If you are a commercial property manager/owner looking for a Texas lawn or landscape consultant, please skip to the bottom of the page, below the FAQs.
Traditional Consulting, not Sales - A 180 Degree Different Approach in the Lawn & Landscape Industry
Why are you here? We hope not to buy sod or get a free quote for any type of landscaping labor. Our typical client is near the end of their rope. They typically have resodded 2-4X, listened to Neil Sperry many years ago (though Neil finally recanted this two years ago) about "thinning trees" (at the top) and have spent money doing this several times, they might have covered their lawn in peat moss, bought an Amazon or Home Depot DIY soil test, had their irrigation "checked" by the local irrigation guy, but their new grass reverts back to thinning, yellowing, browning, fungal melting or just flat dying. So they start doing different types of Google searches for Lawn Expert, Lawn Specialist, Landscape Consultant, etc, to try and find someone different to change the status quo. Unfortunately, proving whether someone is a "lawn expert" or "lawn specialist" is subjective, which is why degrees and certifications exist in the field.
At DFW Turfgrass Science, our Director has a degree in Turfgrass Science & Golf Course Management. And while we know degrees don't count as much as work experience, we also have that covered. Our Director spent his early childhood splitting time between his mother's wheat farm and the various golf courses his dad was superintendent of in Kansas. That said, he has spent the last 25+ years living in Central & North Texas, learning the unique challenges we have with HOAs mandating the overplanting of trees, very alkaline clay soils, caliche and rock, fire ants, seven different fungal and soil-borne diseases, chinch bugs, scale, grubs, rampant irrigation coverage problems, humidity, and blast-furnace summer heat. You can read more about our Director here: About - DFW Turfgrass Science LLC.
Pricing for Residential Lawn Specialist Consulting in North Texas
The consulting world operates on an hourly billing model. And we bill all of our commercial projects by the hour. Unfortunately, some residential homeowners have concerns with hourly billing. Whether they are unfamiliar with it or have trust issues, thinking they might be gouged, it can be an issue sometimes. So we did our best over the years to create a flat-rate package that works for the majority (not all) of residential properties. Our consulting pricing is currently $530 (for properties within the radius) for up to 7,000 sq ft of grass and irrigation. It comes with a max of three (3.25) hours of consulting time, and it includes all lawn consultant items #1-7 (below).
Larger Properties & Rural "Ranchettes" - the more sqft of grass you have = more irrigation heads to evaluate, the more soil you have to probe, the more trees you have to evaluate (for shadecasting and photosynthesis), and it just takes a lot more time. I bill consulting work for larger properties at $120 per hour (onsite and at my desk) + lab fees + mileage (and if it is remote, like when I've consulted near Canyon Lake and Big Bend, then I also bill for travel time and expenses).
Our residential lawn consultant package includes the following services:
#1 Photosynthesis 101 (most important) - Sun vs. Shade Evaluation - including neighbors' homes, privacy fences, all trees, and determining dense shade vs. full shade vs partial shade levels. Further, I will help you figure out the puzzle of what kinds of turfgrass or groundcover will live in the various light pockets (or lack thereof) on your property. And what trees should you have removed vs. trimmed?
#2 Drainage Evaluation—I will visually assess your drainage issues and provide general recommendations on the most cost-effective way to remove excess water. Note: This is not an engineering drainage/grade service, nor is it related to retaining walls. I do not provide architectural plans, schematics, or drawings, as I’m not an engineer or an architect.
#3 Inspection of the Turfgrass & Weeds.
#4 Professional Soil Testing - Pull soil cores and send them to the LSU, Texas A&M, or Oklahoma State soil lab. Testing is done for N-P-K, PH, and all micronutrients. Note: A normal lawn in DFW is under 5000 sqft. And one soil test covers 5,000 sq ft. Additional testing requires additional time and lab testing fees.
#5 Professional Disease Testing—Pull rhizomes, roots, and stolons, then send them to a separate disease-testing lab for growth and evaluation. Further, they use a microscope and may biopsy the plant material to determine the exact disease you have (just as with various illnesses people get, there is no single antibiotic/shot/vaccine that cures them all, and some are not curable, just manageable). Note: One test covers 5,000 sq ft. Additional testing requires additional charges.
#6 Watering Schedule - You will receive a detailed watering schedule broken down by seasons of the year.
#7 General Irrigation Consult (not repair) – I will have you turn on your irrigation and cycle through the zones. Then, I will give you an Irrigation 101 crash course on proper nozzle sizing, overlapping between heads, and the difference between rotors and mist heads. We will also talk about heads/nozzles that need to be fixed or changed. Note: I cannot repair your irrigation as part of this consult. You are also required to turn the system on for me and cycle through the zones.
