LANDSCAPE MAINTENANCE GUIDELINES

Mowing – If your specifications call for mowing every 7-10 days except during extended rainy or dry periods and you feel this hasn’t provided the desired look, you may want to change this to read “Mowing every 7 days”. Since there are 30-32 weeks in the mowing season that grass could be cut, it means that your grass would be cut on a set day every week. Most likely, that would be Tuesday or Wednesday. This way if it rained on either of those days, you would still have Thursday or Friday to make sure your lawn was cut that week. Obviously, this will cost more because of the additional mowings, but it would provide a neat appearance each week.

Turf Fertilization – Excessive amounts of moisture depletes most of the nutrients from the soil. Conversely, drought makes it difficult for the roots to absorb available nutrients. As they are depleted, or available but not absorbed, your turf comes under additional stress thus making it more susceptible to disease. Also, if your specifications call for a spring or summer fertilizer application, you are weakening your turf. Applications at that time of year direct top growth of grass only. The roots are not working to supply nutrients from below the soil surface and therefore actually expand near the surface. This causes deep roots to deteriorate and thereby your turf is less resistant to drought, disease and insect attacks. So, it is as important as ever to have turf fertilization in September, October or November and December. If you are not fertilizing your turf three times during this period you should strongly consider it.

Organic Turf Fertilization – As part of our recommendations relative to turf enhancement, you may want to consider switching to a organic turf fertilization program. Although it is more expensive than a standard water-soluble type fertilization program, it has several advantages. First, it is organic and is therefore, non-polluting. It is not dependent on the application of moisture to be activated, but rather is broken into active nutrients by microbial activity which means it can’t “burn” the turf. It’s applied at a heavier rate than is possible with water-soluble fertilizer which means a longer-lasting effect and fewer applications are necessary. Two properly applied organic fertilizations will essentially do the same job as three water-soluble applications.
Seeding – During a wet season you should not have the number of bare or thin areas appear as you would during a dry season, but you will always have areas that appear. This can be caused by foot traffic, dogs, excessive water, excessive heat and dry spells, maybe areas that were once infested with undesirable vegetation that has been eliminated through a herbicide program. We recommend that all properties till and seed their bare and thin areas each September or October.

Power Seeding – This method of building a strong healthy turf is the most effective. Used in conjunction with a good turf management program i.e., three fall fertilizations, lime, if needed, and properly timed and applied weed controls throughout the year, you will have a thick, luxuriant lawn in a relatively short period of time. Using a slicer/seeder, grass seed is implanted directly into the soil, insuring the highest chance of successful germination. We apply the seed, usually an improved fescue, at a rate of 4-5 lbs. per 1,000 square feet in either a single-direction pattern or a criss-cross pattern. The resulting turf has the ability to shade out weeds which will ultimately allow for a reduced or non-existent herbicide program. We recommend that this be performed in last August, September or early October, for the first two years and then be done on an every other or every third year basis after that if a chemical weed control program is being used.

As public awareness and concern of the use of herbicides and pesticides mounts, there is an increasing probability that the use of chemicals for weed control will be banned or be so restricted, that their use will become impractical or prohibitively expensive. This will mean we will all have to become more tolerant of weeds and rely on more “natural” methods of control. Power seeding every year is the best alternative to chemical weed control that presently exists. Annual power seeding together with a sound fertilization program will produce turf capable of shading out most weeds. We believe this method is the way of the future.

Turf Aeration – Over time, your soils settle and become very compacted and hard. By aerating each fall, prior to seeding, you not only create places for your seed to lodge and become established, but you also let more air and moisture into your established turf’s root system. Aeration holes provide additional growth habitats for your turf’s roots and therefore promote a stronger, healthier lawn.

Turf Crabgrass Pre-emergent – All chemicals are designed to work within a certain moisture and temperature range, whether it is a granular or liquid product. Heat without adequate moisture tends to break down the pre-emergent barrier. If you contracted for late March/early April and late May/early June application of pre-emergent, you would traditionally have sufficient protection.

