Aeration

This year we have aerated more yards the ever before and to my surprise many of the lawns that we aerated are repeat customers from last year. Several customers actually requested aerations for this year.

I believe in aeration and have my lawn aerated twice a year. Golf courses aerate their greens at least twice a year and have determined that this practice does make a difference for water penetration into the root zone. By allowing water to quickly leave the surface significant reduction in water use and fungal disease has been noticed. Aeration also seems to minimize chinch bug damage.

Since I am a curious person by nature, I have asked several customers why they were getting the lawn aerated again? Is it because I suggested it?

One customer who knows how intelligent I am did say that if I thought it should be done then he would agree to have it done since his lawn has looked the best ever since we started maintaining his landscape. And yes, as I wrote that last sentence I did pat myself on the back. I can do this because for the most part I type only using my right hand, well to be more exact, I type with my right index finger.

Other customers saw the benefit of aeration especially during the drought. Since our clay soil can become caked at surface level the water cannot penetrate this crust. Instead it would run off, more so on lawns that had a pronounced grade. After aeration they noticed that the soil was able to absorb water and hardly any water would run down the sidewalk or curb.

Some think that aeration may be too expensive a service to have performed on their property yearly, for these people a good alternative is to use microbes. Green Sense Lawn & Garden Microbial Treatment has shown reduction in hardpan, development of a thicker root system and overall improvement of plant life. The term Plant life is non selective. Everything that grows including lawns, perennials, vegetables and even trees have seen an improvement in health.

The day after Father’s Day I had an appointment at a customer’s home in North Dallas. We have been working on this lawn for over 30 years, for both families who have lived in this house. The current homeowner has three teenage sons who mowed the lawn until they went off to college, but has continued to use us for various landscape projects.

Mr. Armstrong comes into the nursery to buy his fertilizers and other landscape needs on a regular basis. Earlier this spring he mentioned that an Ash tree in his front lawn seemed to be suffering even causing him to think that the tree was dying. This year the Ash was not leafing out as the others and that the color of the leaves were not as green either. After some back and forth questions and answers I was told that the area under his tree gets a lot of foot traffic prompting him to try to improve the compacted soil below. I mentioned aeration.

“Can’t do it. There is a large area of groundcover under the tree.”

I then told him about the microbes. He purchased a bottle and apparently put them out soon thereafter. He also spread several bags of compost in the area.

So, I am at his house and he asks me to look at his tree. It was doing great. The tree had fully leafed out with dark green foliage thick enough to provide shade and relief from the hot midday sun.

Mr. Armstrong proudly told me that he followed my advice and used the microbes. Nothing else.

Another tree that we used the microbes on is by Churchill Park. This Cedar Elm had several problems; the main one being that the lot it was growing on had been backfilled two feet above its original root base to build the new house. This was 25 years ago. I think that the tree may be between 75 and 100 years old.

We dug a well around the tree and then injected Green Sense Lawn & Garden microbial treatment into the soil in the well and around the now existing lawn underneath the entire canopy of the tree. With the microbes we also added fish, kelp molasses, humate and mycoriza fungi. Yes, these are all Green Sense products.

The fertilizer and nutrients were injected into the soil in hopes that the roots of the tree, which after all the years that had past had made their way up towards the surface. We found this out while digging the well. We found several roots had curved upward possibly seeking air and moisture.

We know that as the soil gets deeper there is more compaction. The compacted soils eliminate air and moisture. My only thought is that the tree had enough intelligence to seek air. Now, wait a second, a smart tree? For whatever reason, trees know when to break buds. Smart?

Yes, trees are very smart. They know when to leaf out in the spring. Well, sort of. Leaf growth is brought on by sunlight. But, trees react to the amount of sunlight available before they leaf out. Willow trees leaf out early. Pecans late. Is it the size of the foliage?

Trees know when to drop leaves to conserve moisture. Every August we get calls from Bald Cypress owners in the Dallas area questioning the health of their trees.

“Why is my tree turning red, is it dying?”

“No, it is just trying to survive the heat.”

Cottonwoods, Sycamores and other large leafed trees drop excess foliage to conserve water in the heat of the summer. Newly planted trees in general that are not getting enough water will drop leaves.

