 |
Healthy, attractive trees, shrubs, lawn and mulched beds compliment your home and are admired by your neighbors.
The landscape maintenance department at Ettingers has developed season-long maintenance programs for your landscape plantings and lawn areas to insure that your landscape investment continues looking its best every year. These programs have been used by us for over 25 years and we still have some of our original customers and are still maintaining the same landscaping we installed for them.
Over the years we have seen changes in pesticide materials and their use, improvements in fertilizer to allow them to be released more slowly and research that has changed some of our pruning techniques.
Some changes in the industry have not always been for the better. Most of these changes are due to the desire to make money rather then what is best for the longevity of landscape plantings.
The mixing of waste wood products and/or lawn clippings and other plant debris with tree bark when running through a tub grinder produces a decent looking mulching material, however, it also may cause plant problems with the build up of ammonifying bacteria and the spreading of insect and disease organisms. We use only shredded hardwood bark to produce our mulch.
Pruning with gas or electric hedge trimmers saves time and money but when used to trim all shrubs, may quickly ruin the aesthetic value of the landscape and cause the premature death of some plants. The landscape plantings we have maintained for over 25 years would not have survived and thrived without selectively hand pruning rather than shearing.
Maintenance of your landscape should enhance its growth and appeal and help it to develop into a mature landscape with the character it was designed to have.
Ettingers Landscaping has developed season-long maintenance programs for your lawn and landscape along with other additional services that will enhance the value of your landscape.
Shrub Maintenance Program
Fertilizing: A complete slow release granular fertilizer will be applied in the spring and fall. Each application will feed the plants for a minimum of two to three months.
Pruning: General pruning will be done after the spring flush of growth is complete. Usually this will be in the months of July and August.
Weed Control: A granular pre-emergent herbicide will be applied in April to control spring germinating weed seeds. Subsequent weed control will be performed by application of systemic herbicide and/or hand pulling monthly (May through October). Any additional weeding or spraying is the responsibility of the owner.
Insect & Disease Control: We will inspect your plants for insect or disease problems periodically through the season. Any symptoms will be brought to your attention along with recommended control.
Merit Application: The application of Merit systematic insecticide to control common insect problems can be included in your contract upon request and at an additional charge.
Edging & Mulching: Available upon request at an additional charge.
|
|
Additional Services Provided
Fall and spring clean up of leaves, branches, etc. Winterization of trees and shrubs by applying an anti-desiccant spray to reduce the possibility of winter damage.
Tree injection, applying insecticides and/or fertilizer directly into a tree’s vascular system to treat a problem. Eliminates drift and other difficulties associated with spraying.
Planting of annual flowers in the spring and bulbs in the fall.
In ground systemic insecticide application in early spring to control common insect problems such as lacebug, leaf miner, saw fly larvae, etc. on your landscape plants.
Lawn Maintenance Program
A season long program designed to produce a green, healthy lawn without excessive growth. We believe in integrated pest amangement. This means that by using proper materials and maintenance practices, you can have a healthy lawn with a minimum use of pesticides. We use lime, granular slow release fertilizer and granular crabgrass control in our program. This method requires less frequent application than liquids without spray drift. We do use liquid broadleaf weed control on a spot spraying basis. Our goal is to produce a dense, healthy lawn that minimizes weed development.
Our basic program consists of:
April:
- Apply lime to maintain a proper soil ph
- Apply granular fertilizer.
- Apply crabgrass preventer
May:
- Apply broadleaf weed control as required
June:
- Apply granular fertilizer as required
- Apply broadleaf weed control as required
September:
- Apply granular fertilizer at a double rate for root growth and early spring greenup
- Apply broadleaf weed control as required
Your part is:
A. Mow your lawn no shorter than 1 1/2”height, 2” is better. Mow frequently. You should never remove more than 1/3 of the leaf surface when you mow.
B. Don’t collect the clippings. Returning them to the lawn can return up to 40% of the nitrogen fertilizer back to the soil for additional plant use.
C. If possible water your lawn. Water infrequently, but deeply. We install automatic irrigation systems and would be glad to discuss their installation with you.
D. If your lawn was seeded over 20 years ago or was seeded recently with a poor seed mix, you may always have problems. Newer varieties are available that are more moderate in demands for fertilizer and water. They are also more resistant to insect and disease problems. You may want to consider renovation.
E. If your lawn has more than 1/2” of thatch, it’s a potential disaster and needs thatched or renovated. You cannot have a consistently nice lawn when it has a thatch problem.
|
|
