Land Escapes

unknown

When Prescott (Land Escapes) and I were talking about the project, I specifically (and repeatedly) stated that no bunch grass was to be seeded and that I wanted a nice level lawn of mostly bluegrass. The existing bunch grasses made it difficult to mow and was tough on the mower. I’ve replaced two self propelled mechanisms in the Toro mower over the years. Things started out fairly well, and the Land Escapes workers were pleasant. They ripped out the old, very rough, patchy bunch grass and the remains of several stumps. During this ripping process, they dug a little deep and brought up some of the roots of the two largest Ponderosa pine trees in the work area. It remains to be seen if this will ultimately hurt the trees. Either during the ripping or while working in the dirt and compost, the operator skinned some bark off of two smaller trees. I applied pruning sealer and hope the trees will be ok. The soil seemed free of debris, but the compost they brought in was horrible. It was obvious from the junk found in it that it was someone's manure/burn pile. There were lengths of twine, partially burned corral boards, nails, a big metal spike, other discarded hardware, and even two partially burned photo albums. As it turned out, it was full of broadleaf weed seeds as well. My husband, our hired man, and I raked rocks for several days and deposited the rocks and some of the dirt into a jeep trail and part of the driveway. The weed seeds sprouted there as well. Originally, the grass seed was to be broadcast by hand, but when it came down to it, Land Escapes wanted to sub the seeding out to Helena Hydroseed. I'd seen one of their projects last fall and was less than enthusiastic. I communicated my concerns to Sam (Land Escapes), and against my better judgement, I finally agreed to the hydroseeding. Once the sprinkler system was completed, the seeding took place. The actual seeding went well, but as the seed started to come up, I (and some friends) realized there was some undesirable grass in the mix. It had to be in the seed mix as the grasses were not coming up where the rocks and dirt were deposited. I was away for 10 days and came back to what can only be described as a weed infested pasture. The 'nasty grass' was over 12and quot; tall and the broadleaf weeds were unbelievable. I sprayed the area with a broadleaf herbicide and had to mow (and bag the clippings) the area twice to get the mess somewhat under control. I called Sam and asked what grasses were in the mix (there is a bunch grass) and that I was tempted to spray the whole area with Round Up to kill it before it spread. I've asked him and Helena Hyrdoseed several times. From what they've said so far, it might be perennial ryegrass or annual ryegrass, but they haven't given me a definitive answer as to the grass varieties and/or percentages. The only thing they said was that it shouldn't come back or be a problem next year. I requested a written guarantee to that effect, but they sidestepped the issue by saying that if I water, fertilize, and mow it properly, it shouldn't be a problem. If they'd used the right lawn mix, this monkey wouldn’t be on my back. If this ryegrass goes to seed, it could well be a problem for years to come. The project area is under automatic sprinklers, has no children/pet traffic, has a minimum slope. From what I've read and been told by two other area landscapers and three extension people, ryegrass is used for drought areas, and those that experience high traffic (parks, ball fields), roadsides, and pastures. As one area landscaper put it and quot;ryegrass has no place in an ornamental lawnand quot;. In my opinion, Helena Hydroseed used the wrong seed mixture for this particular application and Land Escapes is standing behind them. Maybe it won't be a problem next spring, only time will tell. If the nasty grass doesn't come in next year, I'll edit this review, but until then, the D rating stands. If I were to consider this company for additional work, I would specify the seed mixture to be used, tell them not to bring in someone else's manure/burn pile, get a weed maintenance contract the first year, and a satisfaction guarantee in writing. 08/19/2013 No one had gotten back to me on the grass mixture, so I emailed Sam requesting the mix again. 09/05/2013 Sam finally got back to me and said the grass seed was the following mixture: 53.76% Kentucky bluegrass 24.79% perineal rye 14.41% creeping red fescue 1 1/2 lbs of gulf annual rye 04/11/2014 I called Sam, but had to leave a message that the nasty grass was greening up and what they would do about it. 04/14/2014 I didn't hear from Sam, so I emailed him. He replied later that day that he had forwarded my message to Helena Hydroseed and would get back to me. 04/??/2014 Steve came out to see the yard and took dug up a couple of the objectionable plants and said he would take them somewhere to determine the species. 04/25/2014 I hadn't heard anything, so I called Steve and he said the plants were identified as annual ryegrass. We discussed various options of dealing with the nasty grass, but the bottom line is that they are not taking responsibility for getting rid of it. He said that Townsend Seed claimed there was no perennial rye in the mix. (That statement is in direct contrast to what Sam emailed me on 9/5/2013. ) He now claims that the ryegrass seed was present in the existing soil, or seeds must have blown in. He denies that seeds may have come in with the soil enhancer and/or manure they brought and mixed in with the existing soil. But, with the broadleaf weeds that they brought in with the two truck loads, it is easy to assume there were some grass seeds (of whatever variety) in there as well. He also claims that every time a soil is tilled, dormant seeds will sprout. That is true, however, I now have a bigger mess than what I had before. If they were worried about dormant seeds, they should have tilled it, waited until something came up, sprayed it, and repeated the process at least twice before doing the final seeding. Steve asked what I wanted them to do. I suggested we compromise and that if I sprayed RoundUp on it a couple of times, they could come in and lightly till the soil (since I don't have the equipment), then I would seed it with a proper lawn mix. He said he would talk it over with Sam and Prescott and get back to me that day...I have yet to hear from them. So, my advice to anyone considering using them would be to get the grass mixture and a guarantee in writing, and not pay them the full price until the grass comes up and you can see what is growing. Once you pay them, you won't get any satisfaction on problem resolution. I won't be using this company again.

They are a top-notch company. They have done alot of natural looking water feature around my local area. They showed up early, and it amazed me how maticulous they work without damaging the yard. They were very careful and methidical in the way they worked.