slope than on a north facing slope on the same property. So we have to let mother nature tell us what is going on. We use indicator plants like the forsythia bush. This bright yellow flowering bush is a good indicator of soil temperature. After many years of observation and study we know that to get the best control of crabgrass and foxtail you should have your pre-emergent in place before the forsythia drop their flowers. Since they are in full bloom now we only have a few days left.

Many people don’t think about their outdoor plants until springtime, but many trees and shrubs should be pruned during the winter before new growth begins.  February and March are the best months of the entire year to prune fruit, flowering, and shade trees. Pruning in late winter or very early spring keeps you from inadvertently cutting off growing branches. If you wait till spring after new growth has started, you could damage the plant.  Food stored in the roots and stem is used to develop new growth.  This food should be replaced by new foliage before it is removed.  If it is not, dwarfing of the plant may occur.                                                                                                                        

Forsythia, quince, spirea and other early spring flowering shrubs should be pruned a little later, after they have finished flowering. You can even cut a few branches early and force them into early bloom in warm water.

Pruning is done for four main reasons:                                                                                   

To train the plant

To maintain plant health                                                                                                              

To improve the quality of flowers, fruit, foliage or stems

To restrict growth 

The rules of pruning vary with different plants.  But there are some main rules to follow.  You should always prune damaged or dead parts to avoid additional insect and disease problems that may develop.  You should not prune in late summer as this may encourage new growth that won’t have time to harden off before cold weather arrives and could result in damage or even death to the plant.    

Here are some general pruning tips that will help:                                                           

1. First remove all dead, broken, diseased or problem limbs by cutting them at the point of origin or back to a strong lateral branch (a branch originating from the main trunk).                          

2. Next make training cuts.  By cutting back lateral branches, you help to train the tree or shrub to maintain its natural shape.                                                                                                       

3. Eliminate weak or narrow crotches and if there are two main leaders, eliminate the weaker of the two. Also eliminate branches that cross over each other as rubbing can cause damage and invite disease.                                                                                                                                       

4. Remove water sprouts (the sprouts that grow next to the trunk).                                                     

5. Take a step back and assess your work.  If you’ve removed a large amount of wood, further pruning may have to be delayed until next year.

Prairie vole

vole runs in lawn

Vole damage on small tree

  We are seeing a lot more Vole damage this year than in years past. These small runways in the lawn can be a little alarming because in some cases they are very extensive.  We always see a little vole damage in areas near green spaces or tall grass areas but this year it is much more wide spread and extensive.  Most of this increase is attributed to the extended snow cover we had this winter. 

  The culprit is this little field mouse looking critter called a prairie vole.   These guys are vegitarians and feed on grass shoots and bark of young trees and shrubs.  Most of the time this isn’t a problem as most of the feeding is spread out and not in one place.  But during heavy, extended snow fall periods the feeding area is concentrated to the runways under the snow and around the base of small trees and shrubs.

 The good news bad newspart.  The good news is that the runs in the lawn will grow out as soon as the lawn come out of dormancy.  Their feeding doesn’t damage the crown of the grass plant.  Some light raking with a leaf rake will clean up the mess and when the turf starts growing it will fill in.  The bad news is for the trees and shrubs.  If the vole has gnawed completely around the branch or trunk it will girdle it, cutting the flow of nutrients off from the roots to the top and that branch or tree will die.  It may leaf out with the rest of the plants but it will wilt and die shortly after.  The only thing to do is to prune out the branch or remove the tree.