Unpredictable weather no match for CM

The maintenance cycle in commercial landscaping is never ending, at times dependent on labor, and forever at the mercy of the weather

“You’ve got to be one step ahead, always prepared for anything,” said Will Comstock, Senior Operations Manager in charge of Commercial Maintenance at Michael Hatcher & Associates. “It never really stops.”

MH&A’s Commercial Maintenance calendar begins with spring cleanup from January through March

“Spring cleanup is elevating the canopy on trees, cutting back ornamental grasses, cleaning out the beds, rejuvenation pruning, and cutting back groundcover beds,” Comstock said “It’s getting everything neat and tidy and ready for the growing season Once properties are cleaned up, we proceed into our mulching ”

To be more efficient, Comstock said mulching was combined with spring cleanup this year

Spring cleanup may be a constant, but a fickle variable so far in 2023 has been the lingering impact of the arctic blast that brought to the Mid-

South subzero temperatures, ice, snow, and dangerously cold wind chills around the Christmas holiday.

“Seasonally, this one is a little different than others because of the cold snap that we just had,” said David Loyd, Senior Field Operations Manager “We’re seeing some plant material defoliating that you would not normally see on a property ” With the exception of willow oaks and some other oak varieties, the deciduous crape myrtles, maples, and sycamores had already defoliated during the fall However, Loyd said the arctic blast affected evergreen plants, trees, and shrubs that usually stand out in winter

“We’re having som evergreen plant material that woul typically never defoliate actually drop their leaves because of the extreme cold temp and wind,” he said among them boxwoods, nandinas, and hollies “It’ll be a transition when we go into growing season to really see what plant material might not survive ”

In situations like the ever-changing weather, client education is crucial, Senior Account Manager French Hobbs said

“We want the property managers and owners to be compliant with local planting ordinances, but we also want to save them money while keeping their properties looking well maintained at all times,” he said.

To do that, Comstock said it takes hard work, strategic planning, and accepting the unpredictability of

Mother Nature

“I’ve seen some red buds, red maples, and forsythias already starting to show a little sign of color,” he said. “It reminds me that the only thing we can’t predict is the weather I wish we could ”

By Ginny Shikle, Communications Specialist