Reference
Lawn care glossary for Central Ohio homeowners
Plain-English definitions of the terms that show up in quotes, contracts, and blog posts. Written by an owner-operator running weekly routes across Pickaway, Franklin, Fairfield, Ross, and Fayette counties. 29 terms across 6 categories.
Lawn care basics
- Cool-season grass
- Grass varieties that grow most actively in spring and fall when soil temps are 50-65°F. Central Ohio lawns are almost all cool-season — tall fescue, Kentucky bluegrass, and perennial ryegrass. These grasses slow down or go dormant in mid-summer heat, which is normal, not death.
- Tall fescue (TTTF)
- The most common lawn grass in Central Ohio. Turf-Type Tall Fescue (TTTF) is heat- and drought-tolerant for a cool-season grass, has deeper roots than Kentucky bluegrass, and tolerates the heavy clay soils common to Pickaway, Franklin, and Ross counties. Mow at 3.5-4 inches.
- Kentucky bluegrass (KBG)
- Cool-season grass with finer blades and a darker blue-green color than tall fescue. Self-repairs via underground stems (rhizomes), which is why old lawns with KBG fill in bare spots on their own. Less drought-tolerant; takes longer to establish from seed.
- Dormancy vs death
- Dormant grass is brown but alive — crowns are intact and growth resumes when conditions improve. Dead grass has decayed crowns and won't recover. Pull a tiller of brown grass: if the crown at the base is firm and slightly green, it's dormant. If it pulls apart and is brown all the way down, it's dead.
- Mowing height
- Distance from the ground to the cut tip of the grass blade. Central Ohio cool-season turf does best at 3.5-4 inches. Scalping (mowing below 2.5 inches) stresses the crown and exposes soil to weed germination. Mow weekly to remove no more than 1/3 of the blade at a time.
- Crown
- The white-ish growing point at the base of every grass plant, just above the soil line. The crown stores energy reserves and produces new blades and roots. Damage to the crown kills the plant; damage to blades or roots is recoverable.
Lawn maintenance services
- Core aeration
- Mechanically pulling 2-3 inch soil plugs out of the lawn at 4-6 plugs per square foot to relieve compaction and open the soil to water, air, and nutrients. Done with a walk-behind or tow-behind aerator. The only aeration method that actually works long-term on Central Ohio's heavy clay subsoils.
- Overseeding
- Broadcasting grass seed over an existing lawn to fill thin spots and introduce improved varieties. Most effective immediately after core aeration (the plug holes give seed-to-soil contact). Best window in Central Ohio: late August through mid-October.
- Slit seeding
- Using a slit-seeder (vertical-blade machine) to cut narrow furrows in the soil and drop seed directly. Better seed-to-soil contact than broadcast overseeding but harder on the existing turf. Often used for thin or patchy lawns that need a heavier seed rate than overseeding-after-aeration delivers.
- Pre-emergent herbicide
- A herbicide applied before weed seeds germinate. For crabgrass control in Central Ohio, the application window is when soil temps hit 55°F for five days straight — usually the first two weeks of April. Apply too early and it breaks down before germination; too late and weeds are already up.
- Post-emergent herbicide
- Herbicide applied after weeds have germinated and are visibly growing. Selective post-emergents target broadleaf weeds (dandelions, clover) without killing grass. Non-selective post-emergents kill everything — used for spot-treating and bed prep, not over open lawn.
- Winterizer fertilizer
- The final fertilizer application of the year, applied between October 25 and November 15 in Central Ohio. Higher in potassium (K) to harden the crown for cold tolerance. Drives root growth into early winter and primes early spring green-up. The most important feeding of the year for cool-season turf.
- NPK ratio
- The three numbers on every fertilizer bag — nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium. A 24-0-6 bag is 24% N, 0% P, 6% K by weight. Central Ohio lawns rarely need phosphorus (the middle number) because clay soils retain it; many bags now ship as 0-0 in the middle slot to comply with state runoff rules.
Beds and landscaping
- Mulch
- A surface layer of organic or inorganic material on landscape beds. Suppresses weeds, retains soil moisture, regulates root temperature, and breaks down into organic matter. Optimal depth is 2-3 inches. Deeper smothers roots; shallower doesn't suppress weeds. Refresh annually as the lower layer decomposes.
- Bed edge / bed line
- The clean line where the landscape bed meets the lawn. Re-cut each spring with a flat spade or motorized edger to a 3-4 inch vertical wall. A crisp bed edge is the single biggest curb-appeal upgrade for a residential property and the easiest sign that someone is actually maintaining the landscape.
