Questions
Q & A
How often should I water my lawn?
The short answer is about 1-2 times per week, for 45-60 minutes per irrigation zone.
Many people set their irrigation systems up to water every other day for 10-20 minutes. This wets the top 1-2" of soil. Because this is where the water is, this is where the grass develops most of its root system. When it's very hot and dry, the top 1-2" of soil is the first thing to dry out.
By watering frequently you are training your turf to be very intolerant of dry weather. By watering one to 2 times per week (once per week for soils with a lot of organic material, twice per week for sandy soils) for a longer period, you are wetting the soil several inches down. This causes the grass to strengthen its root system several inches below the surface of the soil. When the weather is very hot and dry, it takes much longer for the lower layers of soil to dry out. This produces a more drought-tolerant and healthier turf.
If you'd like help setting an irrigation schedule for your lawn, just let us know. We will gladly provide you with an irrigation plan tailored specifically to your property at no charge.
Should I install an irrigation system?
We recommend irrigation for all lawns that experience drought dormancy.
If your lawn typically looks brown in the hottest parts of the summer, you may want to consider an irrigation system.
I have irrigation, why does my lawn still get brown?
The main reasons your grass can turn brown are due to:
Disease
Pests
Under-watering
Over-watering
Please reach out to receive a personalized diagnosis.
What services do you offer?
Landscaping by Mark & Sons offers a wide range of landscaping services, including Softscape & Hardscape Design & Installation, Lawn Maintenance & Care (fertilization), Tree & Shrub care, Seasonal Cleanups, Mulch Installation and more. We strive to provide comprehensive solutions for all of our clients' landscaping needs.
Can I add-on a task while you're on my property?
We can not accommodate requests to perform additional out-of-scope work while on your property. Sometimes, you may have something extra you'd like done while a landscaping crew is on your property (like weeding, picking up debris, etc). Our crews are trained to perform the task you hired us for thoroughly and efficiently. They have performance goals they are trying to reach each day.
If you have other work you would like done, we will be more than happy to provide a quote to you (request a quote), but we can not accommodate requests to perform additional out-of-scope work while on your property.
What day of the week will my lawn be cut?
We will send you an email with your scheduled day before starting service. We schedule all mowing services between Monday and Thursday. We do this because in order to work around the weather, we must have Friday and Saturday available as make-up days for weeks with poor weather.
While you will be scheduled on the same day every week, please understand that we are not able to 100% commit to a specific day. Most of the time your lawn will be mowed on the same day. In the event we're not able to service your property on the scheduled day due to inclement weather, we will mow on the next appropriate day. On very, very rare occasions (generally caused by extended periods of very bad weather) we will deviate from this rule. However, we will keep you updated by email.
Can I request a specific day for service?
We can not accommodate day-specific mowing requests. In order to keep our pricing competitive and our quality exceptional, we use software to optimize our routing and logistics. This means your property will be added to our schedule in the place that results in the least amount of driving. Our clients greatly value our reliability.
We're able to deliver reliable weekly service because we don't make day-specific commitments. Weather is always a factor that has to be worked around. Sometimes it's hot and dry, and sometimes it's wet and rainy, but you will never be left wondering why we didn't show up to perform your weekly service because we will always show up or notify you when there is a delay.
What height will you cut my lawn?
Between 3.25" and 3.75". In Northeast Ohio, lawns are composed of cool-season grasses. There are several varieties of cool-season grasses, the most common are Kentucky Bluegrass, Tall and Fine Fescue, and Perennial Ryegrass. Unless you sought out a specific variety of grass, your lawn is almost certainly a combination of these varieties.
These varieties of grass thrive at 3.25" to 3.75". Our crews are trained to adjust the cutting height to best accommodate the changing seasons and weather trends. We will occasionally cut higher than 3.75" by customer request or if the crew leader deems this beneficial and necessary for your lawn.
Can you cut my lawn shorter?
Maybe. If we're already cutting your turf at 3.25", we won't cut it any shorter than that.
The bottom line is that all cool-season grasses are healthiest when cut between 3.25" and 3.75". Cutting it shorter is not only stressful on your turf, which makes it more vulnerable to pests and disease, it also lets more sunlight hit the surface of the ground, which promotes weed growth. When grass is tall enough to shade the ground, new weed seeds that sprout are starved of sunlight and die.
