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When Is the Best Time for Heavy Pruning?

March 7, 2024February 4, 2021 by The Parke Company

For the experienced green thumb, gardening is a lot like a dance. Once you learn the basic steps, you can usually hold your own in any space and improvise until you get to the really advanced moves. If you’re dancing, you probably want to master the box step before you try to tango. If you’re gardening, it’s best to focus on things like pruning before you try to grow prize-winning azaleas.

When it comes to basic gardening practices like pruning, timing is everything. It is just as important to know when to cut as it is to know where to cut. So, when is the best time for heavy pruning?

What to Know About Heavy Pruning

Tradition v Heavy Pruning

All plants will require some type of pruning from time to time. Typical or traditional pruning should be conducted on a regular basis. This type of pruning is to remove small, dead parts of your plants that may inhibit growth.

Ultimately, the purpose of pruning is to promote growth, so your plants can reach their full potential. Heavy pruning is strategic pruning that goes further than regular trimming for your plants. This type of pruning must be completed at specific points throughout the year, depending on the plant to maximize growth.

In contrast from traditional pruning, heavy pruning will typically consist of cutting a plant all the way back to a height of 6-12 inches above the ground and allowing it to regrow. It is important to use the appropriate shears to trim back your plants and shrubs as this type of drastic cutting is not tolerable for all plant types. Talk with your landscaping maintenance provider about the best tools to use on your unique plants.

Best Times for Heavy Pruning

To truly embrace the benefits of heavy pruning, tree trimming for certain plants should be addressed at specific times.

When heavy pruning, you are significantly cutting back your plants to give them the opportunity to grow back with gusto. It is important to make these heavy cuts at a time when the plants have the best environment to grow.

According to the Chicago Botanic Garden professionals, heavy pruning should be completed when a tree is dormant, usually in the later winter months, before active growth will begin. Not only will heavy pruning at this time help you to maximize growth, but it can also prevent certain fungal diseases that can occur in some trees.

Timing for pruning truly depends on what it is that you are pruning. Those at the Chicago Botanic Garden also assert that “Most conifers require minimal pruning that will also vary with species. Needled evergreens such as spruce (Picea) and fir (Abies) are best pruned in late winter before growth begins. Arborvitae (Thuja) and yew (Taxus) can be pruned during spring and early summer. Pruning of any kind can encourage new growth; therefore, pruning should not be performed late in the season to avoid the risk of cold temperatures damaging tender new growth.” Heavy pruning is a task that requires knowledge and forethought.

Contact The Parke Company Today

If you want to get the most out of your garden, pruning is one of the best ways to maximize growth and increase your landscape’s yield, but it does mean that whoever is conducting the pruning knows what they are doing.

You don’t need to be an expert landscape designer for a beautiful garden. You just need to hire the right landscaping company to meet your specific needs.

From leaf removal to landscape installations, the Parke Company’s experienced professionals are ready to develop a landscaping plan that works for your property and your budget. Don’t leave your garden’s health up to chance. Give us a call (615-350-6033) or contact us online today to see how The Parke Company difference can work for you.

When Should I Fertilize My Garden?

March 7, 2024January 21, 2021 by The Parke Company

For most regions of the United States, gardening is a very seasonal activity. Depending on the levels of moisture, temperature, and amount of sunlight, you will need to plant different things to suit each season.

Whether it is overwintering, leaf removal, or tree trimming, there are a lot of different methods of landscape maintenance that are time-dependent, and fertilizing your garden is certainly a time-dependent process.

To avoid the cost and mess of fertilizing at the wrong time, always be sure to treat your garden at the right time. So, when should you fertilize your garden?

What to Know About Fertilizing a Garden

Before You Fertilize

Before you even think about fertilizing, it is important to have a “lay of the land” for your land. Not all landscapes are the same, so not all fertilizers will work for your property. Even if you execute your fertilizing project at the right time, you’ll be left with a malnourished flowerbed and bags of useless fertilizer if you don’t choose the right one for your specific needs.