Broadleaf Weed Control – As mentioned in Crabgrass pre-emergent, the weather has the same effect on your Broadleaf Weed Control, only probably more so since it is generally applied as a liquid. Ideally, we would like to have twenty-four yours without rain after an application, but we can usually get pretty good results with about six to twelve hours. The minimum that we recommend is one spring application and one fall, but if you are not receiving the desired results, we recommend one early spring application, one late spring or early summer application and one fall application.

Liming – Your need for lime is determined by a soil analysis, as is the amount to be applied. We perform periodic soil analyses and inform you when liming is required. It must be pointed out that when liming is required, it must become a top priority relative to turf care. If your soil’s pH is out of adjustment, the ability of turf grasses to absorb nutrients is very limited. Severe damage may result if the problem is not corrected.

Edging of Sidewalks and Curbs – The more rain you have, the more you grass grows, not only up, but out. When it spreads out, it quickly covers the groove along the edge of walks and curbs. We recommend edging every other mowing to most of our clients. If your specifications have called for fewer edgings than this, such as, once a month, you may want to consider a modification. A crisp, clean edge on your walkways goes a long way toward enhancing the curb appeal of your property.

Herbicide to Walks and Curbs – The older the property becomes, the more grasses and weeds have a tendency to grow in the crevices along walks and curbs. We recommend to all our clients that their specifications address this on a “as needed” basis which means that any vegetation that is visibly present when a mowing crew is on the property will be treated. If your specifications call for anything less than this, you may want to consider a revision.

Mulch – We recommend at least one carving and mulching per season, preferably in the spring because this helps spruce up your property and creates a better overall appearance when coming out of the winter months. Excessive moisture can wash away a great deal of mulch and also expedite the decay factor, leaving a lot of plant beds bare where a normal season would not. A second mulching (in the fall) each season would not only enhance the appearance of your property, but would provide additional plant protection during the winter months when applied properly.

Turning Mulch Beds – We have found it to be beneficial to turn the mulch beds at least twice a season outside of the turning that takes place during mulching. This helps loosen the mulch, makes it look fresher and reduces the amount of mold and mildew that sometimes accumulates in thick compacted mulch. This is another way of renewing the appearance of your mulch beds without the level of expense involved in another mulching.

Tree Trimming and Pruning – We include removal of sucker growth and low limbs that may interfere with walkways and entryways in our cost for shrub trimming. The cost of pruning or shaping an entire tree is somewhat expensive, and when done properly, is not required on an annual basis. When trees are interfering with guttering, roofs or where planted in too close a proximity to a building, problems will occur. We can have one of our tree experts consult with you and provide an estimate for the required work.

Shrub Trimming and Pruning – Trimming depends largely on the variety, age, and location of your plants. Some varieties of plants grow more rapidly than others, therefore, they require more frequent trimming in order to maintain a neat appearance. The minimum number of trimmings we generally recommend is three, but additional trimmings may be beneficial for formal hedges and varieties such as: Euonymus, Photinia, Privet, Eleagnus and other rapid growing varieties.

Shrub and Tree Insecticides – There are literally hundreds of insects and diseases that can attack your plants. Our goal is not to totally eliminate every insect because many of them assist Mother Nature. We only want to control those causing damage and disease to prevent permanent harm to your plants. Some plants attract certain insects and diseases more than others. Some, such as Hawthorns, are not worth the cost incurred to save them from Hawthorn rust. We generally recommend four insect spraying for the average property but if you have plants that attract an abnormal amount of insects and diseases, a program with five or six sprayings might be what you need. Those sprayings would take place during the below described periods and for the insects and diseases listed.

February, March or early April: Apply Horticultural Oil which will help control some species of scale, aphids, mites and some other pests.

April: Spray for tent caterpillars. These pests are generally found in crabapples, and choke cherries. Sometimes they are found in Hawthorns, plums and flowering cherries.

Early May: Spray dogwoods with dursban insecticide for control of dogwood borers.

Mid May/early June: General spray to control aphids, lacebugs, mites and various other pests.

Mid June/mid July: General Spray with emphasis on bagworms

August: General spray with emphasis on aphids and caterpillars (such as orange striped oakworms.)

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) - IPM programs rely on regular monitoring (also called scouting or inspecting) of the plants to be protected. This can include turf grasses as well as ornamental trees and shrubs. The monitor is trained in plant, insect, mite, and disease identification and control. In addition to the insect and mite pests, the monitor is also able to identify predators and parasites that aid in pest control. The goal of IPM is not to eliminate pesticide use entirely, but to reduce it. It is also not a 100% “organic” program, as some people think.

