Keeping your property looking its best means investing in a landscape maintenance plan that covers all the bases. But not all landscaping services are created equally. You ought to know what should be included and what quality work really looks like.
In this article, we’ll talk about what proper yard maintenance means and what a landscape maintenance plan should include. A reliable landscaper does more than just show up with a mower each week. They take a proactive approach to transforming your property and keeping it looking its best.
Jump To:
What Does Proper Yard Maintenance Actually Include?
Why Timing Matters More Than You May Realize
How to Tell If Your Current Landscape Maintenance Is Falling Short
FAQs About Estate Landscape Maintenance
Choosing Landscape Maintenance Services in Greenville and Upstate SC
What Does Proper Yard Maintenance Actually Include?
A landscape maintenance plan typically includes scheduled, recurring services that help keep your property in optimal shape. This might include services like mowing and edging, seasonal clean ups, and irrigation system maintenance.
But it’s important to look at the specifics that your landscape maintenance plan includes, as every company might structure this differently. Often, many landscaping companies include the bare basics in their landscape maintenance plans and then try to do a lot of upsells and add-ons later. This keeps the base contract very low but then leaves homeowners with a lot of pressure throughout the year as they are bombarded with frequent upsells.
At Precision Landscape, we structure our plans a little bit differently as we like to be a lot more inclusive on the front end with a minimum standard. We understand that you want to make sure your property is fully cared for and you deserve to have your high expectations met.
Though we set the bar high for quality landscape maintenance, our customers receive much more value from the services that are included right from the jump when compared to piece-meal and added-on services for the same eventual cost.
Why Timing Matters More Than You May Realize
Making sure that you’re performing the right landscaping tasks in the optimal timeframe is important when it comes to getting year-round top-notch results.
Spring Landscaping Tasks in Upstate South Carolina
Spring is often thought of as the “start” of the season, simply because this is a time when your lawn and landscape really start to grow. Some of the spring yard maintenance tasks that should be part of your landscape maintenance plan include:
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Landscape cleanup
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Pruning (including hand pruning, which is much better for ornamental trees and shrubs)
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Mowing and Edging
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Fertilization
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Preparing beds and turf for growth
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Pre-emergent applications to get ahead of weeds
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Pest and disease control
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Irrigation start-up services
Plants, including your lawn, are going to start growing based on soil temperatures, and that can change every year. Recently, soil temperatures in South Carolina have been warming up earlier, so it’s important to be proactive and stay ahead of these spring landscaping tasks. Because pre-emergents are designed to prevent weed germination, these need to be applied before the soil warms up too much and germination begins.
Summer Landscape Maintenance: Protecting Your Investment
In the summer, you’ll want to continue with many of the landscaping tasks that got underway in the spring. Things like pest and disease management, pruning, mowing, and lawn applications will continue. There are also some tasks more specific to the summer that should be added:
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Lawn stress prevention in the form of wetting agents that can help lawns and landscape plants survive the heat. With “Summer Drought Protection,” we can help plants through the most difficult months.
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Post-emergent applications to kill new weeds and address any breakthrough weeds that pre-emergent missed.
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Irrigation monitoring to ensure everything continues to run smoothly.
Core aeration is also an enormously important task in our region, due to our clay soils. But when to aerate your lawn will depend on whether you have a cool season or warm season grass growing.
Since we’re based in the transition zone, homes in Upstate SC can have both.
- Warm season turf should be aerated in May or June
- Cool season turf should be aerated in September
Fall Landscaping Tasks That Set Up Next Year’s Results
Once again, many of the landscaping tasks that we are already doing will continue into the fall. Tasks like mowing, lawn applications, and pruning are done throughout the entire growing year.
But the fall could also mean adding core aeration into the mix if you have a cool season lawn.
It’s also a very important time to start pre-emergents on those with warm season turf. If you have cool season turf, and you’re seeding, then you’ll have a different plan. Irrigation should also have one last check in the fall (through November), ensuring that you finish the growing season out strong.
Winter Landscape Care Most Homeowners Overlook
The winter is when landscaping tasks do start to taper down, but it doesn’t mean there’s nothing to do.
