The spring of 2021 will go down in history as the driest spring season on record for most of the Northern Illinois and Southeast Wisconsin counites.  As of mid-June, our local service area has only received about 2.5 inches of precipitation since March resulting in a severe drought distinction for the area.  We usually average around 9 inches of rain during this time for most of our service area.  In a typical year, our area turns dry, and lawns start suffering drought and heat stress in Mid-June, however this has already been happening since early May.   Lawn on left suffering from drought stress 2021 Watering is already needed for most lawns, and some have already gone dormant.  With summer yet to start and another 90 days of typical dry and high soil temperatures, many lawns will be on the verge of serious damage this summer.  Here are some ways that you can save or limit the damage to your lawn this summer: Large droplet sprinkler 1. Begin wa...

                                                                                  gray snow mold on lawn Every winter causes some extent of snow cover to the lawns in the local Antioch, Illinois area.  Snow cover generally melts away after a week or two allowing oxygen and some sunlight to return to the lawn before the next storm throughout winter.  However, this winter we have had an extended snow cover that is setting up for some potentially damaging effects to the lawn come Spring when the snow will eventually melt.   Snow cover can be a positive for lawns as it helps insulate grass from exposure to sub-freezing temperatures and wind which can lead to desiccation and severe root damage.   It can also be very beneficial in eliminating damaging insect pop...

Lawn diseases have been very active this summer  Lawn diseases are an annual threat and a frustrating problem to many lawns across the Northern Illinois area during the summer months.  With over twenty years of experience in analyzing lawns in the local area, we have seen the most widespread disease damage to leaf tissue in lawns this summer compared to past seasons.  Record-setting May rains have led to significantly large amounts of summer lawn disease development.  While a lot of lawns go dormant during the months of July and August as the leaf tissue shuts down to protect the grass roots, a dormant lawn does generally not show the damaging effects of lawn disease as the turf is already brown so the damage is disguised as simply a brown lawn.     Lawn in summer beginning to show some disease areas (circles) We get a lot of questions regarding brown spots in the lawn every season, most of which is heat and moisture related, however this season diseas...

Do I have Grub Damage in my Lawn this summer? We receive many calls this time of year (mid-summer) for curing brown spots in the lawn.  Many homeowners assume that the brown spots are a result of grub damage.  However, this  is not the case as grub damage will not show up for another several weeks after the eggs hatch and begin feeding on grass roots in August and September.  The brown spots are more commonly a result of heat stress on the lawn which often results in additional damage form diseases and insects in the lawn as the grass slows down growth due to the higher soil temperatures and less frequent heavy rainfall.   Most lawns across the Northern Illinois area are suffering from heat related stresses this summer.  With more sunny days above 80 degrees in June and early July, soil temperatures jumped quickly resulting in stressed out lawns by mid-July.  Once a lawn begins to weaken or go dormant the disease and insects can ...

April showers bring May showers?  Yes, in the case this year, a wet and snowy April led to one of the wettest Mays on record for most of the Northern Illinois area.  The rain was great for any seeding jobs performed in Spring, at least the ones that were able to get performed due to the soft and wet ground conditions all Spring.  The rain in May was great for germinating grass seed, making grass grow and keeping weeds under control for the most part.  However, the worst scenario for too much rain is yet to come.  Excess Spring rain will most likely lead to a mosquito population explosion once the temperatures rise into the 70's and 80's.  High water levels allow for eggs left from previous high water levels to hatch along with providing plenty of nesting opportunities for mosquitoes this year. Mosquitoes have been hindered so far this season due to the lower than average temperatures.  Mosquitoes generally don't like sub 70 degree weather...

The phone begins ringing in Spring as little yellow flowers emerge from the lawn, with one question, "How much does lawn care cost for my property?". Well the answer depends on a lot of various factors like the size of the lawn, the problems present in the lawn and how well do you want to maintain the appearance of the lawn.  These are all questions we ask at Lawn Doctor in determining the scheduling and pricing for customers calling to get lawn care quotes in Spring.  Lawn care defined as fertilization and weed and pest control for the lawn is generally about twenty to thirty percent of the total annual landscaping cost for residential properties in the Antioch, IL and surrounding area.   Mowing, trimming and general landscape maintenance makes up the majority of annual costs as these require weekly visits and manual removal of clippings and trimmings from the property.  So "How much does lawn care cost for most average size lawns"?  ...

                                                           Melting snow reveals green grass still not dormant As the temperatures and snowflakes begin to drop on the area in late fall, many things are happening to the lawn that are often ignored.  As attention turns to gift buying, cooking and holiday festivities, the lawn is doing things most people don't realize and that can help answer many misconceptions about lawn care and lawns by most homeowners.  Lawns in the area are primarily cool season grass types which will actually thrive until the soil freezes.    Early snow cover will blanket the lawn and act as a heat trapping blanket, while extended snow cover between now and spring may cause severe snow mold and vole damage that will need to be repaired in spring.  Snow shoveling will begin to cause severe ...

The summer of 2018 has had many differences than last year however many of the issues of summer remained the same for this season.  Every summer brings challenges to the lawn care industry mostly due to extended sunny days bringing high soil temperatures, high evapo-transpiration rates and limited soil moisture.  Heat and drought stress cause the lawn to brown, expose minor issues and bring many curve balls to those trying to keep a green lawn all summer long.  August has brought some much needed rain however more is needed for most lawn to make a full recovery.  A late summer fertilizer is needed at this time so when rains do come, the lawn has adequate nutrients available for a quick                                                                                  ...

The summer lawn season of 2018 has literally left many tracks across the lawns in Northern Lake County.    As we had numerous rain days and service delays in June, July started off with a bang.  We then witnessed and are still investigating a heat tracking event that occurred July 13.   Beautiful Lake Villa lawn watered in summer   The difference between watering regularly adn not watering- notice the heat stress on right Warmer temperatures hit around the holiday week and have continued along with minimal rain for the rest of the month.  This has left a lot of lawns turning brown form heat and moisture (lack of) stress.  Once again this year the heat tracking phenomenon has hit the area hard.  On Friday July 13 many instances of heat tracking occurred across the area.  As I have posted heat tracking in previous year’s blogs, this year the damage was even worse.  Since the event took place on Friday July 13, most of the...

Spring 2018 has had it ups and downs this season for the lawn care service industry.  However it has mostly produced many "ups" or positive results across the Antioch- Gurnee area.   A very slow to warm up spring kept lawns brown and with no growth through early April followed by a nearly two week cold and snow on the ground period of early to mid-April.  Although the cooler temps and snow cover  were a little abnormal, the moisture left behind allowed for good green up and new leaf tissue growth in the warmer weeks that followed.    Late April 2018 Snow cover on April 15, 2018 May brought many additional challenges as it was warm but very wet.  This caused some delays again including many spring seeding services.  Seeding in spring is a great opportunity to thicken up some shady areas however the moisture and temperature swings can create a lot of difficulties in scheduling and perfo...