Rest assured we will do what is best for your trees, shrubs, and lawn. Our primary guidance on what can, or can not, be done will be largely dictated by the general weather conditions.

The delay in getting started with our spring services is going to affect the completion of some services more than others. The timing of many services is dependent on the weather, so we are closely monitoring general weather conditions, high & low daily temperatures, and tree/shrub leaf development. All of these are predictors of what services we will, or will not, be able to complete on time.

Insect / Disease Control for Trees & Shrubs

The late start due to the Stay at Home order might not have too much of an effect on getting scheduled Plant Health Care services done. The weather this spring has been on our side in this regard. Average high temperatures for April for our area is 58°F, but as of April 15 the average temperature for April has been 45°F. This means the trees are not leafing out as soon as normal and insect activity will also be delayed.

A metric that is used to predict insect activity is called Growing Degree Days. Typically, by mid April we have accumulated 40.1 growing degree days in metro Detroit. This year we are at 32 growing degree days, which reinforces that we are experiencing a later start to spring than normal.

With that being said we are concerned about clients scheduled to receive Zimmerman Pine Moth or White Pine Weevil treatments. We are typically completing these treatments before the end of April. Also, spring dormant oil treatments will need to be switched to fall dormant oil or changed to a different treatment, depending on what pest was being targeted. As the month progresses we will continue to monitor the growing degree days to determine which treatments can, or can not, be effectively done.

Lawn fertilization, weed control and crabgrass pre-emergent

Even with the cooler weather, I don’t think the prognosis with lawns is as rosy as it is with our trees and shrubs. With cool, moist weather I doubt our lawns will mind waiting until May or June to get their first fertilization. They will grow just fine and, for the most part, look pretty green. The real problem here could be getting your lawn mowed. At this point the Governor doesn’t consider lawn mowing to be essential, so some lawns might be a little overgrown by May 1^st.

Broadleaf weed growth should be somewhat delayed if the cooler weather prevails, but I’m sure we’ll be seeing most dandelions blooming before the Stay at Home order is lifted.

The greatest impact the Stay at Home order will have on lawns will be getting crabgrass pre-emergent applied on time. Normally, we have about six weeks, from early April to mid May, to apply crabgrass pre-emergent. If the Stay at Home order is lifted on May 1^st the optimum window for applying crabgrass pre-emergent will be reduced to two weeks. Is any company going to be able to cram six weeks worth of work into two weeks? Pretty doubtful.

However, all is not lost on the crabgrass front. Fortunately, all crabgrass plants don’t germinate at the same time. Mid May is just the general point in time when it is possible for crabgrass germination to occur. Crabgrass seeds can germinate anytime from late spring through the fall. Crabgrass will germinate whenever the conditions are right for that particular crabgrass seed. So, even a pre-emergent treatment applied after mid May will provide some level of control. Secondly, one of the crabgrass pre-emergent products we will be using this spring will control young crabgrass plants even after they have germinated. Lastly, we are already anticipating we will need to spend some extra time applying crabgrass post-emergent crabgrass treatments. While crabgrass post-emergent sprays don’t always completely kill a crabgrass plant they do stop, or at least minimize, the seed production of the plant. This is important in that crabgrass seeds can remain viable in the soil for decades.

Lawn aeration & overseeding

We think we’ll have time to get all aeration & overseeding jobs done in early May. Properties scheduled for just lawn aeration may need to be rescheduled for the fall. The determination on both of these services will be contingent on prevailing weather conditions.

Landscaping

Most landscaping jobs we have on the books now should be able to be done. There are some jobs that could be delayed depending on what plants are available. Nurseries have been allowed to maintain and dig plants for the spring; and I have seen a couple truck loads of trees being delivered over the last couple weeks. However, because most nursery offices are closed, I don’t know if they are being fully supplied with material this spring.

If a service does need to be cancelled because it cannot be completed within the appropriate time range we will communicate with you to determine if an alternate solution exists to control the pest in question and keep your plants as healthy as possible.