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18 Pro Lawn & Landscape Tips for Spring

lawn and landscaping pro tips

Winter weather can often make us overlook some of our outdoor upkeep duties. Who wants to be outside any longer than necessary when it’s cold, windy, wet, or snowy?

While we can’t blame you for wanting to stay inside where it’s warm, when spring arrives, there’s quite the list of to-do’s to get your lawn and landscape ready for the warm weather.

Custom Lawn has made the ultimate spring to-do list. Follow this and you won’t miss a thing:

Lawn Items

1. Clean Up the Leaves

You may have cleaned up most of your leaves last fall, but over the long winter, more leaves have blown into your lawn and collected in corners and under bushes.

Once the snow has melted, you may find that those leaves you ignored during the fall are still there.

Take this chance to go over your yard and remove any and all of them. Rotting leaves are not only a mess, but they can kill your lawn if left for too long and give unwanted bugs a place to hang out.

2. Give Fleas & Ticks the Flick

Most people think that wintertime means no fleas, ticks, or other crawling creatures.

While this can be true if you live in an area that gets a “true” winter (i.e. very cold for two to three consecutive months with a good chance of snowfall), areas that are more unpredictable, like Kansas City, may not stay cold enough to interrupt the life cycle of fleas and ticks.

Have your yard sprayed for fleas and ticks to help break that lifecycle and get you well on your way to a bug-free spring and summer.

4. Apply Pre-Emergent Herbicide to Prevent Weeds

Pre-emergent herbicide (sometimes referred to as crabgrass preventer) needs to be applied early, usually before April 15th in the KC area.

Applying a pre-emergent will prevent any weeds that are germinating from popping out of the ground.

It creates a barrier on the top of your lawn that kills the weeds when they reach it. It is the best way to prevent crabgrass, that once it’s established is very hard to kill.

5. Give Your Plants a Fertilizer Feast

Springtime is like morning for your yard. It’s been sleeping all winter long, and when it wakes up, like you, it wants something to eat.

Apply some fertilizer so your grass and other plants can wake up to a delicious feast to fill it up for the season. Slow release fertilizer will help the lawn stay green well into the late summer months

Related Read: 3 Steps to a Greener Lawn

6. Sod Bare Spots

Bare spots on Lawn

Some areas may have taken a little too much abuse last year and are thin or bare. Sod these small areas so they will be green and healthy all summer

7. Sharpen Mower Blades

Be sure lawn mower is tuned up and ready to go for the year with sharp blades. It’s always a good idea to start the season with nice, sharp blades.

Your lawn mower sees some real abuse over the long mowing season and dull blades can cause damage to your grass.

Split and splintered blades of grass invite disease. Bring the blades by our office if you want us to sharpen them.

8. Set Up Lawn Care Programs

Lawn care starts in February. The first fertilizer and weed control treatment happens in early spring.

If you are going to hire a lawn care company, sign up now so you don’t miss out on the first treatment of the season.

Landscape & Flower Beds

9. Prune Perennials

pruning perennials

Prune back perennials including knockout roses (before April 1st).

Prune any overgrown plants before they begin to put on new growth (be careful not to prune plants that flower on new growth or you will reduce your plant’s blossoms).

10. Edge & Mulch Landscape Beds

Redefine edges or add edging where needed to  existing flower beds. Add fresh mulch to all flower and landscape beds.

11. Apply Pre-Emergent Herbicide to Beds

The ideal time to apply pre-emergent herbicides is when soil temperatures consistently reach 55 degrees at a depth of 4 inches.

When the application is made too late, the product doesn’t have enough time to work before seeds germinate. Once seeds germinate, many pre-emergent herbicides are ineffective.

Trees & Shrubs

12. Spray Trees & Shrubs

add mulch around trees

Prevent disease on susceptible trees & shrubs (including emerald ash borer prevention).

13. Mulch around Trees

Add mulch and put pre-emergent herbicide around your trees to prevent mower damage.

Sprinkler Check

14. Run Sprinkler System and Look for Leaks

Winter can cause damage to underground pipes causing them to freeze and crack which causes leaks in the spring.

