Yard maintenance

[Tonkaman]

I’ll preface this by saying I absolutely loath yard work. When I bought my home 5 years ago it was the nicest yard in the neighborhood. I thought the giant expanse of grass, flower beds, garden boxes, and wild berries would be a fun family project. NOPE! Now I have the yard screaming for someone to love it. I’ve simplified it considerably to help make it less time consuming, but I still don’t understand the details of making it healthy. I know I could hire it all out, but unfortunately my accountant doesn’t like that idea.

#1
Why do I have these patches of grass that seem to be dying? The dirt underneath is very fine, almost dusty. The roots seem like they are all gone. Is it a bug problem? Is it a soil problem?

#2
The pine trees overhang the grass in several places. The grass grows pretty thin in those areas. What can I do to make it grow better? Do I need to trim the branches higher for more light?



#3
What is the proper way to prune the pine trees? I have a mixture of pines that are planted very close together. They obviously fight each other for sunlight so the branches are a mixture of barren to thick. Do I need to cut back branches that are cutting into adjacent trees? How high up should I cut the bottom? How Much effort should I put into cleaning up the piles of needles on the branches? What’s the best way to clean up the piles of needles on the ground/ in the grass?

 

[jeeper]

Grass won’t grow under pines. The pines are toxic or something. do you shovel your snow into the spot by the patio? Salt the patio for ice?
I like to be able to walk under pines without hitting my head. Every branch lower than that is gone. Every branch that grows the wrong direction gets cut out. Every branch that is not a progressive branch (like a small branch coming out of the main truck, not off a larger branch) gets cut out.
you can go crazy thinning them out, and it will look odd.. but then you’ll adjust to it and like it. Cut out a lot, so you don’t have to do a little each year.
Whether that’s right or wrong, it’s how I do it 😁

 

[Tonkaman]

Grass won’t grow under pines. The pines are toxic or something.

So the grass that goes under the branches is destined to always look crappy? To clarify the grass ends about 3’-4’ from the trunk of the trees.

do you shovel your snow into the spot by the patio? Salt the patio for ice?

I don’t Salt the patio or shovel off snow in the winter. That’s what is so odd about that big dead section. I can’t decide what’s gone wrong.

 

[johngottfredson]

What is the proper way to prune the pine trees? I have a mixture of pines that are planted very close together. They obviously fight each other for sunlight so the branches are a mixture of barren to thick. Do I need to cut back branches that are cutting into adjacent trees? How high up should I cut the bottom? How Much effort should I put into cleaning up the piles of needles on the branches? What’s the best way to clean up the piles of needles on the ground/ in the grass?

Proper way to prune pines: during dormancy (now until new needles start pushing), and with hand saw/loppers, not something weird like a hedge trimmer.
Do you need to cut back branches: cut back to taste. Trees are made to grow in the forest all close together, they don’t give a rip. You (or wife?) on the other hand might not like the way it looks and choose to get all bonsai with it. Same with cleaning the pine duff off the other branches, how high to prune, etc.
Colorado spruce and Austrian pine have the genetic potential to get all sorts of big, so this is a problem that isn’t going away. If you hate it maybe take the spruce out, or something. I have this same situation on trees that are 50 years old, and I think it turned out pretty cool.
btw, back East they use pine duff (needles) in planter beds for mulch instead of bark chips. Works great.

 

[mbryson]

I pay about $200-250 per year to have my grass sprayed by a professional. It actually looks like I know what I'm doing to the neighbors (at least in my old neighborhood---had a neighbor telling me he spent about $350-400 on the Scotts stuff... I just had it sprayed. I think he has someone spray it now)? I also whack the lower branches of trees that are under 6.5'. I'm not sure if it's a good thing to do but it works for me. We will not be using pines as soon as we can help it in our new yard.

We currently only have three trees. 2 cedars and one Charlie Brown fir tree of some kind.

you can kind of pick the trees apart in this pic? The cedars are in line with each other to a degree. I trimmed them as @jeeper suggests and am pretty happy to a) find out they were cedar instead of juniper and b) get a little head room under those buggers. My wife HATES the trees but I'm pretty happy with them. We will be purchasing some London Planetrees (per @johngottfredson recommendation) in the near future to eventually take the place of the trees she "hates". (I do kind of like the cedars)

...btw, back East they use pine duff (needles) in planter beds for mulch instead of bark chips. Works great.

This is excellent info as always John. Thanks!

 

[johngottfredson]

I trimmed them as @jeeper suggests and am pretty happy to a) find out they were cedar instead of juniper

Ahem ....they’re juniper. There are only four true cedars (cedrus ) - Cedar of Lebanon, Deodora cedar, Atlas cedar, and Cyprus cedar. All the other cedars you hear about are pretenders to the throne. Even cedar fences and cedar chests are made from a wannabe - western red cedar (Thuja plicata). That being said, I love junipers, they’re one of the best trees out there. Planted a ton of them at my place.

 

[mbryson]

Ahem ....they’re juniper. There are only four true cedars (cedrus ) - Cedar of Lebanon, Deodora cedar, Atlas cedar, and Cyprus cedar. All the other cedars you hear about are pretenders to the throne. Even cedar fences and cedar chests are made from a wannabe - western red cedar (Thuja plicata). That being said, I love junipers, they’re one of the best trees out there. Planted a ton of them at my place.

