The colder months can wreak havoc on any landscape. Landscape maintenance continues throughout winter, performing necessary tasks so that your landscape can emerge vibrant and healthy in the spring. To prevent more work down the road from careless practices, here’s how a landscape contractor minimizes winter damage to backyard designs in Allentown, PA.
Related: Getting the Most Use Out of Your Landscape Design This Winter in Exeter and South Whitehall PA Areas
Snow and Ice Removal
Snow removal is an essential service provided by landscaping contractors during the winter. Unfortunately, many just push snow onto the landscape. In the process, they damage lawns, shrubs, and plant beds, and sometimes even hardscape features. Driveway pavers can also be damaged by careless plowing. It’s best to contract for snow removal, which will move the snow to a different location for disposal. Ensure that a landscape contractor you hire to plow your paver driveway has snowplows with rubber edges to avoid damaging the pavers.
Much like the use of many chemical fertilizers, deicing chemicals can negatively affect your softscapes and even contribute to waterway pollution through the drainage systems. Some can also stain and etch paver surfaces. Simple is better when it comes to deicing. Your landscaping contractor should be using a salt compound that goes easy on your softscape and pavers while doing the job of effectively removing any dangerous black ice on your patios, walkways, and driveways.
Make sure that your landscape contractor conducts a site visit to your home before the first scheduled snow plowing operation so that they can identify and clearly mark the location of sensitive features in your overall landscape. Then, when they arrive for the first time, they have a clear idea of which areas to plow and which areas to avoid, paying the most gentle care to your landscape and home.
Delicate Softscape Care
Even the hardiest of trees and shrubs require a delicate touch during the winter. The cold season is when the plants are at their most vulnerable, and it’s also when some of the most crucial work takes place. Apart from the routine fertilization that many landscaping contractors perform on flower beds in late winter, plenty of attention should be paid to your trees and shrubs as well. Trees and shrubs require pruning to ensure their healthiest condition during the growing season. Any damaged or diseased limbs need to be removed before growth starts so that they allocate their resources to their healthiest parts. Heavy snowfalls, especially wet spring snow, can do a considerable amount of damage to a landscape, which can mean pruning, trimming, and even replacement of damaged trees and shrubs.
Hardscape Maintenance
Leaves that fell during the fall or continue to drop well into winter can collect unwanted moisture that freezes or spreads fungus and disease in your landscape, stain pavers, and encourage mildew growth on the paver and natural stone surfaces. Winter cleanup of your hardscape, including your patio and walkways, will ensure that these areas are ready to go when the warmer days of spring finally come. In addition, regular maintenance is a good way to identify any paver damage. Individual pavers can be replaced as needed, which is a cost-effective way of ensuring that your paver surface remains attractive and safe.
Landscape Lighting
Light bulbs burn out, and your landscape maintenance company can safely replace those that are installed in high or hard-to-access areas to keep your property securely and attractively illuminated.
Related: Landscape Design Tips for Bohemian Backyards in Allentown PA
