Trees can be a beautiful part of your yard. They can add color, shade, and interest to any space. But to have trees means that you have to care for trees. A little care can preserve a tree’s beauty, can keep trees safe for people, and can make trees stronger to withstand the elements. Trees are an investment: some care and trimming every year will pay off with years of beauty. But how do you do it? When do you do it? Doing your own landscape can be hard. This article explores the basics that you need to know to care for your trees.

When is the best time to prune trees? Can I trim in the fall?

The best time to prune non-blooming trees is in late winter when they are fully dormant. An example of a non-blooming tree is an oak tree. Summer blooming trees also should be pruned in late winter as well. You can also trim trees in the fall. Just wait until all the leaves have fallen off the trees before pruning.

Spring blooming trees are best pruned immediately after they bloom in the spring.

How often do I need to trim?

Trimming one time per year should maintain your trees. Sometimes, though, you will need to trim more often. If a storm comes through and breaks some tree limbs, you will need to trim. Or, if you notice that some branches are hanging down too low and are blocking pedestrians walking on the sidewalk or are touching vehicles parked on your street or in the driveway, you will need to trim. If you have branches that hit your house on a windy day, trim theses branches immediately before they cause damage to your house.

When should I trim myself? When should I hire an arborist?

You definitely can do some trimming yourself. If a branch is 2 inches in diameter or smaller, you are OK to trim. If a branch is any bigger, you may want to call an arborist. Larger branches are heavier than smaller branches and require a series of cuts to get them off. Also, many amateurs make the mistake of cutting too close to the trunk while trimming or cutting too far from the trunk. Both cuts can make it harder for your tree to heal from the trimming, and enable bugs and rot to infest your tree through the cut. Trees should be trimmed really close to the trunk of the tree. In the spot where the branch meets the trunk, there is a slight swelling or rise from the trunk called the branch collar. Cut just beyond this swell. You may want to call an arborist if your tree needs trimming up high. It’s just not worth risking a fall off a ladder. It’s also more difficult to get the shape you want when it’s difficult to reach. Talking to a professional tree trimmer would be beneficial.

What should I trim and what should I leave on the tree?

• Trim cluster branches, the small shoots of branches growing out of the trunk. These tiny branches are easy to trim. By trimming most of these little off-shoots and leaving just a few, you will be helping your tree to grow the few branches you leave much stronger and bigger. Having fewer branches is not only aesthetically appealing but helps your tree to grow stronger.
• Trim suckers, the small off-shoots of a tree that sometimes start growing spontaneously near the base of a tree. Not only are these suckers ugly and if left can compromise the natural shape of a tree, but they can also be prone to storm damage.
• Trim tree limbs, close to a bud, not half way in between. You may think this is a small matter but trimming a limb half way from one bud to the next will leave a long piece of branch to wither and die. This doesn’t look good and also leaves a longer portion of the limb more susceptible to insects and disease. Instead trim a limb ¼ of an inch above a bud.

It may be February, but it is still winter here in Salt Lake City, Utah. Every few days, we get another winter storm warning and more inches of snow in our driveways. Many of us are shoveling our driveways often, even a few times a week. We know that snow plows dump a lot of rock salt on our roadways. It appears to work. It seems like a snowplow will go by and minutes later, the latest layer of snow is starting to melt, making it less dangerous to drive around town.

Even though it’s commonly used on Utah roadways, is rock salt bad for our driveways? Is it bad for concrete? Is it bad for asphalt? The answer to all of these questions is yes, yes, yes! Rock salt is bad for our driveways. It is commonly used on roadways because of how cheap it is. And it does melt snow and ice down to 20 degrees F. The problem is that it only melts snow and ice to 20 degrees F.

Most of our driveways are made of concrete which is very porous. Water gets absorbed and trapped inside. It freezes and the water expands, causing pieces of concrete to chip off. Rock salt makes worse the freezing—thawing cycle. Rock salt will melt snow and ice to 20 degrees F. When it gets colder than that, water will refreeze.

