Caring For Your New Landscape Plantings

You have made an investment in quality plant material and have taken the time and effort to improve your landscape. Keep watching your plants - you can avoid costly replacements by monitoring the soil moisture and nutrients, checking for problems, insects, and keeping unwanted weeds out. Use the following guidelines below for the best plant results.

Watering

Water is the most important factor in establishing your new plantings. During installation of plantings Celtic Lawn & Landscape's staff will water your new plant material. After the initial watering, you will have to manually water for two (2) weeks. 95% of the problems with new plant material can be attributed to improper watering. It isn't easy to know exactly how much to water. If you over-do it, the plant will drown in soil filled with water where oxygen should be. If you don't water enough, the plant will wilt. When in doubt about whether you are watering adequately, don't just look at the soil; stick your finger into the soil to a depth of about 2-3". If the soil sticks to your finger, it is probably moist enough. The best way to water is to apply it at a rate the soil will absorb without pooling or runoff. Clay soils will require less frequent watering (possibly once or twice per week), whereas, sandy soils require more frequent watering (possibly two or three times per week).

Set watering duration to shut off just as pooling or runoff begins. Then set each zone to operate more often, such as twice a day or more days of the week, but do not increase the duration. Rainfall should be taken into account very carefully. During periods of inadequate rainfall or prolonged drought, it is important to make sure the plant receives adequate water. Also, during hot and/or windy conditions plants may require supplemental watering. Winds cause the plants to lose excessive water from their leaves. Continue watering procedures through the fall season to ensure your plants' winter survival.

For trees place a hose at the base of the tree and allow the water to trickle slowly for 20 minutes. For shrubs place a hose at the base of the shrub and allow the water to trickle slowly for 1-2 minutes per shrub. Unfortunately, your lawn's sprinkler system is not sufficient to water as deeply as your new tree or shrub needs to be watered. Every time you water, use the trickle hose method. For small shrubs, perennials, or annuals running a sprinkler or soaker hose over the area for the same amount of time should be adequate. With shallower root systems, perennials and annuals react more quickly to drought, so monitor the soil conditions more regularly than with other plantings. Newly planted trees require 2-3 years for their root systems to become fully established. During this time extra watering and special care are necessary.

Mulching

A mulched landscape gives your landscape a fresh, clean appearance and will encourage healthier plants. The benefits of mulch include reduced water evaporation, weed prevention and protection from winter freeze and thaw cycles. At least 3 inches of mulch should be used in your landscape beds. Mulch should be re-applied either every spring or at most every other spring to maintain its effectiveness. Consistently maintaining your mulch ensures defined landscape beds, promoting the overall appearance of your yard and curb appeal.

Fertilization

Watering supplies many, but not all, of the nutrients required by plants. Other valuable nutrients can be supplied through fertilization. Fertilization is critical to the health of your new plants, especially in the first year. Fertilize all plantings in early spring and again in the fall to protect your investment and to promote a healthy landscape. For specific fertilizer information and customized programs, please contact our office to speak with a Celtic Lawn & Landscape representative.

Fertilization is much easier than many people think. The label on the fertilizer package provides the necessary information to apply the product correctly to your planting areas. Fertilizers are classified by their “ratios”. An example of a fertilizer ratio would be 10-10-10. This means that this particular fertilizer contains 10% nitrogen, 10% phosphorus, and 10% potassium. Most plants respond well to balanced fertilizers with ratios of 12-12-12, 6-6-6 or similar formulations.

How to Fertilize

  1. Trees, shrubs, perennials, and ground covers: Established plants should be fertilized twice per year. The best time to fertilize is in the early spring, then again in mid-summer. We recommend a balanced fertilizing program.
  2. Rhododendrons, Azaleas, other broadleaf evergreens: Fertilize TWICE per growing season - once early in the spring as soon as the soil starts to warm up and root growth begins (or in early May for non-flowering plants), then again 6 weeks later.
  3. Roses: Fertilize in spring when freezing is past and the new growth is well established. Plants should be fertilized again in 4 to 6 weeks if the plants look like they are deficient in nutrients. Do not use fertilizer after July 1. Feed with a rose-specific fertilizer.
  4. Annuals and Biennials: Condition soil with fertilizer before planting, and again in mid-summer with a product such as Osmocote.
  5. Hardy bulbs (Tulips, Daffodils, Crocus, etc.): Fertilize after plants bloom with Osmocote or bone meal.
  6. Tender bulbs (Dahlia, Gladiolus, Canna, etc.): Condition soil with fertilizer before planting.

Staking

Staking enables trees to establish a root system deep into the ground. Any stakes, wire (or nylon) tying materials and hoses that may have been used to support planting materials during establishment should be removed one year after installation. If wraps were used on trees planted during the fall or winter, they should be removed the following spring. Allowing the staking and wrapping materials to remain in place longer than specified will cause damage, and in some cases, death to the plant.

Pruning

Although some landscapes are less maintenance-intensive than others, no landscape is absolutely “Maintenance Free”. Pruning, thinning and occasional weeding are vital to keeping your landscape plants looking the way they were intended to look. When your plants were installed, they were pruned for you. By familiarizing yourself with the following techniques below, you can ensure that your landscape stays looking the way it was designed to:

  1. CUTTING / THINNING - This is accomplished with hand pruners (or loppers for larger branches of 1" or more). By cutting back and thinning you are controlling the size of the plant and encouraging flowering, growth direction, etc. Prune flowering shrubs AFTER they bloom so that you do not cut off the flowers. When thinning, cut crossing or conflicting branches, and “open up” the plant to let light reach the rest of it.
  2. PINCHING - By using your thumb and forefinger to remove the tips of the new growth, side branching is encouraged, and the plant size is controlled.
  3. REMOVING SUCKERS - Suckers are the stems that grow up from the root system at a plant's trunk. Cut all suckers with hand pruners. (This step may be necessary more often with plants such as Serviceberry, Crabapple & Cherry.

Weed Control

To maintain the look of your landscape, periodic weed control will be necessary. Although there are many weed control products on the market, the tried and true method of pulling weeds by hand will often be necessary. Mulching and/or application of weed control products will not prevent all weeds from occurring.

Pre-emergent weed control products (such as Preen) may be used in bed areas. Follow the directions on the package. Be careful around newly planted trees and shrubs. Where ground cover such as Pachysandra, Myrtle or Ajuga have been planted, it is best to wait until the plants are touching (sometimes a year or so) before applying preemergent weed control products.

Keeping at least three inches of shredded mulch on bed areas will go a long way to suppressing unwanted weeds. This may mean adding mulch, or at least tilling up the mulch, yearly.