Service specifics FAQ Central Ohio lawn care.

Triple-shredded hardwood is our default — it holds color, breaks down slowly, and stays put on slopes. Dyed mulch (black, brown, red) and natural cedar are available on request. We do not install rubber mulch; it heats up, blocks water, and does nothing for soil over time.

Late August through mid-October is the window for cool-season grass — tall fescue, Kentucky bluegrass, and ryegrass blends, which is what almost every lawn in Central Ohio is. Spring aeration causes more harm than good because it opens the soil right when crabgrass is germinating. Fall aeration paired with overseed is the highest-impact thing you can do for the lawn.

Late March into early April, before soil temperatures cross 55°F at the 2-inch depth for five days running. In Central Ohio that is usually right around the forsythia bloom. Miss the window and the pre-emergent will not work because the seeds have already germinated.

Most evergreens (boxwood, yew, arborvitae) get the main shape in mid-May once new growth hardens off, with a touch-up in late August. Summer-blooming shrubs get pruned after they finish flowering. Spring-blooming shrubs (forsythia, lilac, azalea) get pruned right after they finish blooming, never in fall.

Pressure washing uses high-pressure water for hard surfaces — concrete driveways, brick, paver patios. Soft washing uses low pressure with a detergent for siding, shingle roofs, and painted surfaces. Pressure-washing siding drives water behind the lap and rots the sheathing, which is why we soft-wash homes, not blast them.

Two to three inches over the bed, never against the trunk of a tree or the stem of a shrub. Volcano-mulching trees suffocates the roots and invites rot. If a bed already has 2 inches of old mulch on it, we top with 1 inch — we do not just keep piling on.

Mulch the clippings back into the lawn whenever the cut is normal and dry — it returns nitrogen to the soil and reduces fertilizer need. We bag when the lawn was overgrown, when it is wet enough to clump, or when leaves in fall would smother the crown.