July/August 2020 LCA Groundwork

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GROUNDWORK A P U B L I C A T I O N O F T H E L A N D S C A P E C O N T R A C T O R S A S S O C I A T I O N M D •D C •V A

Plant of the Month—Trees and Shrubs of Summer Periodical Cicada—Some Early Arrivals Back to Basics: Consider the Rule of Three to Restore Balance to Your Aquatic Ecosystem SEO Is Dead...Long Live SEO

contents

July/August 2020 4

Calendar of Events

5

President’s Message

6

Plant of the Month—Trees and Shrubs of Summer

10 2019 Decade Award—Easton Residence 12 Periodical Cicada—Some Early Arrivals 16 Back to Basics: Consider the Rule of Three to Restore Balance to Your Aquatic Ecosystem 19 SEO Is Dead...Long Live SEO 22 Advertising Information

Easton Residence

Plant of the Month

McHale Landscape Design, Inc. Total Residential Contracting

—DECADE AWARD— Japanese Snowbell “Feature” and “Plant of the Month” articles can also be found online for LCA Members under the GROUNDWORK link in your Profile Home page at www.lcamddcva.org

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CALENDAR OF

2020 BOARD OF DIRECTORS Aaron Raines—President Live Green Landscape Associates, LLC —(443) 763-8580 Josh Kane, CLT—Immediate Past President Kane Landscapes, Inc.—(703) 803-3146 Matt Glover, CLT—Vice President Wray Brothers Landscapes—(301) 906-1571

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LCA Webinar: Diagnostics and IPM for Herbaceous Perennials and Annuals in the Landscape Presented by David Clement, Stanton Gill, and Karen Rane

DIRECTORS Travis Hohmen, CLT Level Green Landscapes—(410) 689-9975

AUGUST 14

Excellence in Landscape Awards Submission Closes

20

LCA Webinar: Tree Problems–Diagnostics and Solutions Presented by David Clement, Stanton Gill, and Karen Rane

Colin Jones Manor View Farm, Inc.—(717) 825-0405 James Kole, CLT Level Green Landscaping—(240) 429-3153

SEPTEMBER 15

Paul Jester—Secretary/Treasurer J&G Landscape Design, Inc.—(301) 476-7600

Networking Event: Nationals vs. Orioles

Nationals Park Washington, D.C.

The LCA Program Committee is planning events and training programs on topics designed to assist you as you grow your business.

Please visit our online calendar for updates coming soon.

Root for the home team with LCA on Tuesday, September 15, 2020, at Nationals Park as the team takes on the Baltimore Orioles at 7:05 pm. This is a great chance to cheer with your peers and knock your networking opportunities out of the park!

Tentative Pending Opening of MLB.

Jeff Rossen Rossen Landscape—(703) 327-2284 Ron Rubin SavATree—(703) 625-4400 Barry Schneider Surrounds, Inc.—(703) 906-7600 Jeff Waters SiteOne Landscape Supply—(240) 375-7470

LCA STAFF Thérèse O. Clemens, CAE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Julianne Clarke MEMBERSHIP SERVICES SPECIALIST Julie Hill SENIOR MARKETING DIRECTOR Meghan Maker MARKETING SPECIALIST Lynne Agoston MANAGING EDITOR Maryia Alenchyk PRODUCTION MANAGER Barbara Bienkowski, CEM EXHIBITS/SPONSORSHIP MANAGER Lynette Randazzo MEETING PLANNER Kiki DeVane ASSOCIATE MEETING PLANNER Dawn Rosenfeld DIRECTOR OF ACCOUNTING SERVICES Deryck White WEBSITE MANAGER G R O U N D W O R K , the official publication of the Landscape Contractors Association, MD•DC•VA, is published bimonthly by LCA, 1300 Piccard Drive, Suite LL 14, Rockville, MD 20850.

P: (301) 948-0810 F: (301) 990-9771 E: lca@lcamddcva.org W: www.lcamddcva.org.