Have you ever come home from work on a realllly hot day and panicked because your trees, especially newly planted, have wilted leaves? Did you walk around the tree only to notice that the leaves on the west side are the most wilted? How smart are the trees to fold their leaves in order to limit the amount of exposure?

How do trees know which way to grow? They need sunlight, so they grow in the direction of the sun’s rays. Have you seen under story trees that grow sideways to avoid the canopy of the taller trees. Japanese Maples that are planted too near a house will grow away from the house, becoming deformed sometimes. But that was the homeowners fault not the trees. Redbuds, dogwoods, yaupon hollies will do this too.

Have you noticed how the lower branches of trees are the longest? Trees need more and more foliage as they grow, the lower branches stretch in search of sunlight.

How many of you drove by EDS on Legacy Rd in Plano to look at the big new building, what was it 20 years ago?

Do you remember all the trees that were planted on Legacy between 121 and Preston?

Now stretch your memory just a little bit more. Do you remember hearing about, reading or better yet seeing the trees after the stakes were removed, the stakes that stabilized the trees when they were just planted? Five years or so later 98 percent of the trees blew over in less then a week after the stakes were removed. Why?

The stakes did not allow the trees to send out stabilizing roots. The stabilizing roots would have grown in the direction of the prevailing winds. The tree stakes did not allow the wind to transfer its direction through the branches to the trees trunk and ultimately to the root system. Without the knowledge of wind direction the trees were not prepared for the winds that blew in and toppled over.

How do the trees know when to wow us with their spectacular fall colors? Just like in the spring the lengthening days make a tree leaf out in the fall the shorter daylight hours dropping temperatures cause the sap in the trees to draw back down to the root system resulting, hopefully, to our delight in spectacular colors. Are trees smart?

By the way this fall when you are thinking about travelling to the Northeast to look for fall color, drive to the Southeast intersection of Mockingbird, Loop 12 and Peavy Rd. I have always been impressed and delighted by the array of colors visible from this vantage point near Whiterock Lake.

I returned to China for my second visit in the year 2000. During this trip I went to a city known as the Venice of The Orient, Zhouzhuang. The walk through the city with the stone bridges crossing the canals was spectacular, but some how or another we walked by a fenced in area with hundreds of Bonsais. After a lot of begging and a little tipping we were permitted into this secured area where we were fascinated by the most beautiful display of perfectly shaped miniature trees. Through our translator we were told that the trees ages ranged between 200 and 1000 year old. All were grown in ornate, but shallow dishes.

Trees can be tamed by intelligent humans, but I do not believe that of all the bonsais I saw, no matter how spectacular the collection was, there was not one that was as beautiful as a massive giant sequoia or a cherry tree in full bloom. Or any number of trees growing on their own in the middle of a forest or some deserted farm.

How did they realize this beauty? Some will say that they just react to natures prodding. But, does it not take some intelligence to know how to react, what direction to grow towards, when to produce a flower. When to leaf out when to drop their leaves?

So the tree at the house by Churchill Park knew that it should send roots up where they could breath and find nutrients. In less the two years the tree has leafed out by more than 80 percent. Most people who see the tree would never know that the tree was at one time near death. It is true that humans supplied the extra nutrients and minerals, but it was the tree that took it up and distributed it to the rest of the tree.

Humans can tame trees by pruning, but they can also kill trees by excess. Excess watering can compact the soil and deplete oxygen. Excess fertilization of a tree can burn the roots or leave a salt buildup that can kill the soil. Excess pruning!!!

I do not know how I got on the subject of trees, but as I started pounding away on the keyboard with my right index finger I got carried away. What I was writing came so easily that I could not stop.

Let me see. Where was I? Smart trees? Green Sense Lawn & Garden Microbial Treatment? That’s it.

There are so many miracle products around that one has to be careful for what they are getting. But, I have heard such positive feedback about the use of the microbes.

Dying trees revived. Lawns become lush. Soils that were non-productive began bearing fruit and vegetation as it never had before. Farmers use microbes on their land. Golf courses athletic fields and landscape management all have found the use of microbes to help revive soils, loosen soil compaction, and accelerate root growth and seed germination. Soil remediation can be achieved by using microbes.

It is amazing to me how one product can be so beneficial. Try it some time, but remember that the best time to try it is now. Get the benefits now that you need them. Allow the water to penetrate the soil when it is needed the most.