Apple Lawn Service is a complete Year-round Lawn Maintenance Service staffed with professional and dedicated employees. Services include weekly and monthly lawn maintenance programs tailored to each customers individual needs which can consist of the cutting and trimming of the lawn area before the property is cleaned of debris before we departure.

Available Lawn Maintenance Programs

Weekly Lawn Maintenance Programs
Apple Lawn Service can perform a weekly lawn maintenance program, or as needed during hot and dry periods, that includes the cutting of the lawn area, trimming of all walkways, bed areas, and perimeters, before our staff performs a post-work cleanup consisting of the blowing of all grass clippings from all walkways, sidewalks, driveways and patios so that no unsightly clippings remain.

Monthly Lawn Maintenance Programs
Apple Lawn Service can perform a monthly lawn maintenance program that is specifically tailored to each clients needs. These monthly services can include the weekly cutting of the lawn area, which includes the trimming of all walkways, bed areas, and perimeters, before our staff performs a post-work cleanup consisting of the blowing of all grass clippings from all walkways, sidewalks, driveways and patios so that no unsightly clippings remain, fertilizing, mulching of the bed areas, watering of the lawn during extended periods of high temperatures, weeding of bed areas, trimming of the shrubs and bushes, and numerous other projects that the customer specifically desires.

Available Lawn Maintenance Services

Aeration
The removal of small cores of soil from the lawn which reduces soil compaction and promotes root growth for a healthier lawn.

Dethatching
A thin layer of thatch, the layer of dead and decaying plant tissue located between the soil surface and the green vegetation, is beneficial because it reduces soil compaction and increase wear tolerance. However a thatch layer that exceeds 1/2 inch prevents air, light, nutrients and water from reaching the grass's root zone. Excessive thatch also provides an ideal breading ground for harmful insects and disease organisms. Dethatching is the process of removing the excess layer of thatch so that the grass can once again receive the needed air, water and nutrients that are required to produce a healthy, thus drought resistant, lawn. Both Spring and Fall are idea times for this procedure.

Fall ( Leaf Removal ) Cleanups
Lawn Service has developed a comprehensive program that enables us to remove the Fall leaves that accumulate on the lawn and bed areas during the Fall season. Apple Lawn Service will proceed to service your account from the time the leaves initially drop until the last leaf is down for the season which normally is about the first week of December. Our annual charge is based on the amount of time it takes to complete this project. Factors that add to the annual charges are if we have to remove and dispose of the leaves off-site, bagging for removal by the local municipalities or any of the other tasks that are required to remove the leaves in accordance with local rules and ordnances.

Fertilizing
When selecting a fertilizer please consider the major considerations whether you are using a Scotts® , Lesco® or any store bought variety.
The first consideration is the percentage, by weight, of the three major nutrients - Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium. These three ingredients are printed on the front of every consumer application grade of fertilizer. However these percentages of ingredients only informs the consumer about the chemical makeup and not the performance that one receives from the proper application of the product. Therefore consumers should be alert to the following percentages, symbols and what each one specifically does in order to make an informed choice.

• N - Indicates percentage of Nitrogen which makes the grass grow and become green.
  
  
• P - Indicates percentage of Phosphorous which stimulates roots and seedling growth.
  
  
• K - Indicates percentage of Potassium which promotes disease and drought resistance.

The next consideration is the Nitrogen release rate. The rate that the nitrogen is released into the turf area not only determines how fast the grass will green up but also how quickly it will grow which effects the amount of clippings produced during the next mowing, the rate that the fertilizer is wasted by natural leaching and runoff, and last but most important to the residential consumer how long does this application last. Residential lawns require a slow release fertilizer that provides a steady feeding in order to achieve the much desired thick green lawn that becomes the envy of the neighborhood.

The third factor to consider is the granule content, or make up, of the fertilizer. Since most fertilizers contain the three basic ingredients ( namely Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium ) in separate granules which are of different shape and sizes these granules can separate during storage, shipping and handling causing the contents to separate within the package resulting in an uneven distribution of the product on the lawn area resulting in a less than desirable result.

Flower/Bulb Installations
Fall is the ideal time to install your Spring bulbs. The planting of your Spring bulbs will ensure that after the weather turns more favorable after the long Winter your residence will be awash in the dazzling colors that makes Spring one of the more enjoyable seasons.

Installation of Bed Areas
Since 1992 Apple Lawn Service has been installing various types, styles and sizes of landscaping installations for our clients. Be it a small backyard garden to a larger landscaping project that requires a vast amount of material and labor we have accommodated all of our clients needs both on time and within their budget. Contact an Apple Lawn service representative to help plan your installation utilizing either one of our design techniques.