- Bed prep
- Everything that happens before fresh mulch goes down. Includes pulling weeds, removing old/depleted mulch, raking soil smooth, re-cutting the bed edge, and (sometimes) applying pre-emergent into the soil. The mulch install itself is the easy part; bed prep is where the labor sits.
- Volcano mulching
- Piling mulch up against the trunk of a tree in a cone shape. Looks tidy but holds moisture against the bark, encourages rot, and invites rodents to chew the bark under cover. Always leave a 2-3 inch gap of bare soil between mulch and trunk. This is one of the most common landscape mistakes.
- Cubic yard (mulch math)
- The volume unit for bulk mulch delivery. One cubic yard covers about 100 square feet at 3 inches deep, or about 160 square feet at 2 inches deep. To calculate yards needed: bed area in square feet × depth in feet ÷ 27. A typical front-bed refresh is 2-3 cubic yards.
Pressure & soft washing
- Pressure washing
- High-pressure water spray (typically 1500-3000+ PSI) used to clean hard surfaces — concrete, brick, paver, fence, deck. Wrong for siding, painted wood, or shingle roofs because the pressure drives water behind laps, into electrical, and strips paint. Right for driveways, patios, sidewalks, hardscape.
- Soft washing
- Low-pressure (100-500 PSI) detergent-based cleaning for porous and painted surfaces. Uses sodium hypochlorite plus surfactant to kill mildew, algae, and organic growth, then thoroughly rinses. The correct method for vinyl siding, painted wood, stucco, shingle roofs, and gutter faces.
- Surfactant
- A chemical that breaks the surface tension of water so cleaning solution clings to a vertical surface long enough to work. Without surfactant, soft-wash chemistry runs straight off siding before it has time to kill mildew. Adding surfactant is what makes a soft-wash work, not the water pressure.
- PSI
- Pounds per square inch — the unit of water pressure. Homeowner-grade washers run 1500-2000 PSI. Commercial gas-powered washers run 3000-4000 PSI. Soft-washing is intentionally LOWER pressure with chemistry doing the work. PSI alone isn't a quality signal — too much is worse than too little on the wrong surface.
Trees and shrubs
- Dormant pruning
- Pruning trees and shrubs while they're dormant (no leaves, no active growth) — generally December through early March in Central Ohio. Wounds heal cleaner, you can see structure clearly, and there's less risk of disease entry. The best window for most major shaping cuts on deciduous trees and shrubs.
- Stump grinding
- Mechanically grinding a tree stump below grade with a high-RPM toothed wheel. Standard depth is 6-12 inches below the surrounding lawn so you can replant or seed grass on top. Doesn't remove lateral roots — those decompose in place over a few years. Less invasive than full stump excavation.
- Hedge shearing vs selective pruning
- Shearing means flat-cutting hedges and shrubs to a uniform shape with a hedge trimmer. Selective pruning means cutting individual branches with hand pruners or loppers to maintain natural form. Most flowering shrubs prefer selective pruning; tight formal hedges need shearing.
Commercial / contracts
- COI (Certificate of Insurance)
- A document from a contractor's insurance company proving they carry general liability and workers' comp coverage. Required by most commercial property managers and HOAs before any work starts. Should list the property owner as an additional insured. Never hire a commercial-property crew without a current COI.
- Scope of work
- The written description of exactly what services are included in a contract — mowing frequency, mowing height, trim/edge/blow-off inclusion, mulch refresh schedule, leaf cleanup, snow removal, etc. Vague scope of work is the #1 source of vendor-vs-board disputes on HOA contracts.
- Per-visit vs season contract
- Per-visit pricing charges for each cut at a fixed rate. Season contracts charge a flat amount divided into monthly payments over the season (typically April-November). Per-visit is more transparent; season contracts give the vendor smoother cash flow. Neither is inherently better — it depends on property and customer preference.
- CAM (Common Area Maintenance)
- Standard accounting term for the expenses shared across tenants of a commercial property — including landscape maintenance, snow removal, parking lot cleaning, and lighting. CAM-friendly invoicing means separating line items the way property managers need them for tenant chargebacks.
Use the glossary while reading
Educational guides
Deep-dive guides on aeration, mulch, fertilizer schedules, and washing.
Month-by-month calendar
What to do each month on a Central Ohio property.
Blog
Weekly posts on seasonal lawn care and Central Ohio specifics.
Pricing transparency
What drives the price for each service — explained honestly.
FAQ
42 questions about scheduling, contracts, damage, and what's included.
Services
Mowing, mulch, hedge work, soft and pressure washing, aeration, stump grinding.
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