When installing plants in a new construction home, one of the important things to consider (and something we talk about often) is the soil quality. Typically in the north central Florida area, new homes are constructed in "archer fill dirt" or builder's sand. It provides almost no nutrients, has a very high pH, and also has no water retention capacity.

This leaves the new landscape plants and sod starving for nutrients and water, and completely reliant on extra irrigation and added fertilization to maintain it's curb appeal. Also, due to the high pH and poor water retention, it leaves the landscape more susceptible to pests and disease.

This is where the "ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" comes in.

The best way to avoid this is to have the landscaping installed with an organic soil (compost, potting soil, or garden soil) surrounding the new plant's hole to allow it's roots to spread into healthy soil. We do recommend to mix together some of the builder's sand with the organic soil (Comand Soil in this video) to help the plant's roots adjust slowly to the conditions of your specific property.

Although this is not addressed in this video, before sod is installed we would also recommend spreading organic compost or soil over the entire lawn before the sod is installed to give it some healthy soil to root into.

This soil amendment around the roots of the plants or turfgrass will help reduce your watering needs, reduce the needs of fertilization, and reduce the need for pesticide inputs as well. We hope the video is helpful and appreciate any comments or questions!

To learn more about our Gainesville, Fl landscaping service, visit our website at http://www.themasterslawncare.com or call (352) 378-LAWN

Sunpatiens are a hybrid breed of the ever-famous shade-tolerant Impatiens, that are so popular in Gainesville landscaping. The blend is a careful combination of wild “traditional” impatiens with the larger, sun-loving Impatiens hawkeri, native to New Guinea. The result is a variety of impatiens that thrives in full sun and hot, humid weather and blooms that last from spring to autumn. It’s an excellent container and bedding flower for long lasting color to brighten your Gainesville, Florida yard.

Growing sunpatiens is very easy and low maintenance in florida lawns. The plants prefer well-draining soil that’s rich in organic material. They grow very well in both containers and garden beds, and they like sun or partial shade. I have found our Florida summers' heat may be too much without a little afternoon shade though, so avoid 12-14 hours of sunlight. For the first week or two after planting, they should be watered every day to get them established. After that, they need only moderate watering and can usually be revived from wilting with a good dose of water. Sunpatiens companion plants are any colorful flowering plants that also enjoy full sun. When growing sunpatiens plants, especially if grouping with other plant varieties, it’s important to know how much space you are looking to fill in.

Sunpatiens plants come in two size categories: compact and vigorous. Compact plants are perfect for containers. Compact plants stay small while the vigorous ones fill out a hanging basket or pot spectacularly. Vigorous plants are best for garden beds, as they grow fast and fill out a space with bright color quickly and effectively.

If we can be of help your Gainesville lawn or landscape, please give us a call or text at (352) 378-5296. Also email is great at info@themasterslawncare.com.

You need three things for a healthy lawn. Sun, water, and food (fertilizer.) If your lawn has all of that in the correct amount, gyour Gainesville lawn will grow and eventually thrive in 98% of scenarios. If you don’t have the three components in the proper amount, it doesn’t matter how much time, effort, or money you throw at the problem, you’re not going to be able to grow dense grass.

That’s a hard pill to swallow for many of our customers who have a lot of shade in their Gainesville yard. But if you consider how much sun you need in Gainesville, Florida lawns for our most common grasses you can see why shady lawns are challenging.

St. Augustine. Requires about 4-6 hours of sunlight to establish. Once established, St. Augustine can do ok with less sunlight and will actually acclimate over time if a tree has been planted that casts a fair amount of shadows. This is crucial to understand if you have a neighbor who has a healthy St. Augustine lawn that has a fair amount of shade. The St. Augustine was established long before the trees matured and cast more shade. If you already have a lot of shade, you’re not going to have any success sodding with St. Augustine unless you give it at least 6 hours of sunlight.

Zoysia. Can survive in 5-6 hours of sunlight, and is regularly advertised as more shade-tolerant than St.Augustine due to early studies. However, most St. Augustine grass vareties have proven over time to be a bit more shade-tolerant than Zoysia. 

As you can see, most lawns require a lot of sun which can be a challenge if you have mature trees on your property and a ot of shade.

So, if grass isn't the answer for these areas, what is?

Acceptance! Embrace your shady lawn and quit fighting a losing battle against nature. Don’t invest in sod that ultimately won’t take. Don’t waste your time or money on thinning your trees. The best way to fix the problem is to invest in a workable solution for a shady lawn in Gainesville.

You can have a beautiful landscape in the shade. There are many ground covers and shrubs that do well in little to no light in Alachua County and TMLC has designed and installed hundreds (if not thousands) of landscapes for shady lawns over the past 2 decades. In fact, the majority of our landscape projects are for customers who have accepted they’ll never be able to grow grass in their shady lawn and want a shady lawn solution.

If you need help with a lawn or landscape problem we would love to earn your business. We install landscapes ranging from $2,500 up to $50,000 +, and have been helping our Gainesville, Florida neighbors create beautiful outdoor spaces since since 2004. Give call us at. Give call us at (352) 378-5296 or info@themasterslawncare.com.