Office hours: Monday–Friday, 8:30 am–5 pm (EST).

LCA is not responsible for opinions expressed and facts presented by contributing authors.

Editorial Deadline: The deadline to submit copy is the 20th of the month for the following bimonthly issue and is on a space­­­– available basis.

Advertising & Classifieds: All ads must be high-resolution PDF and pre‑paid. Contact Barbara Bienkowski at bbienkowski@msp-amc.com for more information and the deadline schedule.

Copyright © 2020: Landscape Contractors Association, MD•DC•VA. Reproduction of any material allowed only with prior written permission from LCA. LCA’s core purpose is to advance the success of its members and provide a community for green industry professionals.

Nationals Park Bag Policy Update Beginning in 2019, backpacks may not be brought into Nationals Park except as otherwise provided in the Nationals Bag Policy. For a complete list of permitted bags and details about the locker storage option please visit the Nationals website: www.mlb.com/nationals.

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President’s Message

Aaron Raines 2020 President

Planning for the Road Ahead: A Two-Pronged Approach for Addressing a Difficult Market

Summer is in full swing—the time of year when the green industry is typically flourishing. Project work has increased, our calendars have become hectic, and the global pandemic has introduced additional hot-button considerations. On top of our typical peak-load priorities, there are more moving parts to manage: handwashing stations, inter-crew physical distancing, sanitizing procedures, and the enforcement strategies thereof. So far, it has made for incredibly difficult, uncharted territory. This has been, in itself, emotionally frustrating because we are so accustomed to drawing from our extensive expertise to inform our responses to challenges. We’d seen it all before, or so we thought.

But, with several months under our belts, we have successfully weathered the first leg of this journey.

In reflection, we should all take a moment to be proud of how we rose to the challenge. There are more obstacles ahead of us, however, and we should utilize the lessons we’ve learned thus far and begin preparing for the next hurdle: an economic downturn. Fortunately, though, foresight is on our side this time, as is experience—we’ve been here before.

We weathered the recession in 2008.

We had successes, we made mistakes, and we added those lessons to our toolbox of skills. We know what a recession brings about, and we can therefore prepare a strategic, targeted approach to address the pain points that we expect to experience.

Of those potential complications, two major anticipatory struggles come to mind—drawing in business and maintaining a quality staff.

So, what do we do to address these issues, then? Well, the first step is to prioritize our order of approach since we can’t feasibly tackle the entirety of a recession at one time. Having already staffed for the season, it’s likely that continuing to steadily draw in business in a more challenging economic environment is going to be the first proverbial fire to be fought. The second fire will then be ensuring that we retain the workforce to complete the work. Counter-intuitive though it may seem, investing is often the most effective approach to bolstering these two struggles. The implementation doesn’t need to be spending-focused, however. Instead, by planning ahead, the price tag can often be reduced by substituting in time, attention, and clever implementation.

The first objective involves marketing. In the last edition of Groundwork, I discussed the importance of industry branding to assuage safety concerns for potential customers.

Specifically, I detailed how collectively marketing our professionalism could juxtapose our services against the lower-cost arena of our competitive market. Going forward, these principles hold true; their efficacy will be an invaluable factor in maintaining our revenue streams. Additionally, because public opinion is a collective consciousness, if more of us do this, it will be more successful.

To market professionalism and safety, several steps can be taken.

We can update print advertisements, modify or redesign websites to generate more clicks as well as demonstrate our COVID-19 response efforts and community-focused values, and expand our marketing outreach efforts to additional, less conventional social media platforms, like Pinterest. Many of these strategies are low- or no-cost initiatives and instead involve small-scale investments of time. While some of these suggestions, such as website modifications, may sound daunting, there is a marketing service for almost anything you can think of—websiteContinued on page 8

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Plant of the Month

Trees and Shrubs of Summer

By Steve Carroll, Director of Public Programs, State Arboretum of Virginia

Golden rain tree (Koelreuteria paniculata)

As landscape contractors and homeowners, it’s easy to get swept up by the beauty and abundance of spring-flowering trees and shrubs. Their seemingly unending variety provides choice in color, size, form, and more.

