Scotts Lawn Care is one of the best-known brands for products like fertilizer, weed control, and grass seeds. The company is part of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company, which also owns brands such as Hyponex, Earthgro, and Ortho. Scotts used to have a subsidiary called Scotts LawnService that provided lawn care services to consumers around the U.S. They combined with TruGreen in 2016.
Keep reading to learn about Scotts Lawn Care and how to get a beautiful lawn using Scott’s most popular lawn products.
If lawn care isn’t your specialty, have you considered hiring a professional lawn service to take over messy tasks like fertilizing and weed control? Today’s Homeowner recommends TruGreen as the best lawn care service, which serves more customers than any other lawn care service in North America.
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Our Preferred Lawn Care Companies
Today’s Homeowner recommends several lawn care companies to our readers. Below you’ll see our latest suggestions and their unique superlatives. You can also explore our review of the best lawn care services to find your ideal option.
Scotts’ History of Innovation
Scotts Lawn Care, founded by O.M. Scott, has been an innovator in the world of lawn care since just a few years after the Civil War. The company started selling seeds to farmers in 1868, and made several innovations in lawn care, such as:
1879 — First company to offer farm seeds by mail order, starting in 1879.
1907 — First company to sell weed-free grass seed. Before that, grass seeds were simply gathered from mown hay and included weed seeds.
1928 — Created the first fertilizer designed especially for the needs of lawns. The product was branded Scotts Turf Builder, a name that’s still used today.
1946 — First company to open a full-time research division for turfgrass.
1947 — Created the first weed and feed product.
1958 — Released the first pre-emergent crabgrass control product.
1962 — Received the first U.S. patent granted for a grass variety, Windsor grass, a kind of Kentucky Bluegrass.
As the 20th century progressed, The Scotts Company acquired a variety of brands in the lawn and garden industry, including some companies that make organic gardening products. In 1995, Scotts merged with Miracle-Gro, marrying its lawn care expertise with the gardening expertise of the company known for garden fertilizer (check out the proper timing for lawn fertilization). The joint company, which is headquartered in Marysville, OH, was rebranded The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company in 2005. Forbes Magazine added the company to its list of the 100 Most Reputable Companies in 2015, the first time Scotts appeared on that list.
Scotts LawnService
The Scotts Company entered the lawn care service business in 1998 when it acquired Emerald Green Lawn Service. Scotts LawnService continued to acquire in the lawn care service industry in an effort to join the top 100 lawn care providers across the U.S.. In 2002, for instance, it acquired The Lawn Company, a major lawn care provider in the Boston area. Scotts had both company-owned and franchised branches.
At one point, Scotts LawnService even considered acquiring TruGreen. By 2015, however, The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company had decided to concentrate on its core business sectors — seeds, fertilizers, and other lawn care and gardening products. Scotts handed control of Scotts LawnService to TruGreen, cementing TruGreen’s status as the largest lawn care service provider in the US.*
The deal closed in April 2016, with Scotts maintaining a 30% ownership in the new joint venture. TruGreen phased out the Scotts LawnService name over the next year or so.
Read also: The Price of Reseeding your Lawn
Scotts Lawn Care Products
Since the turn of the last century, when Scotts started selling grass seed without weeds, the company has focused on creating products that help homeowners create a beautiful lawn. You’ll find Scotts products like Weed and Seed at Home Depot and other big-box retailers, local garden stores, and online.
Scotts Lawn Care products fall into a few categories. I’ll cover those next.
Lawn Care Guidance
In addition to making a variety of products to help perfect your lawn, Scotts Lawn Care also has programs and apps designed to make it easier to figure out what products to use and when to use them.
The Scotts Lawn Care Program
Based on your zip code, Scotts will help you decide exactly what products you should apply on your lawn, such as crabgrass preventer and fall fertilizer. With the lawn care program, the company sends you the products all at once, so you have them on hand, then reminds you when it’s time to apply each product.
The Scotts My Lawn app
If you’d like customized suggestions to help you create a lawn maintenance plan, Scotts has an app for that. With the My Lawn app, you enter your grass type, location, lawn size, and other information, and you’ll get tips on what products to use and when to use them. Unlike the lawn care program, where the products are delivered to your door, you can modify these suggestions and choose which products to buy and apply. (The app is available at The App Store and Google Play.)
Scotts® 4 STEP® Program
Scotts gives homeowners 4 products designed for their region. These products require application in the right sequence to get the best results. For instance, Southern homeowners, receive a crabgrass preventer in the spring, a weed and feed to tackle dandelions, a fertilizer with iron to promote deep green grass, and a fall lawn food to create a strong lawn the following year.
Are you battling with crabgrass in your lawn and in need of some suggestions? We recommend you read our article that offer trusted methods for eliminating crabgrass.
Other Popular Scotts Products
With its vast line of products and regional variations, Scotts Lawn Care seems to have a product for every need. These are some popular Scotts products that have received good reviews on Amazon.
Wondering how Scotts stacks up to other DIY options? Check out our review of Sunday vs Scotts lawn care.
Lawn Care: DIY or hire?
