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Services :: Maintenance Complete Tree Service: Most trees do not need major pruning every year. However you can be assured that, whether a light trim of skirt lines, opening of the center of small trees or removal of large overhanging and dangerous limbs from a majestic specimen tree, that this work will be completed professionally and in a timely manner with cleanup completed to your satisfaction. Late spring pruning of flowering trees; late summer, fall and winter pruning of fruit trees; late summer, fall and winter pruning of evergreens; all tie together to give you the comfort level that your trees, whether great or small, receive the proper care. In addition to pruning schedules, tree fertilizer application is also important regarding timing, quantity and methods of application. (See Fertilization section). Color: While three color changes per year will give you the most attractive color beds over a longer period, where budgetary constraints require, in most years two changes of seasonal color with proper pre-planting soil preparation, amending, fertilizing and post-planting fertilizer applications and dead heading of spent flowers will go a long way to extending the beauty of seasonal color beds. Lawn Care: The secret to a great lawn is proper soil preparation prior to planting. When Master Landscapes puts in a new lawn, we test the soil and add amendments according to what the soil needs. Most of the time in the field of maintenance, we are working with existing lawns that are in need of a lot of help. Old lawns, especially lawns infested with "Kukuyu Grass" need to be thatch cut (vertical combing) and aerated at least once each year. Very poor lawns may also need reseeding as well. This total process is known as "lawn renovation" and may involve spraying the lawn with an herbicide to kill the Kukuyu and broad leaf weeds prior to the thatching and aeration. Whether total renovation or just thatching and aeration, we add the following to improve and amend the soil (quantities are per 1,000 square feet adjusted as a result of soil test):
Fertilizer: In general fertilization of plants is a little more complicated than once a year adding fertilizer to the shrub beds and when the lawns turn yellowish green. Most Monterey County lawns need 1 – ½ pounds of nitrogen per month during the growing season. Heavy soils would be on the lower end and sandy soils on the upper end. The general fertilizer formula ratio for spring and fall is 3-1-2 roughly. A standard lawn fertilizer formula would be 16-6-8 or 22-7-14. In the summer nitrogen only is best. The formula of 21-0-0 is recommended. In the late fall we add one application of 6-20-20 to build strength for root and shoot development in the early spring. Lawns do best with two applications of pre-emergent herbicide in August and February. Shrubs in general do best with three applications of balanced fertilizer such as 15-15-15. In addition, one application, spring or fall, of WonderGro compost or GroPower Plus are recommended. Most tree feeder roots are in the top 8 – 18 inches of soil depth. Therefore aeration under trees and an application of WonderGro and a slow release fertilizer twice a year is adequate. Shrubs: Often as you drive through business parks you might notice that identical shrubs can be kept at various shapes (boxes, lollipop, low tight hedges, or even tree forms). In general, proper plant selection helps dictate how the maintenance is to be performed. Normally Master Landscapes prefers to keep shrubs to a more natural shape, which involves annual or semi-annual intricate thinning to open the interior of shrubs to generate new growth. We use different types of pruning for different types of shrubs. For example, hedges need periodic shearing and shaping. Spring flower shrubs need rejuvenation after bloom. Summer flowering shrubs need rejuvenation in winter. Large evergreens need shaping, thinning and heading back. Irrigation: Irrigation adjustments are an integral part of landscape maintenance in Monterey County specifically because of our many micro climates and seasonal variations. Adjustments are done on an as-needed basis with all systems being checked monthly by maintenance crews. Major problems such as main line or lateral line breaks or separation, will be isolated, upon discovery, to prevent further damage. If possible, repairs are completed by the maintenance crew. Otherwise, an irrigation technician is dispatched as soon as possible. At Master Landscapes irrigation leaks or breaks receive first priority. Fungicide / Insecticide / Herbicide: Good landscape maintenance practices keep the need for pesticides to a minimum as prevention is more efficient than a cure. However, when we do need to use pesticides, we strive to use those which are the most environmentally friendly. Examples of such would be granular systemic insecticide / fertilizer combinations instead of aerial spraying and rodent control methods that kill the critter without leaving a poison carcass to harm owls and other raptors. |
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© Copyright Rollin Haas Master Landscapes Inc. License Number c27 618204. 2600 Garden Rd. Suite 400 • Monterey, CA 93940 • (831)920-2871 Web site crafted by Clay Pot Creative. | ||||