Mulching of Beds
Mulch, in essence shredded or chipped tree bark, helps protects the shrubs, flowers, bulbs and trees that it surrounds by providing warm during the cooler temperatures while helping to store water and deflect heat and sunlight during the hotter and drier months. Apple Lawn Service has been providing our commercial and residential customers with various mulching schedules in order to meet their particular needs and wishes.

Mulch comes in various forms - chipped, shredded or ground. Colors also vary being either black, red, or the multitude shades of brown not to mention the newer designer shades that seem to pop up yearly.

Another added benefit of having your bed and tree rings areas mulched is that mulching, when combined with a good landscape or weed-block fabric, helps prevent weeds from constantly sprouting in the bed areas. However it must be noted that no weed block or landscape fabric can provide the magic bullet when ridding an area from weeds. Application of a pre-emergent also helps to curtail the amount of weeds that grow in the mulch beds but once again their is nothing on the market, short of asphalt and concrete, that will permanently rid your mulch beds of weeds. Most weeds that do sprout up in the mulch bed, even with a good landscape fabric that has been installed, normally are not growing from the soil beneath the mulch and fabric but instead the weeds are growing between the mulch and fabric itself. You can determine if this is the case simply by pulling the first weed you see. If the weed pulls through the fabric than it is growing in the soil beneath the fabric. However if the weed can be extracted rather easily, thus disturbing on the surrounding mulch, than the weed is growing between the mulch and fabric itself signaling that the fabric that is installed is of a good quality and performing as it should be.

At Apple Lawn Service we normally mulch our customers once in the early Spring finishing before the end of May while returning to mulch, if needed, around the middle of September or until the end of Fall depending on prevailing weather conditions.

Shrub Trimming
Apple Lawn Service normally prunes or trims all shrubs initially in the Spring at the proper time then again in late Summer, or as needed during the growing season, in order to maintain a neat and tidy appearance as indicated by good nursery practice. All shrubs are pruned in such a manner as to promote the growth of a well balanced, neat yet sturdy shrub, which will gradually allow the shrub to reach a mature size.

Spring & General Cleanups
After the cold Winter months have exhausted both itself and everyone else we at Apple Lawn Service restart the season with our Spring Cleanup rituals. After every Winter season debris from the remnants of Fall and the byproducts of the salting and cinders that accumulate on the roadways which eventually find their way into your yard area must be removed so that the turfgrass has one less item to impede it's growth during the upcoming Spring season. Apple Lawn service can remove all of this debris thus enabling your lawn to start off on the right footing for the upcoming season. In addition trees and shrubs damaged by the effects of the Winter season can be pruned back and dead or dying limbs and shrubs removed.

Walkway and Patio Installations
Before the lawns have the opportunity to take off for the season Apple Lawn Service schedules our patio and walkway installations in order to maximize the amount of usage that our clients will receive from their addition. Walkways and patios can be installed in either the early Spring, late Spring before the 4th of July, during the month of August or finally during the Fall season. The time frame is up to the client to decide which best suits their needs. Client vacation schedules can also be utilized to minimize the amount of time that our crews are on-site while the client is around. We have found that installing a customers patio or walkway while they are on vacation saves the client from having to work around our crews while at the same time affords our crews an uninterrupted work day. Whatever schedule works best for the client will work best for Apple Lawn.

Weeding of the Bed Areas
One of the tasks associated with maintaining a neat and tidy appearance at ones place also happens to be one the chores that does not rank very high on the 'Like to Do' list. Weeding has never been most clients favorite pastimes. I think that it probably centers around the fact that after someone weeds any given area it seems that after a week or ten days it tends to look as if nothing was done. At Apple Lawn Service we provide two basic plans to combat the weed problem.

The first approach is a reactive program that tackles the problem after the fact. Once weeds have started growing in a particular area they must be physically removed from that area. Application of chemicals only burns out the weed leaving plant residue behind. Physically removing by the root from the effect area is the most effective method but it does cost the client in the form of an hourly charge for the service.

The second approach is a more pro-active method of combating the weed problem. If you control the problem before it becomes unmanageable then the battle is won. As with any weeding method it is nearly impossible to completely rid and area of weeds permanently. However by utilizing a pre-emergent herbicide, which effectively halts weeds from growing in the first place, coupled with a bi-weekly herbicide program weed control can become more manageable. Another pro-active approach is the installation of a weed block fabric in the mulch bed areas. These fabrics, when properly installed, inhibits the weeds from growing while helping to maintain the needed moisture during the drier and hotter Summer months.