The recommended interval for monitoring landscape in our area is every 2 weeks from April through September. When monitors find a pest population buildup, they must evaluate the problem. This will involve sampling to determine roughly how many individual pests are present. It must also be determined if it is a major or minor pest of the infested plants as well as how much longer it will take for it to complete a life cycle and produce eggs of the next generation. How many more times the monitor will be inspecting the pest population prior to the next generation being produced must also be considered.
Are predators/parasites present and are they effective species? How much damage will the plant tolerate as well as the toleration of the Owner must be known. Are there effective pesticides labeled for use on the plant and can they be spot sprayed in a way that minimizes the damage to beneficial organisms? Are there cultural or management practices that will reduce pest activity without pesticides?

We estimate that twelve (12) visits will be required between March 15 and October 15 each year for monitoring tree and shrub problems. This includes spraying, if needed. Horticultural spray oil will be used in March. Likely targets for these applications will be scale insects, mites (egg stage) and aphid (egg stage). In addition, insecticidal soaps, B.t. (Bacillus thuringiensis), and more horticultural spray oil will be used in spot treatments for many of the common insects. If leaf miners become a problem, Orthene will be used. Bark beetles and borers will require specialized treatments. If serious problems are encountered, recommendations and pricing will be presented at that time.

Under IPM, we also inspect the turf areas in mid-June and mid-August for surface feeding insects, e.g., chinch bugs and white grubs. If required, the area should be treated with Dursban and/or Oftanol. If problems are concentrated in one large area, application could be made fairly quickly even though large amounts of materials could be used. If problems are scattered throughout the property, the application could require more labor-hours even though the total area treated could be very small. For these reasons we would bill the Owner for time and material on a case-by-case basis.

Shrub Fertilization – We recommend at least one fertilization of all shrubs prior to, or during the spring mulching process, as heat, drought, moisture and insects put varying degrees of stress on your shrubs also. An annual fertilization helps develop a stronger, healthier plant. The second fertilization could be beneficial but is not really necessary. Keep in mind that the more you fertilize, the more shrubs are going to grow and the more they will have to be trimmed.

Tree Fertilization – Annual fertilization is not mandatory, but fertilizing every other year, or at least every third year, is a must in order to keep a healthy and hardy tree. Although a lot of people prefer liquid applications, we recommend granular. We feel that the granular is more effective because it is slow release, thus feeding the plant over a longer period of time. A liquid is more quickly spend and you can never be sure exactly where it goes when applied. This is because it is injected into the ground with a pressurized hose and liquids follow the path of least resistance.

Weeding of Plant Beds - We recommend weeding “as needed” which means that all visible weeds should be pulled with each visit of a mowing crew; bearing in mind that in a few days after each visit, there will probably be additional weeds appearing.

Leaf Removal - We actually recommend two leaf removals during the fall to take place in late October or early November and December. The number of removals depends on the number of trees, variety and maturity. If you have a considerable number of matured Oaks and Maples, three, four or even five leaf removals could be required so that your turf is not suffocated between removals and that you retain a relatively neat appearance throughout the property during the fall and winter months. Also, January and February of each year don’t present very attractive appearances to any property due to the gray skies, rain, snow, etc. There are usually a lot of twigs, bark, leaves and miscellaneous debris accumulating on your grounds during this period and you may want to include general cleanup once or twice during this period to keep things looking as neat as possible.

Spring Cleanup - Regardless of the number of leaf removals that you do each fall, some trees such as Willow Oaks and Pin Oaks do not release all of their leaves until late winter or early spring. Because of this and the fact that the more mature trees are going to be shedding a certain number of branches and limbs during the winter, we feel it is necessary to include a spring clean up of all turf and plant bed areas in March prior to or during the spring mulching process.

Parking Lot Cleanup – We recommend that most properties include parking lot cleanup in their specifications to remove sand and other miscellaneous debris such as cigarette butts, paper, etc. that accumulates during the winter months. Usually, the best time for this is late March or April after the snow and ice season (and the need for sanding) is over.