15. Check Sprinkler Heads

sprinkler head spraying water

Sprinkler heads may have been damaged by weather, snow shovels, or even burrowing animals.

Don’t wait until you need your sprinkler system to find out it has a problem.

Landscape Lighting

16. Repair Broken Lighting

Check and repair any broken outdoor lighting. Landscape lighting takes a lot of abuse in the winter.

17. Look for Loose Wires

Replace any burned out lights on porches, lamp posts, or path lighting.

18. GFCI Outlets

Upgrade any outdoor outlets that are not GFCI protected. GFCI (ground fault circuit interrupter) is a safety device that shuts off an electric power circuit when it detects that current is flowing along an unintended path, such as through water or a person.

No Time? Call the Professionals at Custom Lawn & Landscape

Regardless of the season, there’s always some type of something that you should be doing to keep things looking and growing their best. Call Custom Lawn & Landscape today at (913) 782-8315 to book your spring maintenance appointment and get the best looking yard on the block! We offer lawn care and lawn mowing in Leawood, Shawnee, Olathe, Mission, Overland Park, KS and the Kansas City metro area.



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  • Always available with a friendly voice.
  • Our goal is to always provide honest advice & real solutions to our customers.
  • We provide full service-residential & commercial lawn care, mowing, & irrigation services. We also maintain your trees, shrubs and landscape.
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    Our experience with Customer Landscape has from the beginning been amazing. Everyone has been easy to work with.

    Sean O’Dwyer lets us know when he will be at our home. He is very detailed with what treatment he will doing and the condition of our lawn and what we need to do.

    This is our second season with Custom Lawn and Landscape and we have never been disappointed with the service and communication we have received from Sean and the rest of the staff.
    Jason did a tremendous job repairing a break in the irrigation system and getting the sprinklers ready for the year. He was very knowledgeable, easy to work with, and communicative. I’ll be working with Custom on winterization of my sprinklers moving forward.
    Jason is very professional, polite and takes great care of us year after year!
    Custom lawn have always taken great care of us. Highly recommend!
    Sean O’D took over the lawn care for my yard last year. It was in poor to mediocre shape with wild violets and bare spots. But after a year under his care, this spring my lawn is like green carpet. Deep green color and thick without weeds, violets and bare spots. My neighbors have commented on how lush my lawn looks. I’m very pleased.
    Talk to Troy today and he was extremely accommodating and eilling to customize services for our needs! I left today feeling like my patronage mattered!
    Seth is simply the best, he’s been servicing our yard for years. He is wonderful to partner with, gives solid advice and solutions for our yard. If it weren’t for him, our yard would look as beautiful as it does. His customer service is truly off the charts exceptional and he is very appreciated!
    We are absolutely thrilled with the results of Cole Jensen's work from Custom Lawn! Throughout the year, Cole has diligently applied fertilizer to our lawn. Our lawn is lush, green, and immaculate, standing out beautifully compared to our neighbors' yards, which are plagued with weeds and dandelions. Cole's expertise and dedication have truly made a difference, and we couldn't be happier with the service provided. Thank you, Cole, for giving us a lawn we can be proud of!
    Our technician, Sean O’Dwyer, has done a great job on our lawn! I appreciate the advance notice that our yard will be serviced and he takes great care that our dogs don’t escape!
    We had winterization done by technician Rene Flores and he was patient, respectful, and detailed-oriented. I was very happy about his great service and will sign up again next year!
    Seth is simply the best, he’s been servicing our yard for years. He is wonderful to partner with, gives solid advice and solutions for our yard. If it weren’t for him, our yard would look as beautiful as it does. His customer service is truly off the charts exceptional and he is very appreciated!
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    Seth, at Custom Lawn and Landscape, is doing doing great job bringing our lawn back to life. After only a couple treatments it's already made a world of difference.
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    I AM SO HAPPY WITH CUSTOM LAWN AND LANDSCAPE! MY GRASS WAS 2 FT TALL. NOW MY YARD IS SO BEAUTIFUL. THANKS TO TROY AND SAM. THANKS TO FRANCISCO AND JOSE P. YOU ALL ARE WONDERFUL FOLKS. YOU GUYS ARE 10 STARS IN MY BOOK. THANKS AGAIN!!!!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
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    I wanted to thank Chad for all of his work turning on and replacing heads in our sprinkler system. He has excellent attention to details and is very friendly.
    Our experience with Customer Landscape has from the beginning been amazing. Everyone has been easy to work with.

