Have you noticed small bumps on the leaves of your Maple tree this spring?

So do you think that the person who fertilized this lawn will consider hiring it out next season? 

It looks like 2012 will be the year of the summer annual weed.  Our early warm spell in March got a lot of annual weeds (weeds that die every year but resprout from the seeds they've left behind) off to a fast start.  We're seeing annual weeds that we've NEVER seen sprouting this early.  Here are a couple that people call "yellow clover" - Oxalis and Black Medic. 

Cleveland, OH – A resolution proclaiming the month of May of each year as Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS) Awareness Month in Cuyahoga County was passed unanimously by the Cuyahoga County Council on February 28, 2012. Resolution No. R2012-0011 was sponsored by Council Members Dale Miller, Sunny M. Simon, Yvonne Conwell, Julian Rogers, and Council President C. Ellen Connally, to educate the public and reduce harmful environmental exposures through local government initiatives.

Rob Bates, a Do it Yourselfer in Cleveland sent this picture in of his son doing some hard labor while Rob looked on and relaxed.  Who wouldn't want fertilizer that you can feel good about letting your kids apply?

This photo really hits home for me because I grew up spreading the chemical stuff for my dad, very nice to see a kid spreading the good stuff on a nice green organic lawn.  Glad that the times are changing!

Every spring I hear two different reactions to the same plant.  Some people love the look of the little purple flowers that Speedwell (Veronica) provide intermixed in their lawn and some hate them.  Which are you?  For more information on those little purple flowers in your lawn (Slender Speedwell or Veronica), visit our website. 

Over the past three to four years Northeast Ohio’s native Viburnums have become the target of a non-native pest called the Viburnum Leaf Beetle. Both the larval and adult stage feed heavily on a few species of Viburnums. The damaged leaves will become severely skeletonized and die. After a few years of this cycle the plants will die.

Seeing Flowers in your Lawn?

The warm winter and really warm spring have been a real boon for winter annual weeds.  Here are a few that are popping up now and some information about what (if anything) you can do about them.

It's just about spring and this is usually the time of year that Moles start to rear their ugly heads and make a mess of lawns with their tracks and piles of dirt.  We usually get a few questions about moles - Why do I have all these moles in my lawn?  What can I get rid of Moles in my lawn?

Why do I have Moles in My Lawn?

1) There is food for them (could be grubs, worms, or a variety of living things in the soil. and

2) You have soft loose soil (at least right now). 

Have you heard or read that Liquid Aeration is a waste of time and core aeration is the only thing worth doing?  While it is true that Core Aeration will have a much more immediate impact on your lawn, it does not have a long term impact.  Here's my response to someone's question about liquid aeration: