What we’re noticing:

  • Lawns were very dry but we got some rain and a week of “cool” (Normal) temperatures coming up. NWS Link
  • The last time we got this (Normal) quantity of rain within 12 hours on growing season grass was August ’22!
  • There will be a few things noticed that we’ll relate to in the “What you can be doing” section:
    • [1] Some Lawns will grow like crazy!
    • [2] Grass that was about to turn dormant or just went dormant will come out of it great!
    • [3] Grass that’s been dormant may or may not come out of dormancy.
    • [4] Dead grass will stay dead

6/2/23 Update:

  • I meant to talk about two additional things we’re noticing.
    1. Shut downs: We have to stop when it gets to hot for two reasons:
      1. Heat tracking (90*): any traffic across grass at this temp can damage the grass blade making temporary ugly lines or marks.
      2. Weeds shut down at about 88*: they close their pores and don’t take in our product. Nothing negative happens but our stuff stops working
      3. This happened a lot last week and will when we get other hot weeks. We don’t know what time we can work to but it’s usually 2pm or so. After that we have to stop working and skip the remaining jobs for the day for the benefit of the client.
    2. Tree shoots:
      1. These are very pronounced this year for two reasons:
        1. It’s early – we’re still near spring when the trees germinate and try to grow.
        2. Mowing kills the shoots and mowers have been set high (higher than the shoots) and/or the mowers aren’t being used at all!
      2. Our spray does control the shoots that are already there but if a seed falls an hour after we are there; it’s going to germinate and grow – we can’t control what isn’t growing in the yard yet.
      3. Most seasons these aren’t too big of buggers since regular mowing controls them well. This season; we just need more rain.

What we’re doing:

  1. We finished up ~90% of our planned mosquito applications this round but we’ll be giving another opportunity to get protected with ProSquito since this rain is going to unleash a brood!
  2. We finished up ~70% of our landscape bed treatments for this round as well
  3. We’ve been chipping away at our regular lawn program applications but with the prior heat and drought it wasn’t a rush/urgent focus. We’ll be back at getting them done in force with the rain and cool temps

What you can be doing:

  1. The whole point of what we do is for you to enjoy your property. As we go into the 4th weekend:
    1. Admire you grass as it recovers with the rain
    2. Get out, use and enjoy you lawn, manicured landscaping and pest free environment depending on the services you trust us with
  2. DON’T COUNT YOUR CHICKENS!
    1. We hope this trend of cooler temps and normal rain continues but it might not! Last year we received some normal rain in August (after a very dry spell) then went into the driest September ever recorded which secured the driest growing season since 1910!
    2. We’re far from back to normal and far from resuming normal mowing/watering
    3. “[1] Some Lawns will grow like crazy!”
      1. Give it at least a couple weeks before you start lowering your mowing height. If we’re trending “normal” after that, it will be much more appropriate. You might have to mow more frequently than once a week to keep up with the surge that’s about to happen.
    4. “[2] Grass that was about to turn dormant or just went dormant will come out of it great! &
      [3] Grass that’s been dormant may or may come out of dormancy.”

      1. These two are the DANGER ZONE. Many people behave like “the grass is back! Resume normal operations!”. Dormant grass shocked out of their dormancy is very weak. It shut down because it was completely out of resources. One normal rain may be an “electric shock to the heart” that brings it back and gives it enough to come back… just keep that analogy in mind. A person who receives an electric shock to restart their heart is usually in the hospital for many days after under intensive care. If that person got shocked and the paramedic shook their hand and sent them back out into their lives; they’d end up worse than before they were shocked.
      2. This grass should be watered regularly after to keep it alive and well. Managing a state of “in/out of dormancy” won’t end well
      3. This grass should continue to be mowed as high as possible until intensive care is no longer needed
    5. “[4] Dead grass will stay dead”
      1. If grass does not come back after this rain and cool week; It doesn’t mean it’s dead – it can be stubbornly dormant. There is a pretty high chance that it is dead though. If the grass is yellow/brown and lying down, it is likely dead. If it is yellow and still standing up; it is likely dormant.
      2. The best time to seed grass in MN is starting in about 6 weeks. Whether you need to seed dead areas or want to build a more drought resistant and robust lawn; we can help. This combo can’t be beat for turf that can manage heat and drought:
        1. Core Aeration
        2. Overseeding
        3. Soil Improvement