Sooner or later, though, those redbuds, dogwoods, and crabapples will stop flowering, and one is left wondering if there isn’t a way to extend the season. Furthermore, where will the thousands of pollinators turn once the pears and cornelian cherries have faded. Fortunately, there are attractive trees and shrubs that flower later in the growing season. These late spring and summer species provide drama and a splash of color late into the growing season, and some are truly spectacular. Here are a few to consider.

color is unreliable. The bark, more evident in winter, is gray with orange-brown accents in fissures.

Snowbell’s showy, fragrant flowers are white with obvious yellow stamens and can reach a diameter of threequarters of an inch. Flowers hang below the branches and, therefore, are best appreciated when the trees are planted close to patios and walkways or in a slightly ele-

Japanese snowbell (Styrax japonicus)

The Japanese snowbell is a small, attractive tree that flowers in May and June. It can reach a height of 20 to 30 feet, though it grows slowly. Snowbell is usually single trunked, and it is attractive year-round. Its lustrous, dark green leaves turn yellow with a hint of red, though fall

Japanese snowbell flowers hang below the branches and are best appreciated up close. Photo courtesy of Mark Brand.

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From a distance, the bottlebrush buckeye resembles a grand candelabra. Photo courtesy of Er.We.

A closer look at bottlebrush buckeye flower clusters shows a delicacy not evident from a distance. Photo courtesy of Er.We.

vated spot. Snowbell prefers slightly acid, well-drained soil and it does well in sun to part shade.

tically from branch tips, giving it a weeping look. Add its attractive, fissured bark and varied, vivid and early red-burgundy fall color and you have a nice selection for a spot with full sun or minimal shade. Bees and other pollinators always appreciate this tree as it supplies copious amounts of nectar—the source of the South’s famous sourwood honey.

Japanese snowbell is an appealing, underused selection. It grows taller than American snowbell (S. americanus) and is hardier than others in the genus. If a spot in the landscape does not seem right for the full-size species, there are dwarf and weeping varieties available in the trade.

Bottlebrush buckeye (Aesculus parviflora)

A native to the southeast United States, bottlebrush buckeye is an eye-catching, summer-flowering shrub.

Flowers are a pleasing creamy white to white with a hint of pink from the protruding stamens. The flowers cluster in narrow, spike-like inflorescences that give the plant its common name. Bottlebrush’s compound, palmate leaves generally have the five leaflets typical of buckeye. These turn a pleasing yellow in the fall, and they persist longer than leaves of its near relatives. Plants can reach 8 to 12 feet tall and 10 to 15 feet wide, and they tolerate our hot, humid summers well.

Like bottlebrush buckeye, sourwood makes a good specimen tree, but also is well used when massed. Individuals may be single- or multi-stemmed and can reach 20–30 feet tall and up to 20 feet across. Open-grown trees are often branched nearly to the ground. Like its relatives in the blueberry family, it prefers acidic, moist (but well drained) soil. Sourwood is sensitive to root compaction, so this should inform decisions about where to plant it. And for those intrigued by botanical trivia, the genus Oxydendrum is monotypic—that is, it includes only one species.

Bottlebrush buckeye can be planted in sun to part shade and does best in moist, well-drained soil. Although somewhat slow-growing, its mounded, free-form appearance makes it ideal not only as specimen plants, but also for massing as screens and borders. This species was more popular in the past and can often be found on older properties, but wise gardeners will take a second look at this choice.

Sourwood or Sorrel Tree (Oxydendrum arboretum)

This attractive summer-flowering tree opens lily-of-thevalley-like flowers in July and August that splay out artis-

The flared inflorescences of sourwood lend a sweeping, graceful look.

Photo courtesy of James Gaither.

