Landscape maintenance is a huge worry for many homeowners who have just had a gorgeous new landscape installed However, achieving a thriving landscape shouldn’t take much of your time and work. Even as the complexity of your landscape grows and there seem to be far too many features to keep track of, there are landscaping professionals to lean on. Regular maintenance is the key since even just neglecting to tend to a few landscape chores can cause serious problems. It’s always best to set up a contract with qualified landscaping professionals to care for your landscape with regularly scheduled maintenance. Then, you never need to stress about it again. Here’s a guide on planning your landscape maintenance to preserve your new landscape design in Lebanon, PA.
Related: How to Tell Whether Your Lawn Care Is Meeting Standards in Lebanon and Allentown PA
Contract Goals
No matter how physically able or experienced in landscaping a homeowner may be, landscape maintenance can be back-breaking and demoralizing work at times. It’s best to leave that hard work to teams of professionals that work together faster and more efficiently - freeing up your time to spend with loved ones and on important projects. Set up a site visit with a landscape company to assess your needs and desires in moving forward with your landscape.
Spring
Even though the growing season doesn’t begin until the final frosts are over and the sun starts to bear down on the landscape, your trees, shrubs, flowers, grasses, and groundcovers need plenty of attention at this time. Lawns might suspend growth during the winter but as soon as it’s warmer, the grasses spring to action. This is the time to assess soil pH, and apply fertilizers as needed to bolster spring growth; as well, you may wish to have pre-emergent weed killer applied to your lawn to prevent germination of weeds.
Summer
Summer is all about one thing: growth! Your lawn and plant life are off to the races and for the duration of the growing season, it’s important to monitor both the areas of high growth and areas of low growth. High growth should be mowed every week with sharp blades and all cut grass removed and disposed of, or finely mulched to replenish soil nutrients. Low-growth areas should be tended to carefully as they might need water or supplemental nutrition. Your landscape professional will keep track of all plant growth during the summer.
Fall
Once the summer heat has ended and plants suspend growing for the year, lawn and plant care change focus to winterizing. Plants are genetically built to take care of this themselves, but it’s best to assist them. Before the first snow, your landscaping professionals will assess which parts of your greenscape need the most attention both before and after the winter. They will apply slow-release fertilizer that will help root systems thrive through the winter. Most importantly, any fallen leaves and fruits must be removed from the ground to discourage pests, mold, and plant diseases. Then it’s time to hunker down for the winter.
Winter
Winter is about preservation to encourage best results in the next growing season. Snow removal should be a part of any regular landscape maintenance contract to avoid damaging lawns or any other part of the softscape. Pruning is also an important step taken in late winter so that trees and shrubs are given their best chances in the spring. And just before the spring season, schedule a yard cleanup to clear the landscape of fallen branches or windblown debris.
Related: Here's Why You Should Care About Proper Lawn Care in Berks County PA
