Are All Lawn Care Companies & Programs the Same?

This is a trick question, right? Are all pizzas the same? Are all chocolate chip cookies the same? Is anybody else getting hungry? 

There are some significant differences among lawn care companies. If you’re asking what lawn program is best for me, it helps to know what makes the best lawn care company stand out among the rest. 

Let’s take a look: 

Do They Offer All Services In House? 

Probably not. It’s rare. 

It’s pretty easy to start a lawn care company and head out to mow lawns. It’s trickier to get the licenses needed to apply fertilizer and pesticides. 

You have to operate under a licensed applicator for three years before you can even qualify to take the licensing tests. That means some lawn care companies hire subcontractors to apply pesticides and fertilizer. 

At Tropical Gardens, we manage it all right here, with our own licensed, skilled and experienced technicians. 

If a lawn care team member notices an insect problem during a visit, they immediately call the pesticide technician, who will be at your house within three days to take care of it. 

If a lawn care company has to call a subcontractor to come check it out, that could take three months. 

How will your lawn look by then? 

When you ask yourself, ”What lawn program is best for me?” remember when you hire a full-service lawn care company, they take 100 percent responsibility for your lawn’s health and appearance. 

This past summer, when Sarasota endured both historic heat and historic drought, lawn care companies were scrambling to keep turf healthy. 

Our visits included timely irrigation adjustments and extra treatments to make sure lawns could stand up to the brutal conditions.

The best lawn care companies spot problems right away, then take care of them. That’s less stress for you. 

How Are Their Horticulture Skills?

The best lawn care companies have skilled and experienced horticulture pros on board who really know their stuff.

One great example: pruning. 

Many lawn care companies come roaring in with hedge trimmers and turn all your shrubs into identical round balls. We call it “meatballing.” (Excuse the technical jargon.)

Proper pruning requires a horticulturist’s touch — detailed knowledge of exactly what to prune when, how much to trim off, and when not to prune at all. 

Details matter. The best lawn care companies have landscaping pros who know when each shrub sets its flower buds so the buds don’t get pruned off. No buds, no pretty flowers. 

Skilled horticulturalists also know that once they prune your hibiscus, viburnum, or other shrub, there’s a good chance aphids will move in. Aphids love that new growth. 

Our pruning pro is also licensed to spray for insects — an important bonus.

The best lawn care programs only spray as needed. Some companies spray everything, which is unnecessary overkill. 

Expect to pay more for this level of expertise. When Tropical Gardens customers get an estimate, every cost is itemized. You see exactly what you’re paying for, line by line, including skilled pruning. 

How Many Visits Will You Get?

 Most lawn care companies include four visits for lawn care and two for plant health care. 

That’s not enough. The best lawn care companies know it takes more than that. 

We do eight lawn care visits and four for plant health care. 

When a lawn care company does only four visits, they might miss an important window for treating insects like chinch bugs, sod webworms or grubs. Or for adding micro nutrients and iron crucial for thriving lawns. 

Just four visits don’t allow for smaller, more frequent fertilizer applications needed here in Sarasota, where nutrients flow right through our sandy soil. 

Lawns here need more frequent fertilizing, but with smaller amounts, so it has a better chance of feeding the roots than draining right through into the groundwater. 

Make sure your lawn care company comes more often. Tropical Gardens visits once a month for 8-10 months of the season, visiting more often and applying smaller amounts of nutrients so they can really take hold. 

Ready for the Best Lawn Care Program? Talk to Us 

All pizzas are not the same. (It’s all about the sauce, right?)

All lawn care programs are not the same, either. Asking yourself “What lawn care program is best for me?” We’re happy to tell you more about ours. 

Let’s order a pizza and get started.  We’ll help you figure it all out. 

Give us a call or fill out our form today! Our team of Sarasota designers can’t wait to help you with your lawn for your home or vacation rental property.