EDGING AND MULCHING One of the more labor-intensive services your landscape provider performs is the edging and mulching process that occurs each spring. After the site clean-up, new edges to many of the beds and tree rings are made to help define these areas and then a layer of quality, partially decomposed hardwood mulch is applied to the beds. Mulch is one of your best landscape materials to help reduce soil erosion, prevent weeds, reduce soil moisture loss along with providing the site with a clean, professional appearance. Mulch depth should be between 1–2 inches in depth in most areas; on the higher end for around trees and shrubs and less when put on groundcover and perennials. Mulch is usually a hardwood product that has been shredded a number of times and then aged for a few months to produce the end product found on most sites. Mulch can be the natural wood product, or a dyed material can be used to provide different visual effects. Brown and black dyed mulch is popular in many landscapes while red dyed mulch can also be found in certain areas but is more popular in the South. These dyes are harmless to plants and are only used for aesthetic purposes. If you see mulch layers exceeding this amount, then a mulch reduction may be in order for next season to reduce the buildup. It is not advisable to disturb the soil/mulch layer when the plants are actively growing.
Spring Operations ON YOUR SITES It is a busy time of the year for landscape companies as they scramble to get sites ready for the upcoming growing season. As we are now into the late spring, early summer period for landscape maintenance, most of the spring activities have been completed on your sites in preparation for the growing season. While landscapes may vary, from HOAs, Condominiums, Commercial, Residential and Business Parks, these landscape practices will be very similar for these different sites. While contracts will have variations as to how some of the landscape practices are performed, generally they all should lay out how and when they will be performed. Sitting down with your landscape provider and going over these details as to expectations can increase clarity and a clear understanding of what is expected from this partnership. Let’s take a look at some of these practices and what you should expect from your landscape provider.
PRUNING AND SITE CLEAN-UP Over the winter, leaves that have blown into the landscape and branches that dropped during winter storms littering your sites, should be cleaned up and blown out of beds. Liriope ground cover, perennials and ornamental grasses should have been cut back to make way for new growth later that is now occurring. Normally plants that need to be pruned before new growth starts should have been pruned earlier in the season, usually in the February to March time period. Plants that required some pruning include Roses, summer-flowering Spirea, Panicle Hydrangea, Butterfly Bush, St John’s Wort and Clematis so they can maximize flowering this summer. It is also a great time to prune other shrubs if needed to reduce their height or rejuvenate them as a remedy from being excessively sheared over the years. Dormant pruning of shrubs, such as Burning Bush Euonymus, Privet, Holly, Viburnum, Forsythia, Boxwood, Cherry Laurel and Weigela can all be cut back now to help reduce their height if they are obstructing window views or blocking walking paths or are just becoming over-sized. Even now in late spring, many of these shrubs can still be pruned as long as new growth has not occurred or is minimal. Dormant pruning of these plants will allow the shrubs to produce new, healthy growth that increases flowering and reduces pest and disease issues. Some of this type of pruning may be in the contract, but often large shrub reduction will be an additional add-on to a contract.
LAWN APPLICATIONS Turfgrass is often the most visible part of many landscapes and the importance of a green, healthy turf cannot be overestimated in the overall look of the site. The success of your lawn starts in the early spring with the application of fertilizer and weed management applications. Nitrogen is the most important nutrient for turfgrass success since it is critical for chlorophyll production and needs to be applied on a regular basis during the growing season on most lawns. Your contract from your landscape provider will usually have anywhere from 3–5 seasonal applications and is dependent upon the overall desired appearance of the lawn. Since most of our lawns are of the cool-season varieties (fescue and bluegrass) that prefer the cooler months of March– May and then again from September–November, this is the most important time of the year to treat them. Weed management will be of two types; annual weeds that germinate each summer, such as crabgrass, purslane, spurge to perennial weeds that are winter hardy, such as dandelions, clover and black medic. Crabgrass will be one of your biggest challenges in lawn weeds since they will germinate anytime from May into late mid-July as the soil warms up. Treating them after they germinate can be difficult, so a weed prevention application is necessary for most landscapes. At this time of the year, a post-emergent herbicide to treat the existing weeds should have been applied last month if your goal is a lawn with minimal weeds. A successful lawn will be dependent upon your weed and fertilization practices along with your growing season cultural practices. Most cool-season lawns prefer a mowing height between 3 ½–4 inches and watered during periods of drought. Mowing lower can not only stress the grass but can allow for weeds to germinate and increase soil water loss. A higher turfgrass length will be your best defense in combating weeds and increasing the vigor of the lawn. continued on page 21
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