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Plants of the Month continued ing his 1770s exploration of the U.S. Southeast. Today, no specimens are known from the wild, and all trees in cultivation are likely to be progeny of Bartram’s collections.

Golden rain tree (Koelreuteria paniculata)

A golden rain tree in full flower is a spectacle, with 12- to 15-inch clusters of yellow flowers that develop into papery, balloon-like seedpods. Flowering occurs in July after the height of the spring season is but a pleasant memory.

Franklinia in flower is strikingly beautiful, but it is not often planted.

Photo courtesy of Flatbush Gardener.

Franklinia (Franklinia alatamaha)

If you have a sheltered spot with rich soil and morning or partial sun, you might try planting this unusual native.

Franklinia, a member of the camellia/tea family, displays attractive camellia-like flowers in late summer or early fall and has good fall color as its bright green leaves turn scarlet. Trees can reach 15–20 feet tall and can be singleor multiple-trunked. Franklinia is sometimes temperamental about establishing, so it may do best in a spot where it gets care and attention.

Rain tree is native to Asia, where the flowers are used medicinally. The fallen flower petals cover the ground like rain.

The related Chinese flame tree (K. bipinnata) has yellow and red flowers and more highly divided leaves but is not as cold hardy.

Summer may be the season for ripening fruits and colorful herbaceous plants, but this needn’t mean a woody landscape without color. Those who wish to see flowers in the canopy can consult a growing list of small trees and shrubs that await summer heat before bursting into flower.

Perhaps the most unusual thing about Franklinia is its history. Plant explorer John Bartram collected seeds dur-

President’s Message continued building platforms, for example, require almost no technical experience. A little bit of research can go a long way toward securing a stronger marketing presence and continuing to attract customers.

To address staffing, focus on employee retention and satisfaction. Specifically, investing in the team is of paramount importance because of its benefits. First, employees feel valued and valuable. In addition, team investment produces efficiency and quality, both of which advance organizational performance in a challenging market. Finally, training equips employees with the tools to advance their position; this incentivizes output, strengthens the team’s combined expertise, and bolsters the organization’s leadership strength.

Training, of course, is not a revolutionary concept, but the pandemic may specifically necessitate some modifications, such as designing and administering training

programs to smaller groups and scheduling events incrementally. Employee satisfaction can also be addressed by adding a suggestion component. This demonstrates care and interest in employees’ opinions and opens a channel for useful, enlightening feedback. Employees often recount issues firsthand that you might not have identified, allowing for the assessment and improvement of new pandemic procedures.

Although economic downturns are always difficult for businesses, the negative impacts of the current market can be very effectively addressed by implementing twopronged approaches like these to target specific struggles.

With our previous experience and advanced planning, we can weather these challenges and continue to operate successfully through the season and into the years ahead.

Aaron Raines LCA President

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Smart Controls For Landscape Lighting New smart controls offer clients maximum control with minimum maintenance and expense

Smart control technology offers clients more options and flexibility for lighting controls than ever before. Clients can control their landscape lighting using an app on their smart phone. The three main types of smart controls for landscape lighting systems are: WIFI-based control systems; fixture manufacturer proprietary controls; and HUB-based controls. Of these three, we find HUB-based systems provide the best experience and overall value to our homeowners.

WIFI-based smart controls are a good option for budget-conscious, tech-savvy clients. A smartphone app sends a signal over the home WIFI network to a smart plug at the transformer. Examples of WIFIbased smart plugs include Wemo and Kasa. This equipment is inexpensive, costing about the same as traditional timers. One downside is that smart plugs will occasionally (once or twice a year) disconnect from the WIFI due to firmware updates, or power outages. When this happens, the smart plug receiver will need to be re-installed. This option is a good choice for clients who are willing, and capable of taking care of some on-going maintenance.

Proprietary Controls offered by fixture manufacturers such as Brilliance LED, FX Luxor, and Alliance also offer app-controlled products, using WIFI or BLUETOOTH. These systems offer the benefits that other smart control

systems provide, but tend to be unreliable. Fixture manufacturers typically do not specialize in controls, offering them as add-ons to their core product, light fixtures.

