.	home features services what's new FAQ delbe pointers principals Sign-up Forms Franchise Information contractor registration contact us! affiliated organizations DELBE MANAGEMENT	Delbe Pointers                            Making Life A Little Easier... Spring 2000 The Delbe Pointers newsletter is a bi-annual newsletter providing homeowners with simple tips and tricks to use when it comes to maintaining, repairing or improving their home. Articles and tips from the Spring 2000 edition can be found below. If you have a tip or a trick you would like to share with your fellow homeowners, please forward them to us. If we use the tip in our newsletter we will be happy to send you a small gift in appreciation. Mowing Your Lawn Proper mowing, along with proper watering, can be the most critical in the appearance of your lawn. Good mowing techniques not only enhance the appearance of your lawn, but also increases the turfgrass vigor. Turfgrass stressed by mowing too low is more prone to disease, weed invasion, drought and traffic stress. Removal of most of the leaf blade limits food production. Limited food production decreases root, thizome, and stolon growth. Weak grass plants with limited root systems are more prone to drought damage. It is particularly important to mow high dry weather. Mowing height varies for different turfgrass species: Kentucky Bluegrass...cut at 2-21/2 to 3 inches. Bentgrass and Bermunda Grass...cut at 1 to 1 1/2 inches. The second critical factor is mowing the lawn on a frequent basis: The grass should be mowed so that no more than 1/3 of the leaf blade is removed. If the desired height is 3 inches, mow the grass when it has grown to 4 inches. Mowing frequency will change throughout the year with different weather patterns. Cool season grasses such as Kentucky bluegrass my require mowing twice a week in spring, but only every 7 to 10 days during the summer.Warm season grasses such as Bermuda grass may need more frequent mowing in the summer than in the fall or spring. Blade Sharpness A dull mower blade shreds the tip of the grass blades. The shredding opens the ends of the leaf blades for increased moisture loss and potentially provides a site for disease invasion. Lawns cut with a dull mower blade may have an overall white appearance from the shredded grass blades. Improving Mowing Practices and Clippings Mowing during the eat of the day during hot weather may cause the lawn to brown. It is best to mow during the cooler part of the day. When grass is mowed frequently, clippings are small and degrade rapidly. Recycle plant nutrients by returning the clipping s to the lawn rather than bagging them. How to Tell When you Need to Change Your Mowing Practice Symptoms that indicate mowing practices required change are: Frayed grass blades. Excess clumps of clippings. Tall grass mowed short resulting in a yellow color. Watering Your Lawn The most neglected areas of landscape maintain is proper watering of trees and shrubs. Many lawns are more prone to insect and disease attacks if they are stressed by lack of water. Watering your lawn is now assurance that adequate water is reaching the roots of your trees. Turf roots are shallows and thick, making it difficult for water penetration deep within the soil. To water trees and shrubs properly, you need to use the thick trickle irrigation technique. Place a hose near the base as a trickle for a few minutes. This method allows water to penetrate the soil more efficiently. Well-Groomed Lawns Acting like a gigantic sponge, lawns absorb all types of airborne pollutants such as soot, dust and carbon dioxide, as well as noise. Less weeds mean less weed pollen, a relief for those with allergies. Finally, a great lawn has more than just a health value. Home appraisers estimate that a well-landscaped and maintained lawn adds 7% of the value of the residential property. A recent Gallup Survey conclude that a 15% increase in selling price can be realized when the home is nicely landscaped. ALL ABOUT FERTILIZERS Properly timed fertilizer application help maintain healthily lawns and landscapes. Many landscapes (especially in new neighborhoods) are growing in poor quality soil because of construction activities during installation of streets and driveways as well as during excavation for the house's foundation walls. Under these growing conditions, fertilizing lawns and trees and shrubs is essential to meet their basic nutrient requirements. Fertilization rates and application frequency directly influence lawn, color, growth rate, and density of a lawn. Experience has proven that fertilizing lawns during the growing season helps the lawn maintain its uniform color and develop a dense carpet-like appearance. This also enables the lawn to withstand stress and invasion by weeds. Fall 1998 Delbe Pointers Please read on for more of Delbe Pointers Spring 2000 News Letter (page 4 of 4)