• Why are the inside needles on my pine trees turning brown?
•          Long needled pines lose their 4 yr old needles which are generally on the inside toward the          tree trunk. This is a normal process. If the needles are turning brown on the end of the          branches, there could be a other things going on. We recommend that you bring in samples for          analysis.                                                                      
• I want a pine tree in my front lawn, which pine tree will do best?
•          The hardiest pine tree for your yard is actually a spruce tree. The Colorado Spruce will tolerate           more moisture than many pine trees. There are other varieties of Spruce that don't get 50 feet           tall and 25 feet wide. Please check out our Pine tree web page.
• The tips of my Spruce are dying, and they look like they have pinecones?
•           Not to worry, this is Cooly Spruce Gall. The adult fly in and lays eggs in early spring,           approximately the time new year starts to show. It is easy to take care of by spraying           Bayer 3-n-1 , or Kill-a-bug II.  It is best to spray these as the new growth appears and           approximately 2 weeks after the intial spray.

• What is the sticky, shiny substance on the leaves of my aspen and other trees?
•           If you see what appears to be shiny substance on the leaves of the tree more than likely it is an           insect known as an aphid. To verify this, make sure to look very carefully at the leaves, and           check to see if you see small green, white, brown or black insects crawling around on top or           under the leaves. This is an easy problem to take care of, and it takes patience. You can spray           a water based chemical known as Eight, Spinosad, Neem Oil or Kill-a-bug II. Depending on           the chemical it can take as little as one application or up to 3 applications to control the aphids           as they reproduce approximately every 7-10 days.
• My leaves are turning black on them,  is my tree dying?
•           No the tree is not dying but it will struggle.  There are a few things it could be, you may have           black spot fungus (leaves are turning black in no set pattern), it might be marssosina which           hits the tree at bud. Finally it could be leaf scorch. For either black spot  or marssosina, you           can do preventative spraying in the spring with a dormant oil which can prevent most of the           outbreak or do nothing and in either case you must rake up the leaves in the fall and dispose           of them.  For leaf scorch it is a matter of watering, typically they are in very sunny spot, a windy           area and or newly planted.  Please call us for watering instructions.
• Why are my leaves coated in a white?
•           Odds are you either have powdery mildew or Eriophyid Mites.  Both are fairly easy to take care           of, but have two different solutions.  There are fungicides like Consan 20 or  Fertilome Garden           Fungicide to take care of powdery mildew.  For Eriophyid Mites you should use Bayer Tree and           Shrub Systemic or 3-n-1 by Bayer.

• Should I aerate and powerrake my lawn?
•           Yes you should aerate your lawn as long as it is not overly stressed and in early spring or early           fall.  Never aerate June through Mid September.  However, in Colorado we do not need to           powerrake due to poor grass root systems.  Simply take a leaf rake a couple times a year and           rake up your thatch.  You can apply Soil Activator  to help with the thatch in your yard.
• I am  putting new grass in what do I need to do?
•           First you need to rototill 6-8 inches down in the clay soil to break it up.  Then add 4-6 yards of           compost per 1,000 sq ft on top and spread it out.  Then rototill again (note this will only add           about 1/4" of height to your soil).  Smooth out the ground and apply your sod then use a sod           roller.
• I have Crabgrass in my yard and I want to kill it, how do I do this?
•           First off, it may or may not be crabgrass if it is Feb-May and you are seeing thick clumps of           grass it is probably Fescue.  Your best bet is to dig it out.  Crabgrass usually shows up when           the temperature is much warmer like June.  For crabgrass you can use Weed-out Plus or           Crabgrass Killer.  However the tempurature air must be approximately 70 degrees for the           chemical to be effective.
• My lawn has brown circles what is going on?
•           Grass is hard to diagnose this without seeing a picture or a small sample of the grass and           soil, but  it is a fungus of somekind.  There are many different fungi that it could be from           necrotic ring spot to brown patch.  Please bring a picture or a sample is and we will gladly help           you.
• I have tunnels in my grass is it moles?
•           No, but it could be Voles. Typically you see the damage in the spring if the ground has been           covered in snow or if your neighbors had them and either used a vole repellant or did not kill           them and they had little vole babies (upto 60  year...so much for rabbits breeding fast).  The           damage can happen throughout the year and you will need to repel them or kill them with a           poison.  They will also damage shrubs as well as grass.  We carry both repellants and vole           poison year round.

Please call if you have other question and talk to our advice center or email us at jaredsgc@jaredsgarden.com