Smart phone app updates tend to be infrequent and inadequate, making these products prone to glitches.

HUB-based systems are more complex and expensive than other options, but are the most reliable. The system consists of a hub and smart plugs. The hub is hardwired directly to a modem/router, and sends out its own, amplified signal, rather than depending on the home WIFI signal. This eliminates the problem of re-setting smart plug receivers. Made by major electronics manufacturers such as Samsung (Samsung Smart Things) and Lutron (Lutron Casetta), these companies have the necessary resources required to regularly maintain and update their apps. As a result, HUBS tend to work seamlessly, with minimal ongoing maintenance.

We recommend and install HUB based systems. At a slightly higher price, hubs use regularly maintained apps that work well and rarely require smart plug receivers to be reconnected. Clients have the convenience of app controls, with minimal ongoing maintenance. These systems can be installed with new landscape lighting projects or retrofitted to existing systems. To learn more please visit olsonweaver.com or call 703.881.1841.

703-881-1841 olsonweaver.com

2019

Decade Award Easton Residence McHale Landscape Design, Inc.

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Our crew was contracted to design and build an outdoor living space that included a pool patio, wood deck, and arbor that maximized space and met the 100’ setback requirements of Talbot County. The plantings were to provide cut flowers and a lemon-lime color theme and provide succession of color throughout the spring and summer seasons. Our maintenance crews have kept this property in perfect condition with comprehensive year-round service since 2009.

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Periodical Cicada—Some Early Arrivals

By Stanton Gill, Extension Specialist in Nursery and Greenhouse IPM, Central Maryland Research and Education Center, University of Maryland Extension; Professor With the Landscape Technology Program, Montgomery College

This article is a follow-up to a short article I wrote for LCA at the end of May 2020 on the periodical cicada.

On May 28, 2020, Todd Armstrong of Davey Tree Company sent in a picture that caught my attention. It was periodical cicada emergence in his lawn in the Jarrettsville, Maryland, area. Brood X of cicada are not supposed to arrive until 2021 in our area, but they do sometimes get out of cycle. This is just more good news for 2020, first, COVID-19; then cool, wet spring; and now rogue periodical cicadas. This is sure to make the news if it is more widespread than just Jarrettsville.

Brood X’s most recent appearance was in the spring and early summer of 2004 throughout an area involving

much of Maryland and several other states. The next regular appearances of Brood X are expected next year. It is interesting that a significant number of periodical cicadas, believed to be Brood X emergents that were four years early, appeared throughout the brood’s range in 2000 and in the Baltimore/Washington area in May 2017. Unusual weather patterns may have contributed to this.

People are reporting the cicadas showing up on plant material, and others are finding one or two on their porches. We have received reports of emergent periodical cicada from Potomac, Rockville, Olney, Bethesda, Kingsville, Luthersville, and Davidsonville, Maryland; Northern Vir-

Cicada, photo by Alexa Smarr.

ginia; one from Delaware; and one from southeast Pennsylvania.

Here are some of the reported sightings with locations: •

Larry Kahn reported over 50 periodical cicadas at his place in Vienna, Virginia, very near Wolf Trap farm.

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Tom Reed found periodical cicadas on his parent’s willow oak tree in Bear, Delaware.

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Dr. Robert Fields found an adult periodical cicada in Rockville near Olney.

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Several cicadas were reported in Pikesville and Potomac.

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Matt Katsuleres at the Maryland Turf Farm in College Park saw four cicadas on June 3.

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Dona Kollis found a cicada in Rockville on May 24.

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Bob Boyer, Scientific Plant Service, Inc. saw one at his home in Arnold on his chestnut oak.

•

Alexa Smarr, extension educator, received a photo of a peridocal cicada from Kingsville on May 24.

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Periodical Cicada—Some Early Arrivals continued •

or just nature experimenting to see if this varied emergence works better.

