The Science Behind Commercial Lawn Mowing

The Science Behind Commercial Lawn Mowing

Having a well maintained lawn around your commercial property in Baton Rouge is a reliable way to accomplish a professional and attractive landscape. A lush, green lawn can form the basis of your exterior design or complement other landscaping and hardscaping features, all creating a welcoming exterior that shows the care you put into your property and business. 

But despite how commonplace lawns are at Baton Rouge commercial properties, they are not the easiest landscaping feature to maintain. Keeping them looking great and maintained can require far more than going over them with a lawn mower once a week. In fact, there is a science to lawn mowing that is important for guaranteeing the health and appearance of your lawn.

Correct Techniques for Mowing Commercial Lawns

Lawn care is necessary for far more than simply keeping your grass to a manageable and good looking height. When done correctly, mowing can promote healthy growth and prevent disease or pest problems. Conversely, the wrong bowing techniques can stress your glass and make it weaker.

The best strategies to use for commercial grass mowing are:

  • Mowing at the Right Time – A mowing schedule keeps you up to date on your grass cutting so that it never gets too long and you never cut it too soon. But this schedule needs more than an arbitrary number. It needs to take into account the type of grass, how fast your grass is growing, the time of year, and the amount of water and fertilizer your grass is getting, all impacting how quickly your grass grows.
  • Cut to the Right Length – Cutting grass too short stresses the blades and results in patchy areas, but you still need to cut grass short enough to ensure individual blades get all the sunlight and nutrients they need. The right height is based on grass species and growing conditions, as well as the time of year.
  • Follow the Right Path – Mowing in the same pattern over your lawn on each mowing day can cause the grass to grow in different ways. Changing up your mowing strategy at your commercial property can still provide those clean lines without harming your grass.
  • Grass Edging – Commercial landscaping does not stop after mowing. Since unkempt edges and grass growing over sidewalks can deteriorate any professional appearance gained by precise lawn mowing, services also need to include edging and trimming along sidewalks, flowerbeds, and patio spaces for sharp meat edges.
  • Work with the Right Equipment – Better equipment makes the job go faster and produces a more professional result. In addition to having the right lawn mower for the size of your commercial property’s lawn, you also need mowers and edging equipment that will let you handle any difficult parts of your landscaping, such as using zero-turn lawn mowers to safely navigate slopes on your property. 

Fine tuning a lawn mowing routine requires knowing the science behind lawn care and your grass specifically, as well as being able to observe changes that may necessitate a change in your lawn mowing

approach. This science, in addition to all of the other factors involved in lawn care including watering, fertilization, sunlight, and more, can make lawn maintenance at commercial properties a time consuming task. This is why it is often easier and more effective to leave both the science and the task of lawn mowing to the professionals at Leeson Landscape.

Our experienced commercial landscape care keeps your lawn always looking its best by using in depth science to provide for all of its needs and a customized approach that views lawn mowing as a chance to stimulate growth in your lawn rather than simply cutting it to keep it attractive.

Get more information about our commercial lawn care services in Baton Rouge when you contact police and landscape.

Selecting Turfgrass for Your Baton Rouge Commercial Property

Selecting Turfgrass for Your Baton Rouge Commercial Property

Although many commercial properties in Baton Rouge want a beautiful green lawn for a professional exterior appearance, the process of choosing your grass is often not as simple as buying a bag of grass seed and hoping it takes. All of the various types of turfgrass available in Baton Rouge have different considerations in terms of their benefits and challenges.

Knowing what you want to achieve with turfgrass at your business property – beyond a vibrant green lawn – is helpful in choosing the grass that meets your maintenance capabilities, budget, and desired appearance.

How to Choose the Right Grass for Your Lawn 

The majority of all grass seed in Baton Rouge is warm season grass. This is grass that grows best during high heat and low water conditions in spring, summer, and fall, then goes briefly dormant during the winter. Cool season grass does the opposite, making it unsuitable for most uses in Baton Rouge due to average high temperatures. 

