Watering a lawn in North Alabama
How much water a lawn here actually needs, how to measure what your sprinkler puts down, and why a forecast is not the same thing as water in the ground.
Read the watering guide
Answers
Frequently asked questions
Estimates, schedules, contracts and pricing, then the questions that come up about each individual service. If yours is not here, call and ask.
Working with HRH Lawn Care
Do you charge for an estimate?
No. Estimates are free. We come out, walk the property with you and give you a price before any work starts. Randy is on a lot of the visits himself.
What does a basic lawn visit include?
Cutting, trimming where the mower cannot reach, and blowing the clippings off the drive and the walks before we leave. That is the $55 starting service. Anything else on the property is quoted separately so you can see what you are paying for.
Do I have to sign an annual contract?
No. We offer weekly, every other week and monthly property maintenance with or without an annual contract. Plenty of our customers have simply kept the same slot for years without one.
What areas do you cover?
Marshall County and the towns around it: Guntersville, Albertville, Arab, Boaz, Sardis City, Douglas, Grant, Horton and Snead. If you are not sure whether you are in range, call and ask.
Are you licensed and insured?
Yes. HRH Lawn Care Services LLC is licensed and insured, and has been operating in Marshall County since 1991.
Do you work for businesses and apartment communities as well as homes?
Yes. We handle residential, commercial, estates and apartment complexes. Property managers get a dedicated contact point, so when something needs attention you are not starting from scratch explaining who you are.
What happens if it rains on my scheduled day?
We reschedule it, and there is no rescheduling fee. Just give us a call, or wait for us to call you. Weather moves the round for everybody at some point in the season.
Do you do Christmas lights?
Yes, start to finish. We install them, look after them through the season, and take them down and store them when the season closes. Call early, because the calendar fills up.
Do you clear leaves in the fall?
Yes, and it matters more than most people think. Leaves left on a lawn hold water against the grass and block the light, and you spend the spring bringing the lawn back. Spring and fall clean-ups start at $75.
What if I am not happy with the work?
Tell us and we will come back and put it right. We take personal responsibility for the property and we stand behind everything we do. That is the whole guarantee, and it does not have conditions attached.
How do I get started?
Call 256-506-9006, or send a message through the contact form. We will arrange a time to come and look, and you will have a price before anything happens.
Can HRH handle everything on a property, or just the mowing?
Everything on this list can sit on the same schedule and the same invoice. Plenty of customers start with regular mowing and add bed work, mulch, pruning or a seasonal cleanup as it comes up, rather than booking each one as a separate job with a separate company.
Do I have to take a package, or can I pick single services?
Either. Some services suit a regular schedule and some are once or twice a year jobs. There is no bundle you have to buy into, and adding or dropping something is a phone call.
What if the work I need is not on the list?
Ask. Some things fall inside what the crews already do and can simply be added to a visit. Some are a different trade - large tree work and gutter repair are the two that come up most - and in that case we will say so and point you at somebody who does it rather than take the job.
Weed Control and Fertilization
Will one treatment get rid of my weeds for good?
No, and nobody can honestly promise that. A single application can knock back what is growing at the time, but seed arrives every year on the wind, on machinery and from neighboring ground, and dormant seed already in the soil can germinate seasons later. What a program is intended to do is keep the pressure low enough that turf stays the stronger plant, and deal with each flush as it appears.
Why does weed control need more than one visit a year?
Because preventing weeds and treating visible weeds are two different jobs done at different points in the season. Prevention has to land in the window before seed germinates, which moves with soil temperature rather than falling on a fixed date. Treating what is already up is separate work again, and different weeds appear at different times of year.
Do I need a soil test?
It is worth doing if a lawn has been fed and still is not responding. A test reports what nutrients are present and the soil pH, and pH is often the missing piece: nutrients can be in the ground and still be largely unavailable to the plant if the pH has drifted. It turns a fertilizer decision from an assumption into a measurement.
Lawn Care Maintenance
How short should my lawn be cut?
There is no single right height for every lawn. It depends on the type of grass, how much sun the area gets, whether the lawn is irrigated and the time of year. The rule the crews work to is to take no more than about a third of the leaf off in one cut, because going further stresses the plant and exposes the soil underneath. Deck heights are set to what is actually growing on your property and adjusted through the season.
Should I choose weekly or every other week?
Most properties run weekly through the fastest part of the growing season and every other week either side of it. Weekly suits a lawn that is fed, watered or simply vigorous. Every other week works well for shaded or slower-growing lawns and for much of spring and fall. Monthly suits the dormant months or a lot being kept clear rather than manicured. You are not locked in, and plenty of customers move between them as the season turns.
Do you clear the driveway and walks afterwards?
Yes. Blowing the drive, the walks and the patio clear is part of every visit, not an extra. Clippings left on concrete stain it as they break down and wash into beds and storm drains with the next rain.
Turf Management
My lawn is green. Does that mean it is healthy?