Earl Reeves found a periodical cicada in Severna Park on May 29 and noted that “he seemed lost.”

•

Ted Small had a cicada fly onto his shoulder in Rosedale.

•

Craig Greco found a peridocal cicada emerging in Leesburg, Virginia, on June 2.

We have 12 broods of the 17-year cicada in the United States. The big one for the central part of Maryland is Brood X. We have a few areas (or should I say, parts of Virginia) that have Brood IX. Likely, what we are seeing are the stragglers from Brood X that are showing up one year early from the main event of the mass emergence in 2021. So, we are getting a preview of what is to come in 2021. The reason for the early emergence is not completely known, but it has happened before. There are always a few that are early to the party, showing up before and after the main year of emergence of Brood X. It could be the weather influence

Brood IX is not in Maryland, but we do have Brood II in Southern Maryland, Brood V in far western Garrett County, Brood X in Central Maryland, and Brood XIX at the tip of St. Mary’s County (13-year species).

As the summer progresses, you will hear the distinct song of the males, which sounds like small fourcycle engines running in the trees.

The female are silent and seek out the noisy males. Mating is in midsummer, and then females cut into branches to lay eggs. Where she cuts into the branches, it will cause a canker to form, and the tip of the small branches will die back above the girdled area.

Females may cause small branch dieback as they oviposit in small branches in late June. The damage looks bad, but larger trees recover quickly. Small trees, especially ones just transplanted, may sustain

2020 periodcal cicada emerge in Jarrettsville. Photo by Todd Armstrong.

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Cicada in the Servena Park area.

Photo by Earl Reeves.

more damage and may need some protection.

What Is coming?

2021 will be the BIG YEAR for periodical cicada emergence. 2020 strangler Brood X emergence is just a preview of what is to come. Just about the time COVID-19 has quieted down, we will see the press turn its attention to the emergence of Brood X. It will be spectacular. and everyone will get very excited.

It happened in 2004 and will happen again in 2021. Lots of people will be selling customers all sort of tree protection, including netting, sprays, and other useful items. Just be ready for the hoopla to start in the late spring of 2021. Until then, enjoy the summer.

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Back to Basics: Consider the Rule of Three to Restore Balance to Your Aquatic Ecosystem

By Erin Stewart and Katelyn Behounek, SOLitude Lake Management

When developing a management plan for a lake or pond, it is important to keep its purpose and priorities in mind. Is it strictly aesthetic?

Is it used for fishing or recreation?

Maybe it facilitates irrigation, drinking water, fire suppression, or stormwater collection? An effective freshwater management program can be compared to the importance of each leg on a “three-legged stool.” Just like the legs supporting the stool, many water resources are interdependent, meaning that the actions taken in the watershed could cause imbalances that have negative consequences downstream.

Think of each “leg” of this metaphorical three-legged stool as representative of the (1) physical, (2) chemical, and (3) biological components of a freshwater resource. If one part of this trinity breaks down, the others will follow. To ensure that each of these aspects is protected, it’s important to understand the ways in which they contribute to the health of a waterbody and how to identify imbalances when they arise.

The first leg of the stool—the physical characteristics of a lake or pond— includes features such as size, depth, volume, bottom substrate, water source, and exchange through the system. These are major components

Proactive management is the most effective safeguard against poor water quality and aesthetically-displeasing conditions in lakes and ponds. Proactive approaches are also more costeffective than “reactive” solutions and less impactful on the surrounding environment.

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that can affect how a lake or pond responds to environmental conditions. For instance, shallow ponds with excessive buildup of bottom muck and sediment, or those with limited water movement, will be more likely to experience algae and weed growth than a large, deep lake or one with lots of movement.

The chemical characteristics, the second leg of the stool, refer to natural water quality components that can be measured, such as temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, nutrients, water clarity, dissolved metals, salts, and many other parameters.