    Sean O’Dwyer lets us know when he will be at our home. He is very detailed with what treatment he will doing and the condition of our lawn and what we need to do.

    This is our second season with Custom Lawn and Landscape and we have never been disappointed with the service and communication we have received from Sean and the rest of the staff.
    Cole is always awesome and quick with recommendations. Our lawn has never looked better. Customer lawn has given us the perfect lawn!
    Aric Peters
    We LOVE our guy Cole!
    Thank you for always greeting our crazy dogs and helping me pick their toys up at the last minute (I’m sorry 😬)! We appreciate you moving with us and the great service!
    Rene provided us with great service and helped especially with our box demonstrating how it worked and some of the quirks with our system.
    Cole does a nice job, communicates well and my lawn looks great.
    Custom Lawn & Landscape does a fantastic job of taking care of our yard and their communication and information are top notch!
    Cole is not only kind , professional but exceptional in his work ethic. I appreciate all he does for my lawn care. Thank you Cole🌻
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    Just like to say Seth our lawn technician does a great job! Our lawn looks great. Thanks Seth
    Sean never misses a spot. He genuinely cares about my lawn and customers. Great communication as well. Thanks
    Sean O’ Dwyer has been taking care of our yard for the past several seasons and it is always immaculate because of the work he does. I never have to worry about weeds, sparse grass or anything. He is always detailed about what he does! Thank you Sean
    Our technician, Sean O’Dwyer, has done a great job on our lawn! I appreciate the advance notice that our yard will be serviced and he takes great care that our dogs don’t escape!
    Cole does a good job keeping me up to date on his servicing of the lawn. Have been pleased with Custom Lawn for a long time.
    We love custom lawn and landscape. They have great technicians but our favorite is Cole Jensen. He proactively communicates with us what day he will be coming. He always gives us great feedback on the condition of our lawn and information about each application he applies. He is kind and easy to work with!
    Michele Schwab
    Thank you to Troy Wingert and his team for customizing a program for my lawn. Great customer experience and look forward to working with Troy and crew moving forward!!!
    Talk to Troy today and he was extremely accommodating and eilling to customize services for our needs! I left today feeling like my patronage mattered!
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    Jason is very professional, polite and takes great care of us year after year!
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    Cole at Custom Lawn does a great job of keeping us advised on the needs of our lawn. He responds to our requests quickly. Cole lets us know when treatment is scheduled and never treats our lawn unless we have given the ok. We appreciate Cole’s high level of communication. We have used Custom Lawn for 2 years and notice and HUGE difference in our lawn. It is beautiful!!!!
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    We are very pleased with the service we recieved from Custom Lawn. Jason was very helpful, professional and efficient. He arrived on time, explained the services he was to perform and he was able to troubleshoot and rectify another problem we were having with our sprinkler system. Thank you for the great customer service.
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    We are absolutely thrilled with the results of Cole Jensen's work from Custom Lawn! Throughout the year, Cole has diligently applied fertilizer to our lawn. Our lawn is lush, green, and immaculate, standing out beautifully compared to our neighbors' yards, which are plagued with weeds and dandelions. Cole's expertise and dedication have truly made a difference, and we couldn't be happier with the service provided. Thank you, Cole, for giving us a lawn we can be proud of!
    Sean O’D took over the lawn care for my yard last year. It was in poor to mediocre shape with wild violets and bare spots. But after a year under his care, this spring my lawn is like green carpet. Deep green color and thick without weeds, violets and bare spots. My neighbors have commented on how lush my lawn looks. I’m very pleased.
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    Jason did a tremendous job repairing a break in the irrigation system and getting the sprinklers ready for the year. He was very knowledgeable, easy to work with, and communicative. I’ll be working with Custom on winterization of my sprinklers moving forward.
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    CWO.