Frequently Asked Questions

Aeration is an important part of your lawn care regimen. A weak or sickly lawn can be the result of too much thatch or of hard compacted soil.

Thatch is the layer of light brown roots, stems, and other plant parts just above the soil. Thatch can prevent water and nutrients from easily reaching the soil and it can make a cozy home for turf attacking insects and disease. Regular aeration helps to reduce the thatch layer. As the soil cores crumble and dissolve into the lawn, they speed up thatch decomposition.

Hard compacted soil can also prevent the roots from expanding and growing deep. Aeration loosens hard soil and creates thousands of mini life-saving pipelines. Water and nutrients end up where the roots can better reach them. Looser soil and better availability of water, nutrients, and air lead to thicker, deeper roots which mean a denser, healthier lawn for you. Annual aeration prevents a lot of potential problems and keeps things looking good.

Watering at night is not recommended.

A watering schedule for your lawn will depend on the maturity of the grass and the amount of rainfall. After the initial watering, newly seeded areas need to be irrigated lightly and frequently - two or three times a day, if possible – until the grass begins to establish and mature. Then the intervals between waterings can be lengthened and the amount applied at any one time increased.

Generally, we suggest waiting 24 hours before watering or mowing following lawn treatments. However, late summer grub control should be watered in as soon as possible unless rain is expected.

We provide a care guide for your new lawn. If you have not yet received yours or have misplaced it, you may access it here.

The optimum time for seeding your lawn is in the fall. Of course lawns can be seeded successfully in the spring as long as the lawn is adequately watered going into the warmer, drier summer months. If you have an irrigation system or can assure continual and consistant irrigation, then the lawn can be seeded anytime throughout the growing season. See the recommendations above for the watering needs of a new lawn.

It can take from 2 to 4 weeks for grass to grow and depends upon several factors such as seed variety, weather conditions, and irrigation. Kentucky Bluegrass is the slowest growing and takes a good 4 weeks to start growing.

Not within 6 weeks of the Pre-emergent treatment. The pre-emergent is formulated to keep crabgrass from germinating, but will also keep new grass seed from germinating as well. If your lawn has been recently seeded you would also want to wait until the grass is growing (approximately 6 weeks) before a pre-emergent treatment.

The 1st round of your lawn care program contains a pre-emergent formulated to control crabgrass. It will not control broadleaf weeds such as dandelions. The 2nd treatment contains a weed control product to treat dandelions and other broadleaf weeds.

Yes! We can test the soil and advise you of the best course of care and treatment for your lawn. Please give us a call to arrange.

Allow 7 to 10 days for the weeds to die.

No, We do not do lawn mowing.

Unlike trees in the forest that have an abundance of food from layers of decaying plant matter, the trees in your yard must compete with your lawn for water and fertilizer. Dead leaves are raked up, preventing these important sources of nutrition from reaching the tree's roots. And your lawn is often compacted by foot traffic so water has a harder time penetrating the soil.

Fertilizing is a critical step in rebuilding root systems & replenishing energy reserves. The main purpose of fertilization is not to create bigger, faster growing trees, but rather healthy, vigorous trees. Trees actively take up nutrients in the fall after the first hard frost, until most root activity ceases when the soil freezes in mid to late winter. You can help your trees to survive & thrive in the suburban landscape by having them fertilized regularly.

To schedule a deep root feeding for your trees and shrubs, call us today.

Mulch should be installed and maintained at a depth between 2 & 4 inches. Mulch that is too deep smothers the tree or plant and prevents nutrients & water from reaching the root system. Mulch should never be piled against the trunk where it can cause decay & the potential loss of the tree.

Fall and Spring are the optimum times to plant due to the natural moisture content of the soil. However, anytime is a good time to plant if the ground is not frozen and adequate moisture in the soil can be maintained.

Although many trees and shrubs can be trimmed throughout the year; there are certain varieties that have superior results when trimmed during a particular season or timeframe. Our tree care specialists can arrange for your trees to be trimmed at the proper time.

As long as there has been an interval of time between the spraying and the start of rain - approximately half of an hour, then the product has had time to reach its target. Our technicians do their best to ensure that your trees and shrubs are properly treated before the threat of rain becomes a problem.

Usually, the cable is there but is very hard to locate up between the limbs of the tree; particularly once the foilage has arrived.

Yes, we will transplant trees that are smaller than 10-12 feet in height (depending on the variety). However, transplanting is not covered by a warranty.

Several years ago Emerald ash borer was identified in a single stand of ash trees in Randolph, Cattaraugus County. More recently, in August of 2010, it has been found in Caledonia, NY in Livingston County. Please see our article on Emerald Ash Borers to answer other questions you may have.

A master plan can be designed for landscaping that will be done in two or more phases over a period of time. The entire property would be included in the master plan, with different features or sections of the project scheduled as required.

Please write in your name, full address, a brief description of the work being done. If work is being done at a different location, please fill in the address where the work is performed.

You will need to check the box to indicate if you are the owner or tenant of the property where the work is done. If you have contracted for work that is installed permantly as a part of your property, then check the box 'does not include, the sale of tangible personal property....'.  An example of tangible personal property would be the placement of potted plants or trees that could later be removed from the property. If you have purchased as a part of your project items that are not installed but merely placed on your property then you would check the box 'includes'.

Since 1981, our team of professional landscape designers, certified nursery professionals, certified arborists, tree service specialists and landscape craftsmen have been serving the needs of our clients. Birchcrest Tree & Landscape is a locally owned and managed company.

We are fully insured in accordance with NYS law. If you require proof of insurance for any project, we will be happy to provide it.

No, we do not.

We do not do snowplowing.

The most effective means of removing moles is trapping them. However, moles eat ground insects including grubs in the lawn, so a lawn care program that includes effective grub control will give them less to lunch on in your yard.