Other ice melts are safer for your driveway and more effective melting ice. For example, calcium chloride is less damaging than rock salt because it will melt to -13 degrees F. That’s a 33 degree difference from rock salt. Rock Salt is also bad for our driveways because it is bad for plants. What happens when you put rock salt on your driveway and then it snows? The snow starts to melt as you begin to shovel. Most of us have a pattern to our shoveling. In fact, we have shoveling down to an art form! We pile it in all the same places, usually to the side of our driveway and walkways.

Rock salt is suffocating to plants. A little bit won’t hurt, but as we shovel again and again, the rock salt in our snow will start to build up the more times we pile it on our lawn or our flowerbeds. In the springtime, some homeowners are sad to see dead or almost dead plants, trying to recover from too much rock salt.

If you worry that your plants are getting too much rock salt buildup, try to pile snow in different places each time it snows as much as you can. Then, when spring comes, get your garden hose and thoroughly water questionable areas. Hopefully, you will be able to dilute the impact of the rock salt on your plants.

Calcium chloride and magnesium chloride are both recommended for use on driveways. They aren’t as tough on driveways or plants. Hopefully, we will only have a few more weeks of snow and shoveling and worrying about ice melt will be in our past, at least until the end of the year.

Anyone who has surfed the internet or driven around town in the spring can see that there are many landscaping companies. Some are pretty small operations—perhaps one or two guys and a truck. Others are huge! Some only do maintenance and others do installation and design. Which do I choose?

Is the small guy dependable and honest? Is the big company going to really take care of me? Luckily, finding a good landscaper isn’t as hard as it seems. Below are some tips to help you find the right company for you.

6 Tips for Finding a Great Landscaper

1. What do you value the most? Price? Quality? Service? It’s likely that you will be able to get 2 out of the 3 values. Decide what means the most to you.
2. What do you want a landscaper to do? If you’re looking for lawn care and some spring and fall weeding and trimming, many companies of all sizes and prices should be able to help you. If you are looking for a complete redesign of your yard or another large project, fewer companies have the expertise for this. You definitely want expertise, though! Be picky.
3. Search the internet and read websites and reviews. A company’s website can give you an idea of what the company specializes in and how they do business. You can also get a sense of how long they’ve been in business. You’ll notice reviews that are 5-star positive and others that are 1-star negative. Remember, the truth is often somewhere in between. With that said, reviews can help you decide on a company to call.
4. Find a landscaper with before and after photos. Do you like what you see? Does their style match yours?
5. Ask neighbors and friends for referrals. If a friend had a good experience with a company, chances are you will, too.
6. Invite 2-3 companies to bid the work you would like done.
   • Pay attention not only to price, but how easy they are to communicate with. Communication is key!
   • If you are doing a design or installation project, get the company to give you some kind of a sketch of their vision. Some companies may charge for this but having ideas on paper will make it easier for you to compare companies and communicate your desires.
   • Ask if they are bonded and fully insured. You may not think so, but this is an important question. Any landscapers you hire will be working on your property. Using heavy equipment or moving heavy plants and trees has risks to the workers.
   • Get them to commit to a completion timetable in writing. You are not their only customer and it can be frustrating to get partway through a project and then to have to have its completion delayed.
   • Find out what guarantees the company offers. For example, companies should be able to guarantee pavers for 2-5 years.

Have you noticed that one day your lawn can be looking pretty good and the next day, perhaps after a rain, your lawn can suddenly break out with little white mushroom caps here, there, and everywhere? It can ruin your landscape design. Many homeowners, especially if they have dogs or kids, are disturbed by this and want these white invaders gone, since they could be poisonous if eaten. However, having a few mushrooms isn’t necessarily cause for alarm. Mushrooms are a fungus that breaks down organic material in order to return nutrients to the soil. This process can actually benefit your lawn.

Why do mushrooms appear?