Frequently Asked Lawn and Landscaping Consultants Questions in Texas
#1 How many lab reports will I get? And will you answer all follow-up questions I may have this month, next month, or next year?
Answer: You will receive four reports: two reports from DFW Turfgrass Science + two lab reports. The first report will be sent to you within 1-4 days of my visit to your property. The lab reports take around three weeks (depending on the season) to be delivered and analyzed, and I will write a summary opinion for you.
Regarding follow-up questions, I'm primarily a diagnostician and a consultant. Consultants have to bill for their time, or they have nothing to bill for. Most customers have a couple of questions after the consult, and a few aggressive customers send 60 emails (literally) and seem to want to earn a turfgrass science degree for free. I built in 15 courtesy minutes for follow-up questions as part of the overall consult. After your paid time is used up, my rate is $1.91 a minute (which comes to $115 per hour) to read and answer future questions. Most ad hoc questions can be answered in 5-10 minutes (unless I don't know the answer and need to research). I have consulted customers who have been emailing me 1-2x per year for a decade, and they have told me they feel it is a really fair price, not to be locked into any monthly subscription, while still being able to pick the brain of someone who has been to their property and whom they trust. I believe it is a fair, flexible option for people who want to self-manage their lawn and landscape.
#2 I'm a "Dirt Doctor" disciple. Love his book. And so I determined that I need to get my soil healthy by using new organic material. So I don’t need all the listed consult services. Can I just buy a soil test?
Answer: Lots of things to answer here. First, you are misguided in thinking that sprinkling bags of organic material on top of tons of black clay will solve the long list of problems we have with turfgrass in North Texas (removing soil is different; see paragraph 7 below). Second, why do you assume you only need a "soil test"? A soil test (drying soil in an oven, then extracting nutrients) and a disease test (rhizomes, roots, and grass warmed in an incubator, then biopsied or microscoped) are not the same thing and don't go to the same labs. 90% of turfgrass problems in North Texas start with a lack of photosynthesis and high soil PH and end with a pile of diseases. Your soil needs to be balanced, but balancing it won’t cure most of the existing issues that the super-majority of lawns in North Texas have. And sprinkling bags of organic peat moss on top of the black clay will cause even more problems. You can read about different types of soil testing here: Soil Testing Near Dallas - Disease Fungus Testing North Texas.
#3 If my lab tests show I have diseases, will you give me a shopping list to take to Home Depot or Lowe's?
Answer: No. If Home Depot and Lowe's had cheap answers to most of these unique problems in North Texas, these problems would not exist (and you would not be on this website). Some people don't want to hear this, but virtually none of these problems can be fixed with one bag of magic fungicide. Most property owners have to make wholesale changes to their cultural practices and their landscape, then stay on a rotational treatment plan in the future.
#4 I stopped resodding with St. Augustine and just put in Zoysia under my two live oaks. The landscape company told me that they put Zoysia in the shade all the time, and it does not get TARR or TAPP.
Answer: I hear this a lot. Most sod salesmen are in the same category as used car salesmen, and unfortunately, you were lied to. First, there are twenty varieties of Zoysia. They are not all the same in terms of immunity to various diseases. Second, no warm-season turfgrass is healthy in less than 4 hours of direct sun, and most varieties require 5-6 (and Bermuda 8-10). Further, Zoysia can be infected with TARR/TAP, as TARR is in the soil and feeds on all grass roots without prejudice. Lastly, it gets 4-5 other diseases and does not like our alkaline, clay soil. Zoysia is a great grass, but it is not a "throw it down and forget it" grass for North Texas properties with clay soils that are overly shaded. It requires changes to cultural practices and a preventative treatment plan to be really healthy in 7.6+ PH clay soil. Half of my consults this last year were for Zoysia lawns that were resodded about two years prior.
#5 I’ve got a weed mess. Can I buy sprays at Walmart to get rid of them?
Answer: yes, for some weeds, no for other weeds. And “get rid of” is a loaded question, as people with severe weed infestations usually have had weeds dropping seeds for several years. Certain weed seeds can lie dormant in the soil for 3-6 years before germinating, which means pre-emergent can’t stop them until they try to germinate (and it doesn't stop 100% anyway). This means it can take a long time to get on top of weed issues, even for professionals. That said, if you have severe weed issues, it is most likely because most of your grass died due to a lack of photosynthesis and disease, and the weeds filled the vacuum. The weeds are the effect, not the cause.
#6 My family only does “clean eating,” and we only purchase organic produce. Therefore, I only want organic products used on my property. Will you design an organic-only plan for me?
