Siebenthaler’s does a third of its annual retail sales during the six weeks between mid-April and mid-June. “Most of that time period has been rainy weekends and people staying inside,” Siebenthaler said.
Landscaping service demand is returning to pre-recession levels, “but the weather has just dissipated that completely,” Siebenthaler said. His crews have been hampered by persistent rains and muddy ground, he said.
“This is the toughest spring we’ve ever had,” said Marty Grunder, president and chief executive of the Grunder Landscaping Co. in Miamisburg.
Grunder’s crews are three weeks behind schedule and struggling to meet the demands of clients who want work completed before Memorial Day.
“It’s like having a retail operation that is closed Christmas Eve. There’s a certain degree of that that you just lose,” he said.
Buckeye EcoCare, a lawn care company based in Centerville, is more than one week behind for fertilizer and weed control applications, and two to three weeks behind for lawn seeding and sod repair, said Mark Grunkemeyer, president and owner.
Lawn care crews scheduled to work six days are averaging just two or two-and-a-half good days per week, Grunkemeyer said.
Heavy equipment such as a slice seeder or tractor can damage a water-saturated lawn. “It’s just been too wet to work any ground here, just like the farmers,” Grunkemeyer said.
Dayton saw 8.72 inches of rain in April, the second-highest rainfall total for that month on record, according to the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Wilmington.
May has seen 3.48 inches of rain to date, about one inch above normal, said Myron Padgett, a weather service meteorologist.
One benefit of the rain is “lawns are nice and green,” Grunkemeyer said.
Similarly, garden center plants are “just gorgeous at this point,” Siebenthaler said.
“All we need are a few sunny days to get customers out to buy it,” he said.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2419 or dlarsen@DaytonDailyNews.com.
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