The fungus causing mushroom caps often will lay dormant in the soil under your grass or in a flower or tree bed. This fungus is quite like an iceberg. The tip or the cap may be above ground but there’s a lot more below ground. When conditions are just right, the caps appear. Perfect conditions include cloud cover, shade, compacted soil that doesn’t drain well, and rain. What should be done about mushroom caps?

When it comes to the caps, you have several options. For one, you can do nothing and hope for a sunny day that will dry conditions out, making your caps disappear. Other options include working on your yard, trimming back trees to make it sunnier and aerating to help the soil drain better, thus, eliminating the ideal growing conditions for mushrooms. Also, make sure you aren’t leaving dog waste on your lawn, another favorite mushroom habitat. Your third option is to eliminate caps from your yard by digging them up and treating the yard. Let me explain.

To dig up mushrooms:

• Pull the caps out of the grown.
• Put the caps in a plastic bag, tie the ends, and throw them away in your garbage can. Don’t try to compost them. That will only spread mushroom spores all over your yard.
• Use a nitrogen fertilizer on the spot where the mushrooms grew but also all over the yard. You may need to repeat this every year.
• Poke holes around where you found the caps. Use a screwdriver or spade or other tool. Make a mixture of 3 TBSP of dish soap to 2 gallons of water. Carefully pour the water in the holes you made and all other the mushroom area.

That should do the trick. Don’t expect them back any time soon. If they do come back, repeat this process again. Keep mushrooms in perspective

You may hate seeing those caps, but just remember, that if that’s your yard’s biggest issue, you are doing great. This also means your lawn maintenance is pretty good. Although some kinds of fungi are good for yards, many varieties can cause ugly brown patches on your lawn, every homeowner’s worst nightmare.

The best way to keep your lawn healthy and unaffected from these kinds of dangerous invaders is to keep up with regular fertilization. Soil in Utah tends to have an acidic pH. Fertilizers helps to balance this out, making it harder for fungi to grow. Also, be aware of when you are watering your lawn. The best time to water is between 6 p.m. and midnight. Daytime watering tends to increase the likelihood of lawn disease. Also, avoid overwatering. Too much moisture in the soil can cause your grass to grow shallower roots and can help fungi thrive.

Although raking seems like it’s only a chore that increases curb appeal, there are several reasons why its beneficial. This guide highlights four reasons why all homeowners should set aside time to remove leaves on a lawn.

Less Nutrients for the Ground

A lawn needs air, water, and sunlight in order to grow. Without these resources, a lawn will lose its vivid green color. When leaves drop on a lawn, they create a barrier that blocks sunlight. If a layer of leaves is thick and tall, the grass underneath it won’t be able to breathe, and some blades of grass may not effectively absorb water from a sprinkle system or rainstorm. By removing piles of leaves, your lawn a thrive and grow efficiently until the winter weather arrives.

No Protection for the Thatch

The thatch is a layer of grass that contains foliage and degraded stems. If this portion of a lawn isn’t maintained, the quality of the grass will suffer. Raking is the only way to manage the thatch. If it gets too thick, a lawn will struggle to absorb oxygen.

No Mulch For Your Yard

By raking leaves off your property, you’ll have an opportunity to make mulch. Without mulch, your lawn won’t grow healthy and strong. Mulch is valuable because it.

• Blocks weeds: In the spring, weeds sprout around a lawn and extract nutrients from grass that’s trying to grow. A thin layer of mulch can contain weeds that interfere with lush green grass.
• Holds moisture: When mulch is scattered over plant roots and watered, it holds the moisture. If you water a layer of mulch on a hot day, your plants won’t dry out.
• Prevent erosion: Soil erosion occurs when the top layer of a lawn is displaced. This condition happen naturally while erosion agents are present on a lawn. If you distribute shredded leaves over all exposed soil, the layers will prevent or reduce erosion.

No Organic Matter

There are two things that a lawn needs to survive. A great water-holding capacity is a key requirement since grass absorbs a lot of water throughout the day. The second thing that a lawn needs is a solid soil structure. If the terrain is weak, it won’t hold nutrients properly, and this will make healthy grass break down. You can improve your lawn’s water-holding capacity and strengthen it’s structure by using leaves since they’re basically organic matter. A layer of broken leaves will absorb water like a sponge, and if you make the top layer thick, it will provide great stability and support.