They smell like cedar but I'll certainly take your word for it (they did smell just like a cedar chest when I trimmed a few branches)

 

[johngottfredson]

They smell like cedar but I'll certainly take your word for it (they did smell just like a cedar chest when I trimmed a few branches)

They do. They also resist rot just like cedar, which is why you can buy fence posts out of juniper at IFA. Also, everyone else besides super nerds thinks they’re cedar, so you can just run with it.

 

[Tonkaman]

I pay about $200-250 per year to have my grass sprayed by a professional.

I paid TruGreen to spray monthly for the first 2 years. I finally got fed up with their super expensive services and dropped them. The sad thing is it didn’t change much on year 3 and 4.

 

[Kevin B.]

Ahem ....they’re juniper. There are only four true cedars (cedrus ) - Cedar of Lebanon, Deodora cedar, Atlas cedar, and Cyprus cedar. All the other cedars you hear about are pretenders to the throne. Even cedar fences and cedar chests are made from a wannabe - western red cedar (Thuja plicata). That being said, I love junipers, they’re one of the best trees out there. Planted a ton of them at my place.

Like we're gonna listen to the guy who says not to chop down trees with a hedge trimmer.

 

[mbryson]

I paid TruGreen to spray monthly for the first 2 years. I finally got fed up with their super expensive services and dropped them. The sad thing is it didn’t change much on year 3 and 4.

We’ve used Green Pointe in Murray to spray ours. Been very happy with their service.

 

[zmotorsports]

Others have already said about the pine trees and the sparse grass underneath them but the area near the concrete seems to slope down and away. Question. Have you sprayed off a car or undercarriage or done any vehicle maintenance in that area of the concrete where residue could have gotten down to the grass?

If not, is that area hard parked to the point that water cannot penetrate into the soil and just runs off? It may be beneficial to aerate that area to allow moisture to get down into the soil and then overseed the area with some soil prep and pete moss to hold the moisture in.

Let me preface by saying I am not a horticulturist but I do take great pride in my yard and have a good looking yard. I love mowing my lawn but my yard in general is low maintenance as in not a lot of shrubbery and/or growth in the flower beds. I did the opposite of you as in I bought the worst looking yard in the neighborhood and now after three years it is one of the best looking yards in the neighborhood.



Mike

 

[mbryson]

We had grubs in our lawn to make brown patches. We had to spray to get rid of them. That started us on the spray service and it’s worked for us. I think grubs are summer issues? I believe the graze on the roots of the grass?

 

[J Kimmel]

I'm glad to see your problems, that means I'm not alone

 

[gijohn40]

I would say that with all the dead grass you need to have it power raked and then aerated. I have the same problem here in Layton.

 

[Herzog]

I'm glad to see your problems, that means I'm not alone

Same. I'm learning quite a bit in this thread.

 

[Spork]

I'd start with some insect killer granules, some weed and feed and some revive. I think the weed and feed/revive was discussed last year in a thread and seemed to work well. If you think the grass is gone in that area maybe some seed to get it back.

 

[Tonkaman]

This is great feedback everyone, thank you.

We’ve used Green Pointe in Murray to spray ours. Been very happy with their service.

Was the $250 a year you mentioned earlier for fertilizer and big killer? Seems way cheap if so. I was like $800 with TruGreen.

I would say that with all the dead grass you need to have it power raked and then aerated. I have the same problem here in Layton.

I was thinking the same thing. I’ve never used a power rake, but I’ve aerated every year.

I'd start with some insect killer granules, some weed and feed and some revive. I think the weed and feed/revive was discussed last year in a thread and seemed to work well. If you think the grass is gone in that area maybe some seed to get it back.

I remember that thread now you mention it. I’ll have to read through it again. Thanks

Others have already said about the pine trees and the sparse grass underneath them but the area near the concrete seems to slope down and away. Question. Have you sprayed off a car or undercarriage or done any vehicle maintenance in that area of the concrete where residue could have gotten down to the grass?

If not, is that area hard parked to the point that water cannot penetrate into the soil and just runs off? It may be beneficial to aerate that area to allow moisture to get down into the soil and then overseed the area with some soil prep and pete moss to hold the moisture in.

Let me preface by saying I am not a horticulturist but I do take great pride in my yard and have a good looking yard. I love mowing my lawn but my yard in general is low maintenance as in not a lot of shrubbery and/or growth in the flower beds. I did the opposite of you as in I bought the worst looking yard in the neighborhood and now after three years it is one of the best looking yards in the neighborhood.
Mike

that concrete slab is just a patio at my back door. It has never seen any chemicals or other maintenance nearby. The dirt doesn’t seem to hard packed right now since I can dig it up with my fingers. Perhaps it’s just drying out too quickly. Those a great suggestions, I’ll look more into that.

 

[mbryson]

....Was the $250 a year you mentioned earlier for fertilizer and big killer? Seems way cheap if so. I was like $800 with TruGreen.......

I do think it was 5 treatments a year for about $45 per? They do try to sell you on spider and bug treatments and such but I just used the weed/feed. Worked well for me

 

[glockman]

Is that were your giant ass dog goes out to pee?