Now that your landscape has been complete for a few years and your plants are nicely established, you’ll have some new maintenance tasks to add to your list! Here are all the landscape care and maintenance tasks you should complete during your second and third years after your landscape project completion.
Maintaining a Flawless Landscape Requires Regular Care
Go through these tasks to ensure all the effort you put into creating the perfect landscape design isn’t all for naught! A little bit of upkeep will increase the longevity of your gorgeous, green landscape.
Test Your Soil
The pH of your soil can shift over time, and for most plants, you’ll want to maintain a fairly balanced pH level—not too acidic, not too alkaline. Soil may also become depleted of essential nutrients—especially if you have landscape plants that are heavy feeders or lots of rainfall flushing out the soil. A soil test gives you a reading of your soil pH and its nutrient content, so you can see if there are any problem areas that you should address. If you don’t want to invest in a soil pH tester, you can also use pH testing kits for hot tubs and pools!
Fertilizers help restore nutrient levels in the soil, but be sure not to over-fertilize! Too much fertilizer can contaminate groundwater which is harmful to our aquatic ecosystems. Always follow the package directions to ensure you’re applying the proper amount.
If your soil pH needs amending, there are several products you can use. If your soil is too acidic, opt for some dolomitic lime (from ground-up limestone). Spreading it across the soil will change the pH quickly and effectively. If the soil in your lawn is too alkaline, you can spread a fertilizer containing ammonium nitrate, urea, or amino acids. For garden soil, you can mix in compost and peat moss to lower the pH.
Replace Your Mulch
Mulch naturally breaks down over time, and while this is great for delivering nutrients into your garden soil, it can start to look yucky after a while. It may also start developing mushrooms or patches of fungus if you don’t replace it. Use a rake to remove the old chunks, toss them in the compost bin, then spread a new, fresh layer. You can also call us to see if you’re eligible for a mulch top up as part of your warranty. Good as new!
Do a Thorough Pruning to Shape Your Shrubs and Trees
Thinning out some of the weaker, less promising branches from landscape plants creates room for better growth in the future. Avoid cutting more than ⅓ of the branches at a time. Make outward-facing cuts just above a node along one of the stems—those are the knobby notches where shoots emerge.
Before you start pruning, determine if your shrub or tree blooms on old or new wood. Spring-blooming varieties tend to bloom on old wood, which means they develop their flower buds over the winter before their first flush of spring growth. Summer-blooming shrubs usually bloom on new wood, so their buds appear once their new foliage has filled in.
Prune old wood varieties soon after they finish flowering. For example, July would be an ideal time to prune lilacs. Summer-blooming varieties like Hydrangea Limelight should be pruned in late winter to early spring—around March, ideally.
Inspect and Repair Garden Edges
Edged garden beds create a tidier landscape design, giving it that professionally designed look. If there are any cracks or breaks in your garden edging, it’s pretty easy to replace. Cut and remove the broken sections, add some replacement material, and stomp it down to level it. Depending on the material, you may use connectors to fasten the edging pieces together. Water the area well, and the soil will hold everything in place.
Inspect and Repair Landscape Irrigation Systems
If you have any garden or landscape irrigation systems, turn them on and check to see if everything is functioning properly. If you need help troubleshooting an issue or fixing the damage, contact our landscaping service team, and we’ll help you get everything back in working order.
Reseed the Lawn, If Necessary
Check around for patchy spots and see if anything needs more seed. Be sure to inspect the area closely if a pest or fungus problem is creating dead patches. If anything seems amiss, treat that issue before you start reseeding. Be sure to wait two or more weeks after applying pre-emergent herbicides before spreading new grass seed because those products block weed seeds as well as grass seeds from germinating.
Our team at Salisbury Landscaping are leading experts in landscape care in Alberta. You’re always welcome to contact us if you’re unsure of how to proceed with any maintenance tasks or landscape projects. We’re happy to help!
