LANDSCAPE MAINTENANCE
If you have invested time and money into a landscape on your property it is important to provide the needed maintenance to keep the landscape healthy, safe, and beautiful. Many people install plants and landscapes and never think of the maintenance needs they will require. Landscape maintenance in no different than routine oil changes for your car, annual doctors check ups for yourself, or regular cleaning of your house. Landscape maintenance is something that should be budgeted into your time and finances when dealing with your landscape. Listed below are some of the most common tasks that should be regularly maintained to prevent problems and added expenses in the future.
Pruning
It is important to understand one thing. Plants are living and they grow. It does not matter what type of plant you have in your landscape, at some point or another it is going to need some sort of pruning. The pruning may be for aesthetics, safety, or the overall health of the plant. Depending on what type of plant you have will usually determine when you prune it. Evergreens are best pruned in Late Summer. Evergreens need regular pruning. It is very difficult to prune an evergreen back and make it look right if it has been allowed to become extremely overgrown. Many evergreens will have a dead zone in the center and if you prune into it, it may take many years to fill back in if it does at all. Many other shrubs are best pruned when they are dormant (January-March). When the leaves are off of the plant you can see the architecture of the branches. This allows you to do a better job pruning when you are selective with your cuts. Rubbing and crossing branches, limbs that do not fit the natural growth of the plant, double leaders, and nuisance limbs should be removed. Whatever type of plant you have on your property it is good to set aside some time every year to see what their pruning needs are. Some years you may have very little in the way of pruning needs. Other years may require more work. Just think of this. It is easier to correct a problem when the plant is young by removing the branches when they are an inch in diameter than in the future when a branch may be a foot in diameter and weigh hundreds of pounds.
Topdressing
Many landscapes include mulched tree rings and mulched plant beds. The original thickness of the mulch should be roughly 3” when it is installed. Each year the mulch is going to break down and decompose. We generally figure about an inch a year. We recommend topdressing mulch beds once a year in the spring. Topdressing is adding a 1” layer of fresh mulch. Keeping the desired thickness of mulch benefits the plant in many ways. Mulch helps to hold moisture around the root zone, this will help to reduce the amount of water needed for the plant. Mulch is a great insulator for the root zone. The extreme summer heat and extreme winter cold is reduced because of the insulation provided by the mulch. The mulch adds organic matter to the root zone of the plants as it decomposes. Mulch also helps to increase the microbial activity in the soil, which is great. When topdressing remember to avoid mounding the mulch on the bark and trunk of the plant. When the mulch is mounded on the bark it holds moisture and can rot out the bark. One final thought. If you do not topdress regularly, the next time you do it, it will require more mulch which costs extra along with added time to move the extra mulch.
Spring and Fall Cleanup
Once in the spring and once in the fall it is important to do a complete cleanup of the lawn and landscape. Some of the things that should be done with a cleanup should include the following.
1. Remove excess and piles of leaves from your lawn and bed areas.
2. Clear and remove fallen limbs and branches.
3. Cleanup tree nuts and seeds. Many people leave these as they will eventually decompose and they take a long time to clean up.
4. Cut down perennials and ornamental grasses that have died back for the year.
5. Repair any snowplow damage and look for rocks and/or pieces of debris that may have worked their way into your lawn over the winter.
6. Remove any excess piles of grass clippings.
Piles of debris that are on the lawn and landscape a long time may smother desired grass or perennials. By removing it you decrease the risk of damage to your desired plants. Removing excess material and cutting back plants that have died back for the year will really limit the amount of insects and diseases you have over wintering in your lawn and landscape. Fallen limbs and branches may become an attractive nuisance on the property. It is a tripping hazard and may encourage children on to the property to play. Large nuts, snowplow damage, and rocks are all items that can be hit by a lawn mower, which may create a dangerous situation with flying projectiles. Finally, a clean lawn and landscape is a beautiful lawn and landscape. You may have the nicest grass and most beautiful plants but if people have to look over fallen limbs and piles of yard debris they will not be able to fully appreciate the experience.
Edging
It is a good idea to edge along sidewalks, driveways, curbs, and parking lots. This helps to keep plants from creeping over the edge into unwanted areas. Edging along walks and drives will make shoveling and running a snow blower easier in the winter. If you have stone or brick edging around a landscape bed it could also be edged. This will keep plants from growing into or out of the bed. All said, edging will dramatically improve the aesthetics of your lawn and landscape.
Weeding
Keeping your plantings and beds free of weeds is just as important is keeping weeds out of the lawn. Weeds in the bed are competing for the same nutrients and water your desired plants are. It is important to keep the weeds under control so that the desired plants are under as little added stress as possible. Extra stress on plants can increase the signs of insect and disease pressure. There are several ways to provide weed control, pre emergent (before the seed germinates) or post emergent (after plant has started growing). A good pre emergent treatment in the spring will drastically cut back on weeds that show up during the year. If you have a bed that has weeds already you will need post emergent control. This treatment will kill weeds that are already growing. It is important to be careful and follow labeled directions when controlling weeds around desired plants. If chemical weed control is not for you, you can always weed the area by hand or mechanically pull the weeds.
Ornamental Treatments
As you grow your landscape you may find that some plants are prone to insect infestation or disease. These instances may not kill the plant but may cause the plant to loose its leaves or become less than desirable. The best thing to do is choose plants that are well suited for your area and the type of landscape you have. Also, choose a plant that is resistant to the common insect and disease problems. If you have an existing plant prone to problems a preventive insect and disease treatment may be your best option. Some examples would include crabapples and thornless hawthorns that may have problems with leaf spot and/or rust. Ash trees susceptible to the Emerald Ash Bore, over 300 different plants susceptible to the Japanese Beetle, and Common lilac and several varieties of garden phlox that are prone to powdery mildew.
Fertility
Fertilizer needs for many landscape plants are different than those of the lawn. The lawn has a vast fibrous root system where many landscape plants are limited to the nutrients right around the plant. Landscape beds and plantings may require a fertilizer with a ratio of 1:1:1 or 1:2:1. As always, use a fertilizer that is slow release so that it can release a steady feeding of food over a longer period of time.
Landscape Inspection
Over time parts of a landscape may change. Settling, tree roots, environmental conditions, weathering, along with many other factors may cause parts of your landscape to change over time. Walls, walk, and patios may settle and create less than desirable conditions. These conditions many create dangerous situations where a wall may fall over or there may be tripping hazards on the hard surfaces. It is rare that a properly installed wall, walk, or patio will have any problems but over time it is a good idea to routinely inspect them. Edging and steppers are the hardscapes that will more than likely need to be reset from time to time in your landscape. Even if installed correctly these elements of the landscape will move with the soil and need to be reset.
Whether you do all, some, or none of your own landscape maintenance we hope this information will help to steer you in the right direction for an attractive, healthy, and safe landscape. Remember, at Hawcott Lawn Service we are here to help you with answering your questions, providing you with materials, or completing any service you may need help with. We look forward to working with you in the future.
For questions or to schedule work please call
515-382-8830 or 1-800-682-8830
Landscape Maintenance Services
Mulch Topdressing
- Hand Weeding
- Preventive weed treatments
- Post emergent weed treatments
- Spring Cleanup
- Fall Cleanup
- Complete lawn and bed leaf cleanup
- Curbside leaf removal
- Maintenance pruning
- Rejuvenation pruning
Tree Injection Treatments
Soil Injection Treatments
Drench Treatments
Contact Treatments
