Green Oasis vs. RainMaster: Comparing 2 Lawn Services in Eau Claire, WI

What customers say

Reviews are the closest thing to asking a few hundred neighbors. As of April 2024, Google ratings for the two Eau Claire operations stood at:

• Green Oasis: 4.3 out of 5 stars across 221 reviews
• RainMaster: 4.9 out of 5 stars across 414 reviews

Ratings move, so check current numbers before you decide. Read the one- and two-star reviews on both while you are there; the pattern in complaints is more informative than the average.

Broad services or a narrow focus

Green Oasis opened in 1978 doing sprinkler system installation and expanded over the decades into landscape design, installation, and maintenance. The main focus today is landscaping plus a retail garden center that also carries decor and clothing. The service list spans lawn care programs, landscaping, spring and fall cleanups, pest control, snow removal, irrigation, window cleaning, and Christmas lighting.

RainMaster started small too and stayed narrower on purpose. Our services are three levels of lawn care, irrigation, commercial snow removal, and pest management. We do not clean windows or hang Christmas lights.

Which is better depends on what you want. If the appeal is one vendor for everything on the property, a full-service company has a real advantage. If what you want is turf and irrigation done at depth, a narrower focus concentrates the training and the equipment there.

Program options

Green Oasis lists one recommended lawn care program on its website along with an organic program option. The recommended program includes five visits from spring through fall, using mostly liquid fertilizer, with weed control.

RainMaster offers three tiers so the program can match the lawn and the budget:

• Luscious Lawn is the high-end proactive program, for the fastest and strongest results and for lawns that need significant help.
• Terrific Turf is the mid-level option and our most popular, built for a thick green lawn that handles most common problems.
• Healthy Habitat is the basic plan with the core elements a better lawn needs.

Each is detailed on our site with what it includes, so you do not have to infer what you are buying.

Fertilizer type

Green Oasis uses liquid fertilizer more often than granular. RainMaster uses granular.

The practical difference is release rate. Liquid fertilizer is immediately available and produces a fast response that tapers off. Granular products cost more and break down over weeks, so nutrients are supplied steadily between visits rather than as a spike followed by a lull. Steadier feeding also pushes less soft top growth heading into summer heat, which matters for disease pressure. Granular is what we use for that reason, though both approaches can grow a decent lawn when applied correctly.

Pricing transparency

Green Oasis does not post pricing on its website, so you will need to call for it.

RainMaster publishes pricing for every service. Our three lawn care programs start as low as $449 per year. Three irrigation maintenance programs start as low as $239 per year. Mosquito and tick control starts at $579 per year.

Our pricing reflects deliberate product choices: high-quality granular fertilizer, a grub control material selected for lower risk to bees rather than the cheapest option, and premium grass seed. Premium seed costs more per pound and returns it in germination rate and in cultivars that hold up better against drought and disease. The higher tiers put more weight on proactive soil and root health, which costs more than treating problems after they appear.

Call us with questions any time, but you should not have to call just to find out what something costs.

The small operational differences

A few RainMaster practices seem minor and are the ones customers mention most:

• A call after every visit. Our technicians phone you when they are done to say what was applied and what they noticed. It is uncommon in this industry and it is how you find out a problem is starting.
• Irrigation coordination at aeration. On our highest-level aeration service we flag sprinkler heads before aerating so they do not get struck, then reset the irrigation controller for the frequent light watering new seed needs and set it back afterward. When lawn care and irrigation are handled by different companies, that coordination falls to you.
• Advance notification. Email and text before service, so you can move toys, bring the dog in, and unlock the gate.

How to decide

Put the same questions to both and write down the answers: what happens at each visit, fertilizer type and rate, whether weed control is liquid and targeted, what grub product is used and its pollinator risk, what seed grade is used in overseeding, whether aeration is included or extra, and what the full annual cost comes to with everything added in.

Both companies have been in the Chippewa Valley a long time. RainMaster has been at this since 1999, and our pricing and program details are published so the comparison does not require a sales call. See locations for coverage or request a quote.