Poor water quality in lakes and ponds often occurs when these parameters become imbalanced in one direction or another. This is often caused by polluted runoff entering the waterbody that contains fertilizer, pet or wildlife waste, landscaping debris (grass clipping and leaves), and other organic materials. This process of nutrient “pollution” is one of the most common causes of chemical imbalance in a freshwater ecosystem.

The third biological component of the stool comprises all living things, including algae, plants, bugs, fish, and microorganisms. Nutrient pollution is an example of how one component can directly affect another; nutrients encourage algae

removal are all proactive ways to support the physical leg of the stool.

These tools limit the influx of runoff and pollutants, prevent erosion and sedimentation, increase water movement, and maintain the depth and structural components of a lake or pond.

No two water bodies are the same, meaning there is no true one-size-fits-all approach to water quality management. To ensure your lake and pond goals are achieved, it’s important to design a customized maintenance plan that considers the unique characteristics of your water resources.

and aquatic plant growth. While moderate levels of growth are natural and provide habitat and food for fish and wildlife, algae and aquatic weed growth can proliferate under imbalanced conditions. Without proper management, nuisance algae and vegetation can block sunlight, limit access for fishing and boating, and compromise aesthetics. As these increased populations of plants and algae decay as part of their natural lifecycle, they will release more nutrients into the waterbody to fuel additional growth, creating a vicious cycle. In the process, the risk of fish kills, offensive odors, accumulation of bottom muck, and nuisance insect populations can all increase—further offsetting the balance of the waterbody’s physical, chemical, and biological characteristics.

Having knowledge about the benefits of proactive management—and sustainable tools and technologies at our fingertips—adds a fourth, stabilizing “leg” to the “three-legged stool.” With proactive management in place, even if one of the other components is slightly out of balance, the stool may wobble but will

not fall over. In other words, problems that might normally be detrimental for a lake or pond can be identified and resolved early on, before they can impact other aspects of the ecosystem.

A proactive approach is most effective when it accounts for all elements of an ecosystem. Vegetative buffer management, shoreline stabilization, aeration, regular stormwater inspections, and even sediment

Some of the more advanced management strategies utilize nutrient-locking products or beneficial bacteria to cycle and remove excess nutrients from the water column, reducing the potential for chemical imbalances.

New technologies like nanobubble treatments can be used alongside these solutions to increase beneficial dissolved oxygen concentrations and enhance overall water quality. Aeration of all types can also help foster the health of fish, wildlife, and beneficial insects through the biological food chain. These proactive tools can help give more “stability” to a freshwater management plan so that serious, costly problems are far less likely to arise.

Whether mosquitoes and bad odors are keeping you away from the water

The introduction of beneficial aquatic plants like pickerelweed, cardinal flower, and blueflag iris around pond shorelines can help filter pollutants from stormwater runoff, thus reducing the development of undesirable algae and toxic cyanobacteria.

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Back to Basics: Consider the Rule of Three to Restore Balance to Your Aquatic Ecosystem or nuisance algae is causing an eyesore around your property, there are always ways to counteract the issues you are experiencing. It is important to bring in a professional to educate you about the best proactive approaches for your waterbody and help design a custom management plan before problems get out of hand. Just like a master carpenter would use his knowledge and expertise to build you the best seat, a certified and trained lake management professional will take each “leg� of the

Cyanobacteria is a type of harmful algal bloom capable of producing dangerous toxins that threaten animal and human health. Regular water quality testing can be used to identify imbalances in the water column and implement a sustainable solution before a cyanobacteria bloom becomes dangerous.

continued

aquatic resource into account to achieve your unique goals and objectives.

Erin Stewart and Katelyn Behounek are aquatic biologists with SOLitude Lake Management, a nationwide environmental firm that provides sustainable lake, stormwater pond, wetland, and fisheries management solutions. Learn more about this topic at www.solitudelakemanagement.com/knowledge.

