Landscaping Tips
Our turf managers and arborists offer landscape advice, suggestions and answers. RYAN recruits horticulturists, foresters and others with degrees in related fields so you can rely on us for expert answers to your landscape questions.
Attract Hummingbirds to Your Backyard
When hummingbirds return in May, clean your feeder with warm soapy water and fill it with nectar. Mix your own nectar by dissolving ¼ cup sugar in 1 cup boiling water. Wait until nectar cools completely before filling feeder.
Beat Weeds in the Garden with Mulch
Mulch your beds with 3 to 4 inches of organic mulch to keep the weeds at bay. Mulch also helps plants by keeping the soil around roots cool and by conserving moisture in soil.
Deadheading is the Kindest Cut of All
Get extra flower power in your garden by removing old flowers as they fade with sharp pruners. This “deadheading” encourages new flowers to form by diverting the plant’s energy from making seed into making more flowers.
Give Your Air Conditioner a Helping Hand
Clean air conditioner coils by spraying them with a soapy solution and using a forceful spray from your hose nozzle. This small precaution will keep your AC running smoothly in the worst heat.
Harvest Herbs Weekly to Keep Them Bountiful
Harvest herbs such as basil, chives, oregano, sage and rosemary on a weekly basis to stimulate new growth and keep them tender.
Prune Plants to Keep Them Shapely
With a few exceptions, most perennials and annuals look better and produce more flowers if you cut them back periodically. You might be familiar with the practice of “pinching” garden mums to make them bushy and produce more flowers. Cutting back can also be used to keep a plant in bounds and to shape it.
Put Fall Leaves to Work in the Garden
Till autumn leaves into the vegetable garden or into new planting beds in fall to boost the organic content by spring.
Wait to Plant Spring Flowers
Try not to get over-anxious when putting out most annual flowers in the springtime. The early flats you buy in April will not grow until the soil and air temperatures warm, and they run the risk of freezing. A good rule of thumb is to wait until Mother's Day to put out annuals. The same is true for warm-season vegetables like tomatoes and peppers. Wait until May to plant these vegetables.
Midwestern Climate Plants
Some annual flowers that can withstand cold temperatures. You can enjoy these blooms while waiting for warmer temperatures. Plant pansies as soon as the ground thaws. They can even be planted in the fall and mulched lightly through the winter. Snapdragons, kale, nemesia, dianthus and calendula can also be planted earlier in the spring.
Concentrate Color by the Front Door
Adding annuals in pots around your front door is a great way to provide color and variety. Try pansies and bulbs in the spring, Wave petunias in the summer, and mums in the fall.
Curved Borders are Best
Borders should have long flowing curves for mowing efficiency.
Groundcovers Win in Shady Areas
Many people struggle to keep turf growing in shady areas. Consider the advantages of ground covers - they establish relatively fast and easily, and provide natural areas without much maintenance required. Consider vinca minor, vinca major, euonymus coloratus or English ivy for your next project.
Mulches are Nature's Forest Floor
Mulch is an important part of landscaping. It has a long list of benefits including: moisture retention, soil temperature moderation, erosion prevention, and frost damage reduction in spring. Mulch also returns organic matter into the soil as it breaks down. Organic mulches are better than inorganic mulches when used around plant material. Consider cypress mulch or shredded hardwood or woodchips for your next project.
Plant Accent Trees and Shrubs
You can change your landscape appearance with the special placement of select trees or shrubs. By locating them appropriately, they draw attention to, or accent, a specific feature. Dogwoods and redbuds are great accent plants. A grouping of disease-resistant crabapples can make a corner of your yard stand out each spring.
Remove Pest Trees
There are some trees we tolerate, but know do not belong in our yard. Examples might include a mulberry or other weed trees growing in a fence row. You may also have one that is crowding out a favorite tree. Thorny trees such as locust or hawthorns can also be problematic. Consider removing these unwanted trees to clean up your landscape.
Simplicity Creates Beauty
There is no better way to create drama in a landscape than to organize and simplify. Most back yards are candidates for a border that is smooth and simple. Mulch the border to the property line with 3-4" of hardwood mulch. Fill the mulched area with annuals, perennials, or groundcovers. Trees and shrubs should also be placed within this mulched bed. This eliminates mowing around plants.
Sprinkler System Start-up
As soon as the threat of heavy frosts has passed, turn on your automatic sprinkler system. Call your service company early to get on the list if you need to have the backflow preventer checked. Companies usually have trouble providing this service timely because everyone wants their system turned on at the same time. Check out each zone to make sure it is working properly and fix any bad valves or heads at this time.
Bed Preemergent
Weeding can be a full time job, especially in the spring. When weeds are young, they can be pulled out easily. To help reduce the amount of weeds in your landscape beds, apply bed preemergent in the spring before weed seeds germinate.
Cut Back Ornamental Grasses
Cut back your ornamental grasses in February or March. This way you keep them for winter interest and remove the browned leaf blades before the new growth starts in the spring.