If you have busy a schedule, you may not have time to clean up leaves before winter. You don’t have to make time for this chore because professional landscapers from a landscaping company can help. No matter if your lawn is one acre or several acres, professional landscapers can remove every leaf. Time is never an issue for a landscaping company because all crew members work together efficiently to complete projects without any delays.

When winter comes and the weather turns cold, your lawn may be the last thing on your mind. If you don’t already have residential lawn services in Sandy, UT or a professional landscaper, then it’s up to you to ensure the health of your grass. Don’t wait until warmer weather arrives to take care of your lawn, or you’ll be in for a lot more work. If working outside during the cooler weather is hard for you due to physical limitations or time constraints, then an experienced landscaping company can help.

Winter Lawn Care

You should continue to mow and water your lawn until the first signs of winter arrive. One of the great benefits of hiring residential lawn services is they will take care of this task for you, so you don’t have to worry about it. Your lawn should be kept free of debris and leaves by raking regularly. Make sure to dispose of the leaves properly, so they don’t end up back on your lawn.

As the season changes and winter is on its way, you should remove any lawn furniture or recreational items and store them properly for next year. Leaving furniture or other items on the grass will create permanent brown patches over the winter. Once the lawn is free from excess items, it’s time to aerate your lawn. Aeration is done with a dethatcher to break up clumps of grass, which lets the soil breathe. This can be strenuous work, and you may consider giving the job to a landscaping company in Sandy instead.

Have A Professional Landscaper Help

Once the soil is aerated, then it’s ready for an application of fertilizer. If you’ve never used fertilizer before, then a professional landscaper is a great option to get your lawn prepared for winter. Fertilizing your lawn during the cold weather allows the roots to soak up the nutrients, which will help the grass grow when spring returns. When your grass is watered, aerated and fertilized, it helps to fend off disease and pests that will destroy your lawn over the wintertime.

Try not to walk on your lawn during the winter since this will increase the chances of breaking down the grass. While it may be hard to keep the grass clear of traffic, your lawn will benefit from the lack of weight from people and pets. If you need to shovel snow off your path, then make sure not to pile it on your lawn. If you need to clear ice off the driveway and walkways use products that won’t harm your lawn.

When spring arrives, your lawn may need more aeration. If want to enjoy a beautiful green lawn, but you don’t have the time to maintain it, then contact a landscaping company instead. When you hire a professional landscaper, you’ll have the peace of mind knowing your yard is being cared for by an expert.

If you haven’t winterized your sprinkler system yet here in Utah then you better do it soon. We have already had some below-freezing temperatures and more are on the way. If you don’t winterize your sprinkler system in Salt Lake City you run the risk of damage and malfunction of your sprinkler system when you turn your system back on in the spring. While we love working to make your landscape design beautiful, we would hate to have to rip it apart in order to repair broken sprinklers.

Potential Harm From Not Winterizing Your Sprinklers

The biggest risk you run when you do not winterize your sprinkler system in Utah is the breaking of pipes in your system. Water flows all through the pipes of your irrigation system and when it is not running the water just sits there. If that water isn’t removed before sub-freezing temperatures hit, the water within the pipes will freeze. As water freezes it expands in size and can potentially burst the pipes or hardware of your residential or commercial sprinkler system. 

Once a pipe breaks or there is any kind of leak in your system repairs begin to get very expensive. At this point we begin digging up landscaping and ripping out damaged pipes. This process can be lengthy and expensive and any professional landscaper will tell you that it is much better to avoid this kind of project at all costs. Well, the cost of it here is winterizing your sprinkler system. 