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Dormant pruning and renovation pruning on shrubs
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Mulching, including mulching over tree roots to make sure they’re insulated for the winter
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Winter perennial pruning
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Winter landscape cleanups
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Planning and starting hardscaping projects (paver patios, retaining walls, etc.)
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Landscape lighting
While a lot of what can be done depends on the weather conditions through the winter, it can still be a great time to start, continue, and complete these tasks in your landscape.
How to Tell If Your Current Landscape Maintenance Is Falling Short
If you’re unhappy with the way your landscape looks and you have a current provider, you might be wondering if they’re falling short somehow. Maybe your property just looks mediocre and you feel like you’re not getting what you pay for.
While it’s certainly true that there are some landscaping services that cut corners or don’t pay attention to the small details, sometimes it’s a misalignment with expectations. It’s important that your expectations are aligning with the budget you set.
For instance, if you want an immaculate property that always looks its best, but you’re only paying for services that occur every other week, then you’re likely going to be dissatisfied due to the infrequency with which someone will be on your property. Your expectations are higher than the investment you’re making.
But assuming that your expectations are realistic for the confines of your budget, then it really may be that your landscape provider is falling short of what they should be providing.
We know that sometimes it’s the small details that cause the most frustration, such as cleaning up before leaving (blowing off walkways and driveways). Other times it’s just that the yard doesn’t look as good as it could. You might notice messy edges or weeds that were missed. These might be signs that they’re cutting corners or rushing on your property.
Or maybe it’s just that they aren’t doing what they say they will. Communication is critical in any healthy service relationship. When they’re not showing up on time or they’re skipping visits with no explanation, these are all red flags that warrant a conversation with your provider.
Ultimately, when your landscaper leaves, your property should make you proud and you should feel good about the service you’re getting. If you’re consistently unhappy, it might be time to switch landscape maintenance services in Greenville and Upstate SC.
FAQs About Estate Landscape Maintenance
Before we wrap up, let’s recap some of the most important points and also answer your commonly asked questions.
What is included in a professional landscape maintenance plan?
Every landscaping company is going to structure their plan differently but some of the necessities that need to be included are mowing, edging, pruning, seasonal clean-ups, and more.
Often, many landscaping companies include the bare basics in their landscape maintenance plans and then frequently upsell the customer to add more services. This keeps the base contract very low but then it can fall short of everything a property really needs to look its best from the start.
How often should landscape maintenance be done in Upstate South Carolina?
Landscape maintenance is a year-round endeavor in Upstate SC. Due to our mild climate, we don’t have the downtime that other parts of the country have. In terms of frequency, properties really need weekly services to look their best. Cutting only one-third of the grass blades at a time is a best practice that leads to best results…but that means needing to mow weekly.
When is the best time to start a landscape maintenance program?
While you can start with landscape maintenance any time, it is best to try to hire a landscape contractor before the spring season gets busy, just to make sure you’re getting on their schedule quickly and not missing any important services. At Precision, we take on new clients during all 12 months of the year.
Why does timing matter so much in landscape maintenance?
The best landscape care is proactive, meaning that it’s getting ahead of a lot of potential problems. There are also optimal windows for product applications. For instance, you want to make sure that your pre-emergents are down prior to weed germination. This is based on soil temperatures. Proper timing is a big key to success.
Choosing Landscape Maintenance Services in Greenville and Upstate SC
If you’re ready to switch landscapers or to hire one for the first time, you want to make sure that you choose wisely.
Researching and ultimately choosing a landscape company is a big decision, and it may feel like it requires a lot of work. But by putting in the effort on the front end, you’ll be able to find a company that you can build a long-term relationship with, rather than feeling as though you’re headed right back to square one when it didn’t work out with the company you chose.
We know that you want your property to look its best and you also want to feel great about the service you’re getting. At Precision Landscape, we focus on being reliable, responsible, and doing things the right way so your landscape exceeds your expectations. The last thing you need is to feel like you have to micro-manage your landscape provider.
We’re here to make everything streamlined and easy for you. You can count on us to handle every detail with care so that your property looks exceptional.
Ready to get started? Fill out our consultation form and we can help you maintain a meticulous landscape that you’re proud to show off.
