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Preparing for Icy Conditions ~
Admin • May 31, 2019
In central Kentucky in the winter you can expect at least one hazardous coating of ice on your walkways. Shovels and snow blowers are no match for ice, so we generally tend to use ice melting products on walkways and driveways to keep our families safe from slips and falls. For many of us, ice melting products are part of the standard equipment for winter weather preparedness; but these chemicals can take a toll on your lawn and andscape plants. Proper use and a few follow up procedures can, however, minimize or eliminate the damage done to your landscape.
What Are Your Ice Melting Options
While there are lots of brands to choose from, they all contain substantially the same few ingredients. Some products are simply labeled ‘rock salt,’ but may contain other ingredients as well. It is always good to know what is in the bag. Here’s a list of the common ingredients in ice melting products and some of their characteristics.
- Magnesium Chloride is environmentally friendly and safe for use around pets. It is effective to -13 degrees.
- Sodium Chloride (rock salt) is very inexpensive and works extremely well to about 20 degrees. It is the product most likely to damage plants and pavement.
- Potassium Chloride is environmentally friendly and safe for pets. It works to about 25 degrees but its use is becoming somewhat limited due to market demands for potassium.
- Calcium Chloride works very fast and is effective to at least -25 degrees. It leaves a brine slush that dries slowly.
- Calcium Magnesium Acetate (CMA) is environmentally friendly and works well to 20 degrees. It is primarily used in contractor settings like parking lots and streets.
All of the elements in these products are naturally occurring, pricing differences are are based on availability and or demand. Magnesium is damaging to concrete to a greater degree than non-magnesium products. Chloride products are all corrosive to some degree. Never apply ice melting products to wood (decks, etc.) or concrete that is less than a year old.
Preventing Damage
Following the package directions will help to minimize collateral damage to your landscape while using ice melting products. Chief among them are using the proper amount and spreading it evenly. Remove the snow first, you’ll want to limit the use of ice melting products to the final remnants. To apply ice melters, it’s best to use a calibrated hand held or walk behind spreader if you can. This will ensure proper, even coverage with limited waste. Don’t apply extra ice-melt for better traction, use kitty litter, coarse sand, perlite or some other gritty substance.
Avoid Too Much Salt
Rock salt is by far the leader in causing landscape damage. When dissolved in water, the sodium displaces the plants’ needed minerals in the soil, and the chloride is absorbed through plant roots and carried to the leaves to wreak havoc on its metabolic processes. Above ground, the salt’s drying effects work directly against plants’ abilities to withstand cold, dry winter conditions by damaging leaves and branches. On lawns, salt damage will be show itself in dead patches, usually in low areas where street or driveway water drains. Deciduous plants may have twig dieback or tan-brown leaf margins when the leaves emerge in spring.
Repairing Salt Damage
Even if you use a non-sodium ice melting product, runoff and spray from nearby roads can affect the landscape. The good news is that the effects can be reduced or repaired. When spring brings warmer weather, you can flush salt from your landscape foliage with water. When salt damage still appears, gypsum can help repair it – particularly on clay soils that don’t drain well – and works best if applied after core aeration. Gypsum dislodges the sodium, which allows the normal soil structure to be restored. You can generally find it in garden centers and home improvement stores, typically sold in bags like lime.
The Mow Mow’s family is here to help you prepare, prevent and repair if you’d rather leave it in the hands of professionals. Give us a call at 859-475-4500.
Either way, be prepared this season and have a safe and warm winter.
Probably not with silver bells and cockleshells*, considering there aren’t any sandy beaches in central Kentucky 😉
February 15, 2019 Lexington, KY – Mow Mow’s Landscaping is proud to announce that it has earned the home service industry’s coveted Angie’s List Super Service Award (SSA) for the second year in a row! This award honors service professionals who have maintained exceptional service ratings and reviews on Angie’s List in 2017 & 2018. “The service providers that receive our Angie’s List Super Service Award demonstrate the level of excellence that members have come to expect,” said Angie’s List Founder Angie Hicks. “These pros are top-notch and absolutely deserve recognition for the trustworthy and exemplary customer service they exhibited in the past year and overall.” Angie’s List Super Service Award 2018 winners have met strict eligibility requirements, which include maintaining an “A” rating in overall grade, recent grade and review period grade. The SSA winners must be in good standing with Angie’s List, pass a background check, record a current trade license attestation and abide by Angie’s List operational guidelines. “Mow Mow’s goal has always been to exceed our customer’s expectations in quality of work, professionalism and promptness of service. It is an honor to receive this reward and be recognized for attaining this goal for the 2nd year in a row.” – Jennifer Medrano, Owner Mow Mow’s Landscaping has been listed on Angie’s List since 2017 when the company was first launched. This is the second time Mow Mow’s Landscaping has received this honor. Service company ratings are updated continually on Angie’s List as new, verified consumer reviews are submitted. Companies are graded on an A through F scale in multiple fields ranging from price to professionalism to punctuality. For over two decades Angie’s List has been a trusted name for connecting consumers to top-rated service professionals. Angie’s List provides unique tools and support designed to improve the local service experience for both consumers and service professionals. ### For over two decades, Angie’s List has provided trusted reviews and information to help millions of consumers make smart hiring decisions. Angie’s List offers more than 10 million verified reviews in over 700 service categories, providing its members a credible resource for researching and comparing local service providers. Angie’s List is based in Indianapolis, Indiana and is an operating business of ANGI Homeservices (NASDAQ:ANGI). Contact: Steffanie Finkiewicz Angie’s List 303-963-8384 mediarelations@angieslist.com You can check out Mow Mow’s Angie’s List reviews here .
If you’ve been waiting for the perfect time to start your garden, this is it. It’s time to start seeds indoors so they’ll be ready to plant outside when spring begins in earnest. It’s a fun project to get you through the late winter period that’s really all about waiting for spring to finally come calling.
With this record setting cold, central Kentucky is experiencing what’s known as a ‘hard freeze.’ But what exactly defines a hard freeze? –
here’s plenty of time before spring comes a long, but it’s always fun to look through magazines like Southern Living at the beautiful gardens and landscapes featured there. They’re always lush and thriving, often filled with unique plants and flowers you may have never seen before. But before you start pining for that unusual flora, there are several factors to consider if you want to be successful in having the gardens of your dream. The four most important are sun, soil, water and zone – these factors are the key to having that green thumb. Unfortunately, you can’t count on a plant’s label to give you the whole story, it’s a generalization at best.
Happy New Year! With the beginning of 2019 here upon us, it’s time to start preparing your landscape to look its best in the spring. While it is easy to hide away from the cold winter weather here in central Kentucky, be sure to spend some time in January and February knocking out some simple yard work- beyond taking down the decorations you put up for the holiday season. Not sure where to start? Here are a few helpful suggestions:
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