The other factors you will want to consider when selecting grass include:

  • Soil Quality and Growing Conditions – By assessing the amount of sunlight and water, as well as soil composition and pH, you can determine which grass will grow best. Bermudagrass does not tolerate shade and needs full sun. St Augustine grass and bermudagrass both tolerate drought and centipede grass does well in acidic soils that have a high pH.
  • Maintenance Needs – The amount of mowing, fertilization, aeration, and other maintenance that grass needs varies between species. Centipedegrass is often considered the easiest to grow while some types of bermudagrass and zoysiagrass tend to be higher maintenance, so you will ideally either have a landscaping team or a budget for professional lawn care at your commercial property.
  • Space Usage – Some grasses are more ornamental and fragile, such as zoysiagrass. Others are ideal for heavy traffic and hard use, such as bermudagrass which is a common choice for athletic fields and golf courses.
  • Appearance – Another important choice, especially when you want to create a professional look, is the appearance of your lawn. Bermudagrass creates a thick dark green blade, centipedegrass has a lighter color and medium texture, zoysiagrass creates beautiful growth that looks high end, and St. Augustine grass is coarse with a blue green color.

For assistance in choosing the right grass for your lawn, Leeson Landscaping is a landscaping and lawn care company in Baton Rouge that is experienced with commercial landscaping. Once we know the look you wish to achieve at your commercial property, we can use our expertise to help you choose the right turfgrass, as well as provide all the maintenance and care it needs to grow and keep your property looking professional. Get more information on our commercial lawn care services to get started.

The Impact of Soil on Your Lawn

The Impact of Soil on Your Lawn

Like any flower, tree, or shrub in your landscaping, your lawn requires all of the right components to grow well. It needs ample sunlight, the right amount of water, and nutrients. But the other important factor that Baton Rouge lawn care experts will use to help grass reach its full potential is soil quality. 

Dirt has many different characteristics, and the soil at your property can be far different from that neighboring property. If you added soil to your lawn area or beds during the landscaping process, this adds additional differences. Understanding these characteristics of your soil is important for determining which turf will thrive in your yard and how to best maintain your lawn.

Characteristics of Soil in Baton Rouge

There are many different standards by which soil scientists classify soil. The various characteristics make certain soils the right choice for different purposes. For instance, when starting seeds, fine and lightweight soils are best to help germinating plants get the water they need. For trees and shrubs that need good draining soil, the soil should have a higher percentage of sand in it.

But these differences in soil can also determine how well grass grows in your yard:

  • Soil Composition – Soils consist of a mixture of silt, sand, and clay. The ratio impacts drainage, nutrient retention, and propensity for compaction.
  • Concentration of Organic Matter – Decomposition of natural elements creates nutrient rich soil, which is why compost is often recommended for gardens. The soil that your lawn grows in may be formulated with natural elements or can incorporate organic elements over time by absorbing decaying plants and animals.
  • Soil pH Level – pH describes how acidic or alkaline the soil is. Soil with high alkalinity limits nutrients in the soil while soil that is highly acidic can start to burn away the roots of your grass.
  • Compaction – Compacted soil leaves little room for nutrients and water to spread and makes it difficult for roots to grow down deeply.
  • Salinity – The amount of salt in soil will affect how well the dirt will retain water and nutrients, although salinity that is too high can be damaging to turf.
  • Cation Exchange Capacity – Each particle of silt, clay, and individual nutrients in soil has an ionic charge that is either positive or negative. Opposite ionic charges will attract like magnets. The right balance of nutrients to soil will ensure the right ionic exchange.

Balancing all of these different factors is key to getting a lawn that is both resilient and looks great. Because many of these characteristics are not easy to either monitor or adjust without the right equipment, working with a professional lawn care company in Baton Rouge is the best way to perfect your lawn.

Leeson Landscaping can ensure that your turfgrass and soil have everything they need with our extensive experience with lawn care and landscaping in Baton Rouge. Contact us today to learn more about our lawn care services for residential and commercial properties in your area.