By Jennie Miller
C & G Staff Writer

Neighbors beware: Unspoken lawn care competitions are well under way now that  spring is officially in the air.

Those seeking the healthiest, greenest lawns need to look no further than a few simple tricks that don’t require too much time, effort or cash, according to local landscapers.

Two things are key, said Karl Bednarowski of Lonestar Landscaping in Shelby Township, and those are fertilization and irrigation.

“One without the other, you’re not going to get the optimum results,” Bednarowski said. “You’ve got to have the irrigation with the fertilizer to get a nice lawn.”

At least four fertilizer applications a year are recommended, and the proper fertilizer should have a combination of nitrogen, ash and phosphorus, according to Bednarowski.

“All three are real important,” Bednarowski said. “The nitrogen part will make it green; the other two are root builders. You should fertilize at least four times during the season. We have a program that we do six, but most people are scaling back now with the economy.”

One fertilizer application should have been done in April, after the last frost, Bednarowski said, which acts as a barrier on the lawn and prevents crab grass and annual weeds.

Also in early spring, property owners should rake the lawn to remove the dead grass that accumulated over the winter, said Harvey Hill of Hill’s Landscape and Outdoor Services in Warren.

“That allows the water and the fertilizer to get down to the dirt to get to the root faster,” Hill said. “The dead grass just soaks up the water and the fertilizer sits on top of it, so it doesn’t get down to the root to do its job.”

Aeration is also recommended.

“For a nice, healthy lawn, aeration should be done annually,” Bednarowski said. “That’s when they pull plugs — poke holes in the lawn — which allows the air, water and fertilizers to get to the root zone and helps the lawn to breathe. It’s usually done in the spring or fall.”

The job can be done either professionally or by improvising.

“Some people use baseball cleats and walk through their yard,” Hill said.

Additional fertilizer applications can be spaced out through the season and paired up with the holidays: once around Memorial Day, another on the Fourth of July, and finally on Labor Day.

The second application is a “weed and feed,” which takes care of things like dandelions and clover, Bednarowski said. The third is a balanced, slow-released fertilizer, and the fourth should be another weed and feed, which will help to prepare the lawn for the following spring.

Those without irrigation systems in place on their property need to be diligent about the watering process.

“People who don’t have an irrigation system tend to slack off on watering,” Bednarowski said. “In the summertime, I’d say two to four times a week, if possible. You have to monitor it. So far, the way this spring has been, we haven’t even turned our sprinkler systems on because it’s been so wet. You have to keep them monitored as the seasons go.”

With these local landscapers treating their clients’ lawns the same way they’d treat their own, lush, green grass should be aplenty this summer.

“If you use these steps, you should probably have a thick, full lawn,” Hill said.

For more information about Lonestar Landscaping, call (586) 991-0210. For more information about Hill’s Landscape and Outdoor Services (586) 405-8700.

You can reach Staff Writer Jennie Miller at jmiller@candgnews.com or at (586) 279-1108.