Lawn Care and Landscaping in Palo Alto, California: Costs, Licensed Companies, and When to Hire
We list 12 lawn care and landscaping companies serving Palo Alto. Mowing here typically runs $50 to $76 a visit and crews bill about $66 an hour for everything else, on a mixed-season calendar that puts seeding and aeration in a narrow window each year.
What lawn care costs in Palo Alto
Bands rather than averages, because a real quote depends on lot size, slope, and how far the crew drives.
| Service | Typical price | Unit | What drives the price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lawn mowing | $50 to $76 | per visit | Weekly through the growing season on an average quarter-acre lot. |
| Edging and trimming | $15 to $23 | per visit | Usually bundled into a mowing visit rather than billed alone. |
| Fertilizer application | $16 to $25 | per 1,000 sq ft | Slow-release blend, three to five rounds a year. |
| Weed control | $12 to $18 | per 1,000 sq ft | Pre-emergent in spring, post-emergent as broadleaf weeds show. |
| Core aeration | $15 to $23 | per 1,000 sq ft | Once a year, priced higher on compacted clay soil. |
| Overseeding | $24 to $37 | per 1,000 sq ft | Nearly always quoted together with aeration. |
| Grub and insect control | $14 to $21 | per 1,000 sq ft | One preventive round covers most of the season. |
| Dethatching | $13 to $19 | per 1,000 sq ft | Only needed when thatch is over half an inch thick. |
Priced for a city of 68,572 in the San Jose metro.
Compare against national lawn care costs or price your own lawn on the lawn cost estimator.
Services in Palo Alto
Lawn care companies in Palo Alto
12 companies match these filters
Carlos Monterrosa Gardening Service & Landscaping
5.0on Google (31)East Palo Alto, CA
Carlos Monterrosa Gardening Service & Landscaping is a lawn care company in East Palo Alto, California, offering lawn care and landscaping, rated 5.0 by 31 Google reviewers, with Google reviews going back to 2023.
Deleon Landscaping Services
5.0on Google (1)East Palo Alto, CA
A East Palo Alto lawn care company, Deleon Landscaping Services lists lawn care and landscaping, with Google reviews going back to 2025, and a published phone number and website.
Lopez Landscaping LLC
5.0on Google (4)East Palo Alto, CA
Based in East Palo Alto, California, Lopez Landscaping LLC covers lawn care and landscaping, with Google reviews going back to 2026, Saturday hours listed, and a published phone number.
Lawn care(650) 642-4657Machtinger Landscaping LLC
5.0on Google (57)Menlo Park, CA
Listed in Menlo Park, California, Machtinger Landscaping LLC offers lawn care and landscaping, rated 5.0 by 57 Google reviewers, with Google reviews going back to 2026, and a published phone number and website.
Ray's Garden Service
5.0on Google (2)Palo Alto, CA
A Palo Alto lawn care company, Ray's Garden Service lists lawn care, with Google reviews going back to 2020, Saturday hours listed, and a published phone number.
Lawn care(650) 399-0501Roman Landscape | Bay Area
5.0on Google (25)East Palo Alto, CA
A East Palo Alto lawn care company, Roman Landscape | Bay Area lists lawn care and landscaping, rated 5.0 by 25 Google reviewers, with Google reviews going back to 2023, Saturday hours listed, and a published phone number and website.
Val's Landscape
5.0on Google (2)Los Altos, CA
Val's Landscape works on properties in Los Altos, California, handling lawn care and landscaping, with Google reviews going back to 2025, and a published phone number and website.
Val's Landscaping
5.0on Google (6)Menlo Park, CA
Listed in Menlo Park, California, Val's Landscaping offers lawn care and landscaping, with Google reviews going back to 2023, and a published phone number.
Lawn care(650) 489-9393Verbena Landscaping Inc.
4.9on Google (16)East Palo Alto, CA
Based in East Palo Alto, California, Verbena Landscaping Inc. covers lawn care and landscaping, rated 4.9 by 16 Google reviewers, with Google reviews going back to 2023, Saturday hours listed, and a published phone number and website.
