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...

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"?  ...

  100 plus soil temperatures in the sunny areas have already been reached this week Summer months bring warm temperatures and sometimes periods of dry weather to the lawns of Northern Illinois.  Grass lawns across Antioch-Gurnee-Waukegan and Lake Forest enter survival mode to withstand the stress associated with this time of year.  There are several cultural practises that can help maintain a healthy green lawn through these periods of stress.  Proper mowing height and watering practises are two of the most important things to do properly as summer begins. Watered lawn area next to non-watered lawn - 2016 With the forecast of multiple 90 degree days ahead and no rain in the forecast, begin watering now to prevent or assist with heat stress on the lawn.   A bluegrass-based lawn needs about 1 inch of irrigation per week to keep adequate moisture levels and to prevent the onset of browning and dormancy.   Although this amount of irrigation is ade...

Early spring brings excitement and joy to many homeowners in the Antioch-Gurnee-Waukegan area as humid warm air and extended sunlight hours bring the lawns and plants out of their winter slumber.  The thoughts of enjoying the outdoors once again brings a lot of anticipation along with a list of things to do.  There are many projects and plans racing through our minds as the warmer days allow for open windows and sunroofs throughout the neighborhoods.  One way to eliminate the uncertainty of lawn tasks and projects is to get develop a plan to have in place once the warmer weather is here to stay. A spring lawn plan should include the following lawn care activities to either "enjoy" doing yourself or make sure you have hired to get done for the season.  A lawn fertilizer application consisting of spring fertilizer with a pre-emergent weed control for annual grassy weeds, mainly crabgrass.  A soil enrichment product such as a soil conditioner or pellet co...

Summer stressed lawn Summer weather has definitely arrived for the 2016 lawn season.  The last 4 weeks have brought many sunny 80 degree plus days and little rain to the Antioch-Lake Villa- Lindenhurst-Gurnee-Waukegan area.  Temperatures above the 80 degree mark for an extended amount of time and few summer storms have led to many brown lawns across the area.   Summer stress affects the lawn in several ways.  It leads to cool season grasses goin dormant, summer stress prevents the lawns ability to repair itself, it creates a changing appearance to the lawn and promotes new growth of summer weeds.  I bring up these factors because they seem to bring a lot of questions from customers and are easily explained.   As the soil and air temperatures pass the 80 degree mark, cool season grasses like fine fescues, ryegrass and bluegrass begin going dormant.  This is the natural process of survival for the grass without causing permanent damage to the...

The wet spring of 2016 has helped keep many lawns across the Antioch-Lake Villa-Gurnee-Waukegan area well watered, growing and green.  However, water can also bring some unwanted issues along with the hydrogen to the lawns across Northern Illinois.   Excessively wet leaf tissue can be a welcome mat for unwanted disease issues as temperature ranges fluctuate.  Lawn diseases need three parts to develop in the lawn.  A susceptible host plant (grass in your lawn), pathogens (spores in the air) and favorable conditions (wet and ideal temperature ranges).  Just like weeds popping up after a favorable rain or temperature change, diseases also pop up quickly in the lawn.  Cool and wet generally lead to the development of dollar spot and red thread while summer patch and pythium prefer the higher temperaures and moisture. This early summer has brought on cooler and wet conditions leading to the development of red thread on many lawns across the Lake County, IL a...

There are many tasks involved in caring for a lawn throughout the year that often get overlooked.  Winter preparation is one of them.  Preparing your lawn properly for the oncoming stress of a Midwest winter is a very important task that shouldn't be forgotten.  This involves clearing as many leaves, limbs, landscaping debris, mulch and any dead plant material that may have found its way onto the lawn from an landscaping projects throughout the year.  This is commonly referred to a fall cleanup and is currently being performed daily across the county.  The lawn should also be trimmed back to the minimal height as possible without removing more than a third of the leaf tissue or scalping the lawn down to the crown.  A late fall fertilizer should have been or being applied that consists of a high Nitrogen fast release form.  This allows for immediate uptake as the plant is still alive and before going dormant.  The turf will absorb the fertilizer...

Dull blades cause browning of leaf tissue tips There are many cultural factors that can influence the appearance of the lawn in addition to irrigation and fertilizing.  These consist of proper mowing practices such as proper mowing height and sharpening your mower blades regularly.  Commercial lawn mowing companies sharpen their blades daily and or weekly.  This insures that the blades make a smooth clean cut to the leaf tissue.  Most homeowners fail to keep up with this practice and as a result their lawns can suffer.  As a homeowner mowing your own lawn you should insure that your blades are sharpened every 4 to 5 mowing's or monthly throughout the mowing season.   Shredded leaf tips from dull mower blades Dull mower blades can create damaging effects on your lawn.  A dull mower blade shreds the leaf tissue instead of cutting it clean.  This shredding causes damage to the leaf tissue and can leave your lawn with a light brown have c...

 Ideal l awn mowing height of 2.5" There are many factors that influence the look and color of a beautiful turf grass lawn in Northern Illinois.  These factors consist of temperatures, watering techniques, sun and shade to the lawn, fertilization and weed control and sometimes most importantly mowing height.  At Lawn Doctor of Antioch-Gurnee-Waukegan-Lake Forest we have not had many service calls this season thanks to the cooler, wet weather we have had so far this spring.  However, the last few service calls that have come in this week, they have all had the same issue; too low of mowing height.  Lawn mowing height has a big influence on the health of the grass plant and not mowing at a proper height for the season can negatively impact the lawn that many people spend a lot of time and exercise on trying to make it look more desirable. Lawn in late summer full and green due to proper mowing height all summer Most lawns that fertilized with 3-4 po...