Not necessarily. Color mostly tells you about the leaf, and specifically about nitrogen. A lawn pushed hard on nitrogen can look excellent while being soft, shallow rooted and more prone to disease. Density, how quickly the lawn recovers from traffic, and how it holds up through a dry spell are better signals, and they are slower ones.
My grass turns brown every winter. Is it dead?
Almost certainly not. Most turf across Marshall County is warm-season grass, which goes dormant when the temperature drops: top growth stops and the color goes while the crown and roots stay alive. It normally greens back up from the bottom as the soil warms in spring.
Why does one part of my lawn look worse than the rest?
Usually because it is a different environment rather than a different lawn. Sun, shade, drainage, compaction from traffic and how much water reaches an area all vary across a single property, and a program applied evenly across all of it will suit one area and disappoint another. Damage also gets looked at before it is treated, because drought stress, insect damage and disease can look similar from a distance.
Flower Bed Maintenance
How deep should mulch be in a planting bed?
A moderate, even layer. Too thin and light still reaches the soil and weeds come through; too thick and it can shed light rain before it reaches the roots and hold the ground wetter and cooler than the planting wants. The firm rule is that mulch is kept back off stems and trunks rather than piled against them.
How often do beds need attention?
Through the growing season, regularly rather than occasionally. A bed left three weeks in June is not in the condition it was in May, and a bed left a season is usually a rebuild rather than a tidy-up. Pulling a small weed disturbs almost nothing; clearing an established one takes soil structure with it.
Is replanting a bed the same as bed maintenance?
No. Maintenance keeps an existing bed in the condition it was designed to be in and runs to a schedule and a predictable price. Reshaping a bed, moving an edge or replanting it is design and construction work with a start and an end, and it is looked at and quoted as its own job.
Seasonal Flowers
When do seasonal flowers get changed out?
Broadly, cool-season annuals go in as the heat comes off and carry through the cooler months, and warm-season annuals go in once the risk of cold has passed. Exact timing moves with the weather every year, so dates are set as the season arrives rather than promised in advance, and how long anything holds its bloom depends on the year it is given.
Can you plant flowers anywhere on my property?
Light, drainage and water availability decide what will do well in a given spot, and no amount of aftercare fixes a bad match. A bed with no irrigation and nobody home in July is a different proposition from one on a system. Those are questions worth answering before the plants are chosen rather than after.
What happens to plants that fail during the season?
They get replaced rather than left to drag the bed down. A single failed plant in the middle of a block is more noticeable than a gap. Beds are looked over on the regular visits, so declining plants are usually picked up early.
Hedge Trimming and Pruning
When should hedges and shrubs be pruned?
As a rule the structural pruning is best done in the dormant months. A lot of people prefer more frequent light shaping to keep the size and the shape right, and that is fine too. We will tell you which one your plants actually want.
What is the difference between trimming and pruning?
Trimming is shaping the outside of a shrub or hedge so it looks the way it is meant to look. Pruning is removing specific growth for the sake of the plant: what is dead, damaged, crossing or crowding. A hedge can be trimmed neatly for years and still be hollow inside, which is what pruning is there to prevent.
Do you do large tree work?
No. Crews handle hedges, shrubs and tree work that can be reached and done safely from the ground. Large tree work, anything requiring climbing, or removal near a structure is a separate trade with separate equipment and qualifications. We will say so and point you at somebody who does it.
Why should shrubs not all be cut into the same shape?
Shearing everything into the same rounded shape year after year builds a dense outer shell and a hollow interior, and leaves the plant slightly larger every year until it is over the walk or up the window. At that point the only remedy is cutting back into old wood, which many plants regrow from slowly if at all. Cutting to a size the plant can hold, and thinning as well as shearing, avoids that.
Mulch and Pine Straw
How much is mulch and pine straw?
Mulch is delivered and installed at $85 per cubic yard with a $100 minimum. Pine straw is delivered and installed starting at $0.40 per square foot with an $85 minimum.
Should I use mulch or pine straw?
Both do the same basic job and neither is right everywhere. Pine straw knits together and tends to stay put on slopes, and it looks at home around established pines. Shredded mulch is heavier, holds a crisper line in formal beds near the house, and is measured and sold by the cubic yard rather than by the square foot.
Can you put down too much mulch?
Yes, and it is the more common mistake. A very thick layer can shed light rain before it reaches the root zone, hold the ground wetter and cooler than the planting wants, and restrict air to the roots. Mulch is also kept clear of stems and trunk flares rather than heaped around them, because bark held permanently damp invites rot and pests.
How do you work out how much mulch a bed needs?
By measuring. Mulch is sold and installed by the cubic yard, which is a volume rather than an area, so how far a yard goes depends on the depth it is spread to. Pine straw is priced by the square foot, so it needs the bed area alone. Either way the estimate is done on site and it is free.
Bedding Rock and Gravel
Is a rock bed maintenance free?
No, it is lower maintenance rather than no maintenance. Rock does not need topping up every year the way mulch does, which is a real saving, but leaves and debris still have to be cleared out, weeds still have to be dealt with, and material still needs topping back up occasionally where it has moved or settled.