Aravat Landscaping Inc
4.5on Google (35)Palo Alto, CA
Aravat Landscaping Inc is a lawn care company in Palo Alto, California, offering lawn care and landscaping, rated 4.5 by 35 Google reviewers, with Google reviews going back to 2024, and a published phone number and website.
Garcia Garden Service
3.8on Google (4)Palo Alto, CA
Garcia Garden Service works on properties in Palo Alto, California, handling lawn care, with Google reviews going back to 2020, and a published phone number.
Lawn care(650) 547-1945Gardening and painting services
2.5on Google (2)Palo Alto, CA
Listed in Palo Alto, California, Gardening and painting services offers lawn care, with Google reviews going back to 2020, and a published phone number.
Lawn care(650) 776-8176
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Where these companies are
When to do the work in Palo Alto
Palo Alto sits in the California climate region, which runs mixed-season lawns. Last frost usually falls January 15-March 1 (many coastal areas frost-free) and first frost November 15-December 15, and that pair sets every date below.
Grasses that do well here
- Tall Fescue
- Bermudagrass
- St. Augustinegrass
- Kentucky Bluegrass
| Task | Local window | Why then |
|---|---|---|
| Seed or overseed | September to October | Mild autumns give the longest establishment window of the year. |
| Fertilize | March, May, September, and November | Feed lightly and often rather than heavily twice a year. |
| Core aerate | September to October | Autumn rain does the softening for you. |
| Pre-emergent for crabgrass | January 15 - February 28 | Go by soil temperature: apply before it holds 52 degrees. |
Problems local crews deal with most: Drought and water restrictions, summer heat stress on cool-season lawns, billbugs.
Want the exact soil temperature before you book pre-emergent? Check your ZIP on the soil temperature tracker.
How we verify these companies
- Ratings and review counts come from the platform named
- Hours, ratings, and photos come from public listings and can go stale
Lawn care in Palo Alto: common questions
How much does lawn care cost in Palo Alto?
A single mowing visit in Palo Alto typically runs $50 to $76 for an average quarter-acre lot, and crews bill around $66 an hour for work outside a routine cut. Treatments are quoted per 1,000 square feet: fertilizer and weed control land in the single-digit to low-teens dollars, while core aeration and overseeding cost more because they are once-a-year jobs. Full-season contracts almost always beat per-visit pricing.
Which lawn care company in Palo Alto should I hire?
Compare the attributed Google and Yelp ratings rather than any single score, check the company actually offers the service you need, and get two quotes for the same scope rather than one. For spray work, ask for the company's pesticide applicator licence number directly: California requires one for anyone applying herbicide or insecticide for payment, and we have no public register for this state to check it against for you.
Does a lawn care company need a licence in California?
Yes, for pesticide work. Applying herbicides, insecticides, or fungicides on someone else's property for payment requires a commercial pesticide applicator licence issued by California, and the licence carries a number and an expiry date. Plain mowing and trimming generally do not require that licence, so a company can be perfectly legitimate for mowing and still not be licensed to spray. Ask which one you are hiring for.
When should I hire a lawn care company in Palo Alto?
Book before the season starts rather than during it. Palo Alto runs mixed-season lawns, so the calendar that matters is the timing table on this page: pre-emergent goes down off soil temperature in spring, and the seeding and aeration window is the single busiest stretch of the year for local crews. Calling two to three weeks ahead of a window is the difference between getting your date and getting whatever is left.
Is a lawn care service worth it in Palo Alto?
It depends on which jobs you hand over. Mowing is the easiest thing to do yourself and the most expensive thing to buy repeatedly. Pesticide application is the opposite: it is the job where a licensed applicator with calibrated equipment and the right product beats a homeowner with a hose-end sprayer. Many people in Palo Alto split it, mowing themselves and buying the treatment rounds.