Remember, for your turf to stay healthy, you should ideally be cutting no more than 1/3 of the height of the grass off. So if your grass is 4" to 5", cutting it down to 3.5" is ideal. If your grass is 4" to 5" and you ask us to cut it down to 2", what you're asking us to do is stress out your turf.
You may be thinking to yourself "But what about my local golf course?" Putting greens and fairways are seeded with a specific variety of grass that can tolerate being cut very short. The most common of which is Penncross Bentgrass. While this variety can tolerate being cut short, it also requires much more maintenance. In order to stay green at this height, it is cut roughly every day depending on the weather, and a very extensive fertilization program is in place. This is not practical for a typical residential lawn.
Do you offer every other week lawn maintenance service?
Yes!
What happens if my yard is too wet to mow?
We will skip areas of your yard that are too wet to mow. If your yard is too wet, and the crew leader is concerned about damaging your turf with our equipment, those sections of your lawn will be skipped. We will mow these areas on the next visit to your property, as long as they have sufficiently dried out.
If an area stays wet for many weeks and we can't get our equipment on it, we may bill you hourly to service those areas with a string-trimmer. We will get your approval before doing this. We are also more than happy to provide a quote for solutions to your water drainage issues.
What if my lawn doesn't need to be cut?
We will not skip a mowing unless the crew leader determines that mowing will be harmful to your lawn. Occasionally if the weather has been hot and dry for an extended period of time, and your lawn does not have irrigation, it may not need to be cut.
If you have a monthly or bi-weekly rate, we will not skip your visit, we will do what we can without actually mowing.
If you have a weekly rate and would like us to skip your service on a given week, please let us know 48 hours prior to the scheduled service. If you wait until the crew arrives on-site, you will be charged for the mowing. If the grass is too long when we return, you will be charged our bi-weekly price for the service.
What's the best way to contact you?
Any of the following methods work well.
- Email landscapingbymarkandsons@gmail.com
- Call (440) 442-9725 (leave a message if we don't answer, we will return your call).
- Contact Form
- Client Portal (create a Ticket) - if you already have an account
What if I'm unhappy with my service?
Let us know immediately, by either replying to the one-click survey, emailing us, or calling us at (440) 442-9725.
We strive to communicate job expectations clearly and thoroughly with our customers, and we hold ourselves accountable to these expectations. If we determine a service was not performed properly, we will send out a Rescue Tech to fix the problem as soon as possible, at no charge to you.
If there was a miscommunication about job expectations, we will talk with you and do our absolute best to find a solution that works for everyone.
Do you offer any warranties or guarantees on your work?
Yes! We stand behind the quality of our work and offer a satisfaction guarantee on all of our services. If you are not completely satisfied with our work, we will do everything we can to make it right.
Do you have a referral program?
We Do!
Do I have to sign a contract?
Yes, to agree to our terms & prices but you can cancel service with 48 hours notice for recurring services. We will invoice you for any work already completed. We will earn your business every time we show up!
What Payment Methods do you accept?
Cash, Check, Zelle, American Express, Discover, Mastercard & Visa
What about credit card security?
We keep your card information secure. Here's how: Credit cards offer some awesome benefits. Convenience, fraud protection, points, miles, cash back, and other rewards. Credit card security is extremely important in today's market, and we take it very seriously at Landscaping by Mark & Sons.
We do not store your credit card information with our company. We use a credit card processor (Clearent) who keeps your credit card information on our behalf. We can only see the last four digits and the expiration date. Clearent adheres to industry standards for keeping card information secure (a standard called PCI-DSS). Once you input your card information, it is tokenized (a process that keeps it away from hackers) and sent securely encrypted to Clearent. This is the same credit card information that gets printed on a receipt from the grocery store when you pay by credit card.
No one at Landscaping by Mark & Sons has access to your card information after it is input. Even if your own account (or our system) is compromised, No one can access your card information because it's not stored with us. If you have any questions about the security of your card information, please don't hesitate to contact us at landscapingbymarkandsons@gmail.com or (440) 442-9725
Should I tip the crew?
Tips are never expected, but you may tip the crew if you wish.
How much do your services cost?
The cost of our services depends on the specific job requirements and the scope of the work. We offer free quotes to help our clients determine which services best suit their needs and budget.