Does landscape fabric stop weeds under rock?
It slows weeds coming up from the soil below, and it does nothing about the ones that arrive from above. Dust and leaf litter collect between stones and gradually build a thin layer of soil on top of the fabric, and seed germinates in that layer. It is one component of keeping a bed clean rather than the answer to it.
When is rock a better choice than mulch?
In the places organic mulch keeps disappearing: drip lines, slopes, drainage runs and high-traffic edges. The trade-off is that stone contributes nothing to the soil, where mulch breaks down and improves it, so heavily planted ornamental beds are often better in mulch. It is also expensive to reverse, so it is worth being sure first.
Leaf Removal and Seasonal Cleanup
What happens if leaves are left on the lawn over winter?
A heavy leaf cover blocks light and holds moisture against the turf, so the grass underneath cannot photosynthesize and the crowns stay wet for weeks. What comes out from under it in spring is usually thin and slow to recover, and thin turf in spring is exactly what weed seed is looking for.
Can leaves just be mulched into the lawn instead?
Sometimes. A light scattering can be shredded into the turf with a mower, where it breaks down and returns organic matter to the soil. That only works when the shredded material disappears down into the grass rather than sitting on top of it. Under a mature canopy, or where the layer has already matted, removal is the answer.
When is the best time for a leaf cleanup?
It depends on the trees on your property rather than on a date. Some species drop early and quickly, oaks tend to hold on and drop late, and pines shed on their own schedule. Wind matters as much as species. Most properties want more than one pass through the fall, and clearing while the leaves are still loose is a considerably smaller job than clearing a wet, compacted mat in January.
Pressure Washing
Will pressure washing damage my siding or deck?
It can, if the wrong pressure is used, which is why the surface decides the method rather than the other way round. High pressure suits solid concrete; on soft or aged timber it raises the grain, on vinyl siding it can drive water behind the panels, and on coated surfaces it can take the coating off. Lower-pressure cleaning is the appropriate method on a good deal of what is on a house.
Can you remove every stain from my driveway?
No. Washing removes what is sitting on a surface: dirt, algae, mildew and general weathering. Oil, rust, tannin and paint that have soaked into porous concrete have gone into the material rather than sitting on it. Those usually improve, often a lot, but they are not reliably eliminated, and anything that has etched the concrete itself is not dirt any more.
Do you pressure wash roofs?
Roof cleaning is looked at on site before anything is quoted, and high pressure is not something we would recommend on a roof in any circumstances. If a roof is not a suitable job we will say so rather than take it on.
Gutter Cleaning
How much is gutter cleaning?
Base price starts at $64.95 on single story homes. Two story homes and complicated rooflines are quoted after we have had a look, because guessing at that over the phone helps nobody.
How do I know my gutters need cleaning?
The reliable sign is water going somewhere it should not during rain: sheeting over the front edge of a gutter, running down a wall, or a downspout that stays dry while it is raining hard. Staining down the siding, soil washed out of the bed under the roofline, and plants growing in the gutter are all the same message.
How often should gutters be cleared?
It depends on the property rather than on a rule. How many trees are near the roof, whether they are pines shedding needles more or less continuously or hardwoods dropping in a few weeks, and the pitch and layout of the roof all change the answer. Some properties are comfortable once a year; a house under heavy pine can want it more often.
Do you repair gutters as well as clean them?
No. This is a cleaning service. If a gutter is sagging, pulling away from the fascia, leaking at a seam or damaged, we will tell you what we found and what it looked like from the ladder, but repairing or replacing guttering is a different trade and not something HRH takes on.
Christmas Light Installation
Do you take the lights down afterwards?
Yes. It is a turnkey service: the display goes up, it is looked after while it is up, and it comes down at a time arranged with you once the season closes. Fixings come off with the lights rather than being left on the building, and the lights are taken away and stored.
When should I book Christmas lights?
In the fall. Holiday work runs on a short calendar with a hard deadline, and installation days are limited by weather, so the schedule fills from the fall onward and does not reopen. Booking early also makes a proper site visit possible rather than a rushed one in the dark.
What do you need to know before quoting a display?
What is being lit and how it should read from the road, how access to the property works while nobody is home, and where the exterior power is and what else is on that circuit. Whether the lights are yours or supplied for the job is worth raising when you call, because it changes what is quoted.
Lawn and property care guide
If your question is not here, the guide probably covers it
Our summers stress cool-season grass and our winters stress the warm-season kinds, so advice written for anywhere else is wrong here in one direction or the other. These are written for this county.
Mowing heights and the one-third rule
What height each grass grown in North Alabama should be cut, why the one-third rule sets the mowing interval, and what scalping actually costs a lawn.
Read the mowing heights guideThe five grasses grown in North Alabama
How to tell Bermuda, zoysia, centipede, St. Augustine and tall fescue apart, what each one is good at, and which suits sun, shade, children and dogs.
Read the grass types guideHRH Lawn Care Services
Not sure what your property needs?
Call and ask. We would rather come and look at it than guess over the phone, and it does not cost you anything either way.