Winterizing With Different Landscape Designs

An experienced professional landscaping company will be able to winterize your sprinkler system regardless of your landscape design. In extreme cases or cases of irrigation systems that cover massive plots of land it can be a little bit trickier but still nothing that a pro wouldn’t be able to handle. There are three typical ways to winterize your pipes. A manual drain, an automatic drain valve, and an air blowout. All of these will work but most of the time and air blowout is your best option. Talk to an experience landscaper in Salt Lake City about your property and they will be able to give you the best advice when it comes to your specific sprinkler system.

At the end of the day, it is always better to be over prepared than under prepared. Like most things around your house, there is a small upfront charge, but it is nothing compared to the amount you will spend repairing any damages. Unlike a lot of the stuff around your house this isn’t an option of good, better, best or “extra precautions”. If you don’t winterize your pipes, the water in there WILL freeze. 100% guaranteed. So, get your pipes winterize and put your mind at ease this winter. 

Winter landscaping may initially seem to be counterintuitive. After all, some people may wonder why a person would want to have landscaping done in the winter—when everything has died back. As a matter of fact, winter is a great time to have landscaping done. In fact, there are unique perks about winter that may make it the ideal time to do landscape design.

Good Winter Landscaping = Good Spring/Summer Landscaping

Winter provides a great opportunity to do some early, easy landscaping for the warmer months. This is because of the fact that everything has died back and is easily visible. If you have a tree that needs to be pruned, the best time to prune it might be during the wintertime. This is because all of its branches will be in clear sight. There won’t be leaves blocking the sight of branches or getting in the way of professional landscapers from a landscaping company.

Making Your Property Safer

It is important to have good winter landscape design in Utah so that you can enhance the safety levels of your property. For example, leaves are a liability. Someone can trip on leaves, or trip on something that is hidden in a pile of leaves, and hurt themselves. Nobody should get hurt from slipping on leaves or something hidden among leaves. If strangers hurt themselves on your property, you might find yourself dealing with a lawsuit. The same goes for snow and ice. If you do not properly landscape your property when there is snow and ice around, people may fall and hurt themselves. A landscaping company will know what exactly they have to do to make your property safer.

Adding Value To Your Property

The more you clean up your property, the more it retains its value. If you have leaves on your property, cleaning them up makes your property appear neater and more valuable. Your land is one of your greatest, most important assets. As you work hard to be able to afford it, you should maintain it. There may even be local “quality of life” in your municipality that require you to landscape during the fall and winter—for the value of your home and everyone else’s home in the neighborhood.

Life Is Easier

As you clean up your property, life will most likely be easier. Snow, leaves and whatever else that is left unkempt can make it hard to traverse your property. It is really unnecessary to have this kind of inconvenience in your life. Life will also be easier for professional landscapers in Holladay in the Spring and Summer, who will not have things life extra leaves and branches in their way.

In conclusion, these are the reasons why good landscaping is important in the wintertime. There are particular landscaping needs that are unique to the winter, such as the presence of snow, ice and dead leaves. These things can pose a safety risk of falling, as well as a general risk of making people’s lives harder. Winter landscaping protects the value of a person’s property by making it look good. It also aides Spring and Summer landscape design.

With fall upon us, it is time to look to prepare our lawns for the coming months. Winter is upon our doorstep, meaning that preparing for the possibility of frost and sub-zero temperatures as well as increased precipitation, be it rain or snow. This means that landscaping needs to allow for the protection of any plants as well as the protection of any structures below the surface of the lawn. Fortunately, it is easy to prepare for winter even while maintaining a great look.

Gardening In Sandy, UT

It is important to start with the pipes. Too many of those worried about their lawns forget about the structures underneath the surface of the lawn and focus too much on the landscaping itself. The pipes require a little bit of care: They need to completely drained of water lest the water inside freeze, expand, and cause the pipes to burst as soon as the temperature drops below freezing. Given the usual amount of fall and winter precipitation lawns should not need the water provided by sprinklers so this should be fine. However, keep in mind to inspect the pipes before returning to normal use in the spring in order to replace any pipes or sprinkler heads that may have been damaged over winter.