With so many lawn care products available, deciding whether to use a DIY yard maintenance option or engage expert service for your lawn can be overwhelming. That’s why Today’s Homeowner recommends homeowners leave the fertilizing and weed control to professionals, who have the training necessary to make the right choices about what to apply and when to apply it. We recommend you read our article to find premium fertilizer service companies.
| DIY | HIRE |
|---|---|
| You can find a lawn care app to suggest a lawn maintenance schedule for your yard, but you still have to buy the lawn care products and find the time to apply them. You might have to purchase specialized equipment like spreaders or sprayers, as well, adding to your expense. And do you really want to store the leftover chemicals in your garage? | With a lawn care service, trained professionals come to your home and do the work on a schedule dictated by the needs of your lawn, rather than when you can fit it into your busy life. The lawn care provider can analyze your yard, identify the specific problems that need to be addressed, and offer the correct solution right away, without you having to do research or read endless product labels. |
Our Recommendation: TruGreen
If you’d rather spend your time enjoying your yard rather than maintaining it, Today’s Homeowner recommends TruGreen as our preferred professional lawn service. TruGreen is the largest lawn care service in North America, with more than 300 branches in the U.S.. The company also has branches in Canada.
TruGreen’s technicians are specially trained to identify the precise services needed to make your yard the beautiful outdoor space you want. Additionally, the company guarantees that if you’re not satisfied, they will return as needed to ensure your satisfaction.◆
After an initial Healthy Lawn Analysis®✦, TruGreen will keep you up-to-date on what’s going on with your lawn, including a service summary after every visit. Your technician will also pass along suggestions and tips about how to care for your lawns in between treatments
With three levels of service for U.S. customers, TruGreen offers homeowners plenty of options to meet their needs.
With applications tailored to your yard, TruGreen’s lawn care plans include:
- The TruHealthSM Lawn Plan is a good choice to maintain a lawn that’s already in good shape. This plan includes 8 visits a year to apply fertilizer, weed controllers, and soil amendments.
- The TruCompleteSM Lawn Plan provides a few additional services to help lawns that need a little extra attention. Along with fertilizer, weed control, and soil amendments, TruGreen technicians perform lawn aeration services to reduce soil compaction. Aeration helps your grass by making the soil more conducive for healthier root growth (If you want to acquire an aerator, we recommend you go through our thorough overview of lawn aerators).
- The TruSignatureSM Lawn Plan takes the TruComplete package and adds care for your trees and shrubs, which are often an underserviced part of your landscaping. Tree and shrub care focuses on preventing diseases and insect infestations that can damage landscape plants.
TruGreen also offers pest control services to combat problems such as grubs, mosquitoes, fleas, and ticks. Contact TruGreen for a free quote on any of these services.
Frequently Asked Questions About Scott's Lawn Care
Does TruGreen use Scotts Lawn Care products?
The TruGreen website doesn’t specify if the company uses Scotts products. It says, “The products we approve for company use contain the same ingredients found in lawn care products that tens of millions of homeowners buy annually at lawn and garden outlets. We ensure these products are applied safely according to federal, state, and local regulations. The specific products applied to your landscape are detailed on your invoice with each treatment.”
What products should you treat your lawn with in the spring?
What your lawn needs in the spring depends on several variables, including the kind of grass growing in your yard, where you live, and how well weeds are controlled. A warm-season grass, which goes dormant in winter, should be fertilized in late spring or early summer after it’s actively growing. If weeds are likely to be a problem throughout the lawn, apply a pre-emergent herbicide in late winter or early spring, before the seeds have a chance to sprout.
How much does Scotts LawnService cost?
Scotts LawnService is no longer available. The company merged with TruGreen, which offers a free price quote through its online request form. You can also call 1-866-817-2172.
Are Scotts Lawn Care products safe for pets?
Scotts advises homeowners to read the label on the lawn care product and to keep their pets off the lawn for the amount of time listed on the package after applying the product. Usually, you want to make sure the product is dry before letting your dog into the yard.
Use reasonable caution when using products that contain herbicides or pesticides. The company says that you can let your dog into the yard as soon as you apply Scotts Turf Builder Lawn Food provided you didn’t water the grass immediately after the application. If you watered the grass, allow it to dry before letting animals enter the yard so that your pet does track the particles back into your home. The manufacturer also makes Scotts Natural Lawn Food which it advertises “can be used around kids and pets.”
Methodology: How We Rank Lawn Care Companies
At Today’s Homeowner, we strive to bring you the most accurate information for your home improvement projects. Our lawn company ratings emphasize what matters most to you — a wide range of useful products with reliable service and impressive results.
Our ratings are based on publicly available information about each company, secret shopping via phone and internet, customer-review analysis, and discussions with lawn and landscaping specialists.
Each company can earn up to 100 points divided across five categories. We assess those point scores, then convert them to a five-star scale to determine rankings. We researched popular lawn care companies across the country to develop the following category breakdown:
- Plan Options (36 points): Lawn care companies earn the most points in this category if they offer a wide range of plans to fit various homeowner needs. Companies providing services like fertilization, aeration, seeding, and tree/shrub care will earn more points than providers with base-level plans.
- Additional Offerings (11 points): We score this category by evaluating additional offerings that enhance a company’s overall service selection. Companies that provide pest control services, organic lawn care products, and a la carte options score the highest in this category.
- Customer Service (25 points): We considered how far each company goes to ensure customers have convenient, intuitive access to products and services with contact forms, online chat features, and additional learning resources.
- State Availability (8 points): We factored each company’s state availability into its overall score. Companies with more locations and wider service areas score higher than those with limited availability.
- Trustworthiness (20 points): We score each company’s trustworthiness based on its Better Business Bureau accreditation and score, number of years in business, and Google Star ratings.
We monitor company data on an ongoing basis to keep rankings and information up to date.