Answer: This is not the 1990s and early 2000s. And some of the famous books written about soil health during that time are outdated, at least as they relate to turfgrass in North Texas black clay (some principles still hold for shrubs and veggies, depending on DLI and photosynthesis). I wish organics were a viable solution in overshaded North Texas properties, but most are not. Some soil types in full sun, without disease issues, can do well with only organic products. However, our alkaline black clay does not drain well and is significantly more disease-prone, especially when the pH rises above 7.5. Then, overplanted trees are thrown in, which adds significantly more disease pressure, and organic fungicides and insecticides don’t stand a chance in those scenarios. Note: organic fertilizers are good in the heat of the summer, though (just more expensive since you have to use 4-6X as much).
#7 I want to convert all my lawn soil to organic material and plant “native grass.” What do you recommend?
Answer: If you can afford to "change" your soil, then go for it. I would not use all organic material; probably a 50% organic material and 50% sand blend. That said, you will need a backhoe, utility location tools, a big dump truck, a crew of several guys, and probably a $30,000-$75,000 budget (depending on square feet of lawn) to dig down 3-4 feet and excavate your black clay out to replace it with an organic blend. Next, our “native” grasses grew on the prairie in full sun. If you drive around and look at pastures, you will notice that no native grass is growing lushly under clusters of trees. Buffalo and Bermuda are our most "native" turfgrasses in North Texas, and both require full sun (Buffalo requires 11+ hours of full sun). So if you don't have the required DLI, you will need to go with ground cover or seed with a real Texas Fescue blend (not sold at Home Depot or Lowe's). Your Fescue will be 70-90% dead from late June through September, but it will look great from October (when you reseed it every year) through early June.
#8 I've got an emergency. My HOA sent me a letter saying I have to re-sod in 30 days. I don't want to get fined, so I'm in a hurry to get the re-sodding done.
Answer: First, I pass on properties that have "emergencies" to deal with. Mother Nature does not work on artificial deadlines, so neither can I. Second, these problems did not happen overnight, and they won't be "fixed" overnight (and throwing down new sod on diseased/overshaded soil is not fixing the problem, just putting lipstick on a dead pig). Third, if you want to try and fix the root causes of the problem, then I have a letter (on company letterhead) I can give you to send to your HOA telling them you have hired a professional diagnostician, are undergoing disease and soil testing, are awaiting lab test results, and may need various treatments applied before resodding. It is my experience that 60-70% of HOAs will listen to this letter and give you more time to diagnose the problems, so your new sod does not die again (as most people who contact us have already resodded 2-4 times).
#9 Do you offer treatment services or any DIY services? I heard from some of my neighbors that some of these treatment products are unavailable to homeowners at Lowe's.
Answer: I'm primarily a diagnostician and consultant. And the main reason people hire me is to get factual information about whether their property is actually treatable. Some properties are wasting money on treatment plans (or resodding) without first making major changes to their cultural practices: amount of daily DLI/photosynthesis, drainage, mowing crew changes, and irrigation changes. Some properties have pockets that can be successfully treated, and some properties can be treated and repaired in their entirety. My reports will honestly tell you whether you should continue trying to grow warm-season turfgrass or switch to something else that is compatible with your property's issues.
Disease & Soil Treatments - I maintain a small number of treatment accounts (within 10 miles of North Plano). I do this so that I actually know what is going on in the field from year to year with various diseases, rather than just opining about theory from textbooks. That said, my small route is typically 97%+ full, and there is usually a waitlist. And I don't offer treatments to any properties I have not consulted on.
DIY Treatment Plans - In 2024, due to ongoing requests to help people I could not treat, I started offering DIY treatment plans to smaller property owners who had resolved all of their cultural practice issues but live outside my small treatment route.
When you are ready to diagnose the root of the problems with your lawn and turfgrass, including drainage, disease, irrigation coverage, sunlight deficiency, overgrown tree shade, soil deficiency, or other turfgrass-related issues, please visit our Contact Us page to contact us about scheduling a visit your property: Contact - DFW Turfgrass Science LLC.
Commercial Landscape Consultants near Dallas, Ft Worth, North Texas.
Typically, MDU and HOA commercial property managers are looking for horticultural or landscape consultants near their locations to help address issues with their landscape's overall aesthetics or guide them through the review and vetting process when hiring their next weekly commercial lawn care service. We also receive requests for disease and soil testing, as well as help with photosynthesis issues on older properties.
For commercial landscape consulting projects at sports fields, MDUs, HOAs, or other commercial properties, we will travel to most properties in Texas that Southwest Airlines flies directly to from Love Field. My commercial landscape consultant rate is $150 per hour, plus travel expenses and lab fees. To quote you, the retainer needed requires a detailed scope of the acreage, architectural plans, issues, goals, deadlines, and information about various contractors involved. You can email that information to us, or we can set up a Zoom call to discuss. Please go to our Contact Us page to start the process.