Pond fountains provide a plethora of water quality benefits, including circulation and the introduction of dissolved oxygen throughout the water body. A well-aerated pond is less hospitable to algae, aquatic weeds, odors, and fish kills.

LCA WEBINARS Diagnostics and IPM for Herbaceous Perennials and Annuals in the Landscape Thursday, July 23, 2020 10:00-11:30 am ET

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Tree Problems - Diagnostics and Solutions Thursday, August 20, 2020 10:00-11:30 am ET

Presented by University of Maryland Extension Specialists

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SEO Is Dead...Long Live SEO

By Kevin Caslow

What does SEO do? Whether you have been practicing SEO (search engine optimization) since you first launched your site or you are just starting to get your site to rank in search engine result pages (SERPs), you may have heard, “SEO is dead.”

That statement has been said for years; however, that could not be farther from the truth. People have questions and the internet, with the help from the likes of Google, Bing or other search engines, has answers.

SEO professionals and practitioners have been trying since the birth of the search engine to have their pages rank above their competitors.

And like any technology, the search engines have grown. For instance, AI and machine learning technology are able to read web pages on their own.

The goal of search engines is to discover, read, and index web pages so when a user has a question, the engine has an answer. The engines are getting smarter; they are able to read a page, see your question, and display the answer, most times with synonyms or a “People Also Asked” box, possibly answering a question that you did not know you had. The goal of SEO is to not only make the sites available for engines to read and index the page, but also to ensure that the user is able to read and use the website. At the end of the day, it is the user that is buying your product or service, not the search engine.

SEO makes sure that engines display your site in SERP and users are able to find the answer to their question,

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hopefully buying your service or product in the process.

The Google Environment

The Google SERP environment has changed. Once it was simply you having a question and Google presenting your answer. This has evolved into many different results including: Knowledge Graph, People Also Asked, Image Carousels, Sponsored Results and Ads, Featured Snippets, Answer Boxes, and of course, the good, old-fashioned, organic results.

The Google SERP is a busy and clustered environment.

Think about it: How many times have you used Google to find an answer and possibly never left due to this bustling answer page? This

SEO Is Dead...Long Live SEO continued is called a zero-click search, and Rand Fishkin, founder of SparkToro, wanted to find out how often this happened. In August 2019, he published a study where he found that 50.33% of searches in Google end with zero clicks. For example, when Google released the Knowledge Graph in 2012, Wikipedia experienced a 21% drop in traffic. For a site that receives millions of visitors a day, that is a huge drop in traffic.

On top of all the features of the Google SERP, Google announced in June 2019 that it will only display two pages per site on one SERP, calling it “Site Diversity.” All this adds up to less organic traffic to your site and potentially fewer sales.

SEO Is Here to Help

What can be done to make sure that your site and service are seen? This is where SEO comes into play. Good SEO is a combination of marketing,

data analysis, and technical knowledge; it is not so much optimizing search engines but optimizing content for search engines. One of the most useful aspects of SEO is knowing your market and knowing how to speak to them.

Something that will help in this area is keyword research. This research will give you an idea of what people are looking for around your target keyword. It would include how often people are searching for that term (key word density) or how many other sites are using that same keyword (keyword competition).

Synonyms of that word or phrase could be used on site to potentially gain more visibility. Look at the site content and see if there are opportunities to drive more traffic by diversifying the terms on page.

Another aspect of SEO is knowing your competition. Look at what they

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are doing. Sometimes you will have a campaign that looks like it will get a ton of traction in search. The price is set right, the keywords and phrases have high search volume but low competitive volume, and the campaign still fails. It happens. One of the best next steps is to look and see if someone else did it better. Competitive analysis will help you gain insights to what your competitors did and see if they did it better. Did they use different keywords? Were there other sites that linked to their site that drove more traffic? Sometimes just looking at what others did will help your efforts in the future.

Repr inted w ith per mi s s ion f rom www.lawnandlandscape.com.

Kevin Caslow is the SEO analyst for GIE Media, Lawn & Landscape’s parent company.

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