Once you have new landscaping installed, it is important that you maintain it properly. Landscaping can be a substantial investment so the last thing that you want is to lose some of your plant material or end up with problems once everything is installed.
That’s why we’re talking about how to take care of new landscaping.
The truth is, caring for new landscaping can feel daunting for a lot of homeowners. They might be worried about losing precious plant material. But, we also know that homeowners often get busy and while they might be diligent about caring for new landscaping at the start, these tasks can sometimes fall by the wayside as life gets hectic.
Hopefully, by paying attention to these new plant care tips, you can be on your way to success and continue to maintain your landscape for the long run.
1. Proper Watering is Critical to New Landscaping
One of the most important points that we can make in regard to how to take care of new landscaping is to ensure that you are watering it properly. Water is the lifeblood of all living things and your new landscaping is no different. Your trees, shrubs, and other plant material need the proper amount of water to perform their best.
Homeowners often overlook the fact that plants are getting lots of TLC while being grown in a nursery. That includes someone coming around to water them pretty regularly. Moving from that environment to your property can be a stressful experience for the plant and you can add stress by not providing your plant material with enough water to thrive.
As far as how much to water, the exact amount will depend upon factors like temperature, plant size and species, and the soil structure. In Northern Virginia, Rock Water Farm’s landscaping professionals can help to make recommendations as to how much watering your plant material will need.
Keep in mind that “how” you water is also important. We often see homeowners watering plants from the top down. But the foliage does not need to be watered. In fact, you can introduce potential disease problems when you water this way. The proper way to water is to ensure it is reaching the plant’s roots.
We personally like soaker hoses or slow-release bags for this purpose.
2. Make Sure Mulching is Performed Correctly
When it comes to how to care for new plants in your landscape, mulching is sometimes an overlooked factor. To some, it just seems like a decorative addition. But the truth is, mulch serves some very valuable functional purposes and it can have a lot to do with your plants’ overall success (or failure).
There’s no question that mulching adds aesthetic appeal. But there are other benefits to consider.
- Mulch helps your plants to retain moisture and regulate soil temperatures.
- In the colder months, mulch can help to insulate the plants’ roots from extreme cold and wind, which can be damaging.
- Mulch will add nutrients back into the soil as it breaks down and naturally decomposes.
- Mulch will help to suppress weed growth in your plant beds by making it difficult for weeds to have access to sunlight and breakthrough.
What a lot of people don’t realize is that there are “right” and “wrong” ways to mulch. It seems like one of those services that are pretty straightforward. But if too much or too little mulch is used, you won’t get some of the benefits that we described above.
On top of that, there are also variations in mulch quality, which we’ve written an article on. For your new landscaping, which is just starting off, you want the best. You should know that using a subpar mulch can actually introduce problems into your landscape. The truth is, even using a bulk supplier (as opposed to store-bought bags) does not guarantee you’ll get a high-quality mulch.
While it’s certainly not always the case, some bulk suppliers are using mulch made from recycled sources like ground-up pallets and two-by-fours. This is an easy way for them to create a cheap product that they can make the most possible money on.
In a worst-case scenario, that could mean that you end up with nails or even decaying wood in your mulch mix.
But, at the very least, you’ll have a low-quality product that doesn’t give you all the benefits that we talked about. We’ve even heard stories of mulch mixes that included ground-up plant material in them. That’s problematic if those plants were killed by a disease.
3. Don’t Let your New Landscaping Fall Victim to Pruning Errors
When it comes to how to take care of new landscaping, you also want to make sure that you are pruning your plants properly.
This is one of those services that go beyond aesthetics. Yes, pruning makes your new landscaping look better.
But it’s also important to know that pruning is good for your plants. Proper pruning can help your trees and shrubs to grow better, including stimulating flowering. It can also assist with preventing disease spread and can help remove old-growth which could become problematic to your plant’s health.
The key is to make sure that plants are pruned properly. New plants, in particular, can be fragile to pruning. And pruning mistakes can actually cause damage to a tree or shrub that cannot be repaired.
That’s why it’s really important that your new landscaping is pruned by a professional who knows what they’re doing. Don’t assume that all landscaping companies are skilled at this. We’ve heard one too many horror stories about landscapers that made serious pruning errors.
4. Caring for New Landscaping Should Include Fertilization
While most people understand that their lawns require fertilization, it’s often forgotten about in terms of landscaping. But when new trees and shrubs are planted in a residential landscape, they do not have access to the same nutrients that they would in a natural habitat, like a forest.
On top of that, they’re also under a lot of stress from going through a change in environment and being relocated.
This is where fertilization can make a big difference.
As your new landscaping becomes established, fertilization can help ensure that your plants are getting what they need to perform well, particularly early on. When plants are fertilized they also exhibit other benefits like greener foliage, brighter and more profuse blooms, and possibly even longer bloom times.
Proper fertilization also helps to promote overall plant health which can assist the landscaping in defending itself from problems including environmental stressors.
Let a Professional Help You in Caring for New Landscaping
We understand that you want to be able to feel confident that your new landscaping is going to thrive and that you won’t lose your investment in it due to problems that could have been prevented.
Once you’ve invested in new trees, shrubs, and other plants, you want to see them succeed!
One of the best ways to ensure success is to work with the professional landscape maintenance company that installed your landscaping in the first place. A great landscape professional should know exactly what your new landscape needs to continue to perform well going forward.
At Rock Water Farm, we do both design/build and maintenance work as we understand the value of properly caring for the landscapes that we create.
The fact is, we hate to see landscaping mistakes made. Whether it’s you or a supposed “pro” that makes an error, it’s obviously frustrating when it costs you by damaging valuable new plant material.
Work with Rock Water Farm and Let Go of the Worries About Your New Landscape
If you are worried about how to take care of new landscaping in Northern Virginia, you should know that rather than having to figure out what needs to be done, you can simply pass those tasks on to the experts at Rock Water Farm who will know exactly what your new landscape needs.
They will also ensure that these services like mulching and pruning are performed properly so that you gain the full benefits rather than getting stuck watching your landscape suffer.
At Rock Water Farm, we offer customized landscape maintenance packages that are designed to meet your property’s specific needs. We can help you to determine what your new landscape will need now and into the future.
It all boils down to being a protection of your investment. By investing in professional landscaping services, you can ditch the worries and get back to spending time enjoying your landscape.
Are you ready to have a property that you are proud of at your Haymarket, Gainesville, or Round Hill, VA home? If so, talk to an expert, choose a solution that rocks, and get ready to see your dreams begin to take shape!
