Landscape maintenance

1. Landscape maintenance

2. Regular maintenance • Soil maintenance • pH and nutrient testing & maintenance • Amending • Weed control • Plant maintenance • Irrigation • Mulching • Pest control (insects, disease, other organisms) • Pruning

3. Landscape tools

4. Weed control • Chemical control • Pre-emergent vs. post-emergence • Selective vs. nonselective

5. Weed control • Hand weeding • Landscape fabric • Mulch

6. Irrigation • Water supply to a plant • Limited by root system • Improve soil drainage, reduce soil compaction to improve root growth • Avg. soil absorbs 3/8” water per hour • Slow, less-frequent deep watering better than frequent shallow watering • Soaker hose • Drip irrigation • Basin watering (berm)

7. Irrigation

8. Irrigation • Hand watering • Sprinkler irrigation • Good for lawns, densely planted beds • Wastes water (evaporation, unplanted areas) • Can promote foliar diseases • Fixed heads/risers • Portable heads • Drip/trickle irrigation • Reduces water usage by >50% • Can apply fertilizers • Nozzles, pipes can clog

9. Irrigation • Mulching/ground covers reduces frequent watering needs • Standard 1/2” residential pipe can handle one irrigation head (install ¾”-1” piping if plan to irrigate) • Generally need 1” water per week • Lawns 1” per week • Woody plants 3-4” total every 4 weeks • Newly transplanted woody plants need to be watered weekly (1st year), every 2 weeks (2nd year)

10. Garden pests

11. Pest control • Choose plants with minimal pest problems • Insect pests are often vectors for disease • Chemical control • Contact poisons vs. systemic pesticides • Synthetic vs. organic

12. Biological pest control • Gardens Alive • Home Harvest

13. Pruning • Removal of excessive & undesirable growth

14. Why prune? • Sanitation • Broken branches & dead tissue • Diseased parts • Opening canopy • Increase air flow; reduce humidity • Increase penetration of sprays • Removal of undergrowth for appearance and fire prevention • Stimulate new, vigorous growth

15. Why prune? • Aesthetics • Shape • Formal hedges • Topiary

16. Espalier

17. Vase-shaped trees

19. Pollarding

20. Why prune? • Enhance reproduction • Yield enhancement • Fruiting shoots vs. non-fruiting shoots • Increase flower size • Fruit distribution, size, sugar content uniformity • Access to fruit

21. Why prune? • Manipulate physiology • Pre-transplant root pruning • Shoot tip pruning to promote branching • Stimulate new growth on older plants Dwarfing • Bonsai

22. Pruning tools • Saws • Shears • Hand pruners • Loppers • Pole pruners • Bypass vs. anvil

23. Pruning tools • Sanitation • Branch size and pruner damage • Hand pruners (< 1/2 inch dia.) • Loppers (< 2 inch dia.) • Maintain sharp tools • Clean cuts heal faster

24. Pruning principles • Cutting is irreversible • Breaking apical dominance changes form of plant • Pruning invigorates regrowth • Pruning can direct growth • Timing of pruning is critical • Spring flowers develop on previous season’s growth • Summer and fall flowers develop on current season’s growth

25. Pruning techniques

26. Prune inward growing branches

27. Pruning for outward growth

28. Prune rubbing branches

30. Included bark

31. Crotch angles

32. Trees with central leaders • Standard form

34. Pruning Multiple leaders

35. Removing the central leader

36. Branched head standard

37. Multistemed tree form

38. Drop crotching – controlling height

39. Pruning cuts

41. Pruning branches • Cut at 900 angle • Cut in stages

42. Pruning large branches

43. Pruning pines – pinching candles

44. Pruning shrubs • Heading back

45. Thinning

46. Renewal pruning (gradual renovation)

49. Coppice for color