There are several options as far as the lawn itself. In some areas, the lawn can easily tough out the winter and evergreen lawns are made with that in mind. In other areas the lawn dies out as the temperatures decrease, making lawn care far more easy, but it does create the problem of what to do about the ground itself. For larger lawns, it may not be a bad idea to bring out statuary to provide some texture for the lawn, in order to avoid seeing large featureless areas. Try for a low density here as you do not want to overcrowd the area, just provide some visual texture.

Smaller Garden Tips

For smaller areas, some sort of cover may not be a bad idea, especially as it helps to protect the ground from erosion caused by any precipitation. You will probably want to look at bark rather than tarps; while the tarps are easier to manipulate they tend to look horrible, especially after a couple of windstorms have shredded them. The bark is relatively easy to replace and can be easily removed come spring. It also has the advantage of helping lawn care in Utah by providing cover for any surviving seeds as well as breaking down over time and providing some nutrients to the soil underneath.

Other landscaping issues need to be addressed as well. Trees need little maintenance, but their leaves should be raked. If the leafless limbs require some sort of decoration ribbons can be tied to them. Bushes should be looked after, especially considering that they can easily hide some pests. Flowering plants need some serious maintenance, especially those that die off each year. While you want some of the waste to remain in order to feed the soil, you should nonetheless remove most of the dead plants as part of landscape maintenance. Other plants should be inspected several times during the coming months in order to assess potential damage whether it be from weather or disease.

While lawn care may be easier during winter, this is a great time for some basic landscape maintenance. Take advantage of the time and you should have a great looking lawn the entire year-round

With winter right around the corner, many homeowners are gearing up for chilly weather, inclement conditions, and festivities galore. However, one of the most commonly overlooked aspects of winter preparation is adequate lawn care. To ensure that your yard fares well during the winter months, here are some lawn care maintenance tips that residential landscapers endorse.

Keep Your Lawn Tidy

When cold days rear their ugly heads, many are keen to stay indoors. As a result, they neglect to take care of the outside of their homes. While it’s important to stay warm during wintertime, temporarily going outdoors to tend to your lawn isn’t a recipe for frostbite. With that said, if you notice stray garbage, toys, or logs in your yard, pick them up. Otherwise, your grass is liable to die. What’s more, this will make it easier when it’s time to mow your lawn.

Fertilize Your Lawn

Winter is prime time for fertilizing. Before the first freeze comes tumbling down, fertilize your lawn. As a result, your yard will receive the nutrients it needs to brave the winter. Unlike the warmer months, the fertilizer will remain in the soil throughout the winter. When spring finally arrives, your yard will look refreshed thanks to the fertilizer strengthening your lawn’s roots.

Cut Your Grass Short

Before bidding fall farewell, cut your grass shorter than usual. By doing so, you’ll keep pests at bay. Before doing this, you’ll obviously want to take care of any fall leaf removal you need to do before mowing. When grass is too long, mice enjoy burrowing themselves in the thick layer of turf. Ridding these critters from your lawn can prove a major inconvenience, making it important to cut your grass short right before winter rolls around.

Limit Lawn Traffic

As your grass becomes shorter and browner, remember that walking on it doesn’t bode well for a healthy yard. In the hopes of maintaining your yard, avoid excessive lawn traffic at all costs. Though all grass is presumed to be resilient, it doesn’t hold up as well during the winter. By keeping your sidewalks and walkways clear of snow, you lessen the chances of people walking on your lawn.

Hiring A Professional Landscaping Company

If you lack the necessary expertise, tending to lawn care matters may be challenging. To save yourself the hassle, consider partnering with a residential landscaper. Employing the assistance of a professional landscaping service guarantees that the job gets done right. If you attempt to tackle these projects solo, you may wind up doing more harm than good.

For the sake of your lawn and your sanity, enlist the help of a landscape design company. From mulching and mowing to landscape design and trimming, these industry professionals are versed in numerous fields. If you reside in the Salt Lake City area and need help preparing your yard for the winter, working with a seasoned landscaper is your best bet.