After 3 years, I just terminated my Virginia Green contract. I started with them in 2024 and thought they did a good job keeping the lawn green throughout the year. In 2025, everything went well until late July, when just after a fungicide treatment, I began to notice brown patches throughout the lawn. When I spoke with our area manager, he said that I had a disease in my lawn, to which I pointed that Virginia Green was getting paid to keep disease out of my lawn. Throughout August, the problem got worse, to the point where 75% of the lawn was brown. He assured me that once I aerated and overseeded, and with the cooler temperatures, the lawn would return. He did a soil test and said the lawn needed lime. He gave me two bags of the Virginia Green grass seed and after lime, compost, aeration and overseeding, by late October, the lawn was starting to fill in, although there were still a few brown patches.
In 2026, I continued to use Virginia Green, and the entire lawn was green, full and did look good, although a sunken area in the front yard that I filled in with dirt in 2025 and overseeded with their seed, suddenly began to go brown in June. I attributed that to the heat, the western facing sunlight on this area and the new grass. In July, once again I started noticing brown patches in my lawn and this time another area manager came out. He said the lawn did not have disease; however, took some core samples in the front and told me that because the lawn soil was mostly clay, I needed to bring in top soil and cover the lawn so that the existing grass and the seed I planned to put down in September would be able to grow in good soil. His comment was that there was something going on in the lawn and recommended by have a soil test done by Virginia Tech. He also said several other Virginia Green agronomists, looked at the lawn problem and the 2025 Virginia Green soil test, but could not figure out what was going on with the lawn.
Following his recommendation, I did have a soil test completed and the results were that the front yard, where all of the damage was taking place, needed a nitrogen heavy fertilizer. The pH levels and all of the other tests were good. I called our representative and told him what the results said about a nitrogen fertilizer for the front. His response told me everything I needed. He said "brother, I told you want to do and that is put down a covering of top soil on the entire lawn." When I pointed out the soil test recommended nitrogen, he said, "that's all it is, a recommendation." He also mentioned that I did not like Virginia Green, maybe I should find another company. With that comment and his dismissive attitude, I said goodbye and subsequently cancelled my contract with them.
I have many friends who use Virginia Green, whose lawns look very good and they are fully satisfied with the service. The first year I used them, the lawn was good, however, since then, I am not satisfied with their service. It seems as long as the lawn stays healthy, the service they provide is worth the money; however, once there's a problem, they cannot fix it and want to run from it as quickly as possible. So, if you're happy with their results, keep them, but if you see things go wrong, you better not delay in getting a true turf management company. I would characterize Virginia Green as a maintenance company and not one that can fix problems. The best analogy I can give is this - if you had a problem with your tooth, would you want a dental hygienist to do a root canal. I'm attaching two photos of my lawn, one 2025 and the other 2026. read more