Before you fertilize, a soil test from your local landscape services provider can quickly identify any deficiencies and help you to determine the specific needs for your soil. Choosing the right fertilizing is the first step to optimizing the impact on your garden.

Before You Plant

Typically, gardening begins in the spring. For most zones in the US, the temperatures, sunlight, and moisture align in the spring months to optimize conditions for garden. Before you plant annual flowers and vegetables, it is common to use a general-purpose fertilizer. Depending on what plants you are working with, the depth at which you incorporate the fertilizer into the soil can vary.

Generally, most landscaping professionals agree that plants will need the most nutrients (which can come from fertilizer) when they are growing the most rapidly. Setting up your plants for success is dependent on knowing what you want to plant and understanding its nutritional needs.

Mid-Season

As any gardener knows, planting a garden is a process. For the advanced gardener, their job is never truly over. These green thumbs will sustain their gardens year round and adapt their landscape to every new season.

Even if you aren’t the most experienced gardener, fertilizing your soil usually shouldn’t be a one-and-done process.

For some long-season crops like corn, fertilizer is applied in the beginning at the time of seeding, as well as in early summer, right before the most rapid growth occurs. While you may fertilize directly before you plant, it is also important to time your fertilizing right around the time of the most growth for your plants.

Contact The Parke Company Today

If you want to get the most out of your garden, fertilizing is a great step, but you may not be able to reap all of the benefits if you don’t do it the right way.

You don’t need to be an expert landscape designer for a beautiful garden, you just need to hire the right landscaping company to meet your specific needs.

The experienced professionals at The Parke Company are ready to develop a landscaping plan that works for your property and your budget. Don’t leave your garden’s health up to chance, give us a call (615-350-6033) or contact us online today to see how The Parke Company difference can work for you.

DIY Vs. Hiring an Arborist

March 7, 2024January 12, 2021 by The Parke Company

Tree with roots sticking our of the ground

Between taking up new hobbies, attempting to bake sourdough, and tackling home improvement tasks, people are taking on more DIY projects than ever.

While the gratification of doing it yourself may be wonderful, it can often come after a number of failed attempts. Even the most skilled jack of all trades has a pile of failed projects stacking up in their shed or utility room. When it comes to landscape services, not everyone wants to pay for things like lawn mowing or gardening, which can be simple tasks if you’re up for some manual labor. Even so, some tasks like tree trimming and tree removal, will give you a lot more trouble if you try to do it without help.

You may be weighing the cost of hiring certified arborist services, but you’ll quickly see how vital an arborist is to your tree and landscape health. Here are some pros and cons of hiring an arborist over a DIY project.

Pros and Cons of DIY Vs. Hiring an Arborist

Pros

If you have trees in your yard, you know that they can either be a great source of joy or a huge headache. Trees can be a lot of fun for kids who like to climb, hang hammocks, or build tree houses. Trees are an integral part of the ecosystem, providing vital oxygen, creating a natural barrier for privacy, and lending shade to your home to reduce electric bills during the warmer months.

At the same time, for homeowners, unhealthy trees can also bring a lot of anxiety.

A dead or dying tree can block your view of the street and drop pesky leaves on your lawn. What’s more, a damaged tree is at risk for falling and causing serious damage to your home or family.

While you may be able to estimate roughly the needs of the trees on your property, the untrained eye is not skilled enough to pre-empt disaster. A certified arborist, like the professionals at The Parke Company, are trained to notice the signs of a tree near the end of its life.

One benefit of hiring an arborist is avoiding the danger of leaving a damaged tree untreated and even if you do notice the damage in time, only a trained arborist has the skills and equipment to safely treat or remove a damaged tree without causing any more damage.

While the initial cost of hiring an arborist may seem higher, many forget to calculate the cost of heavy equipment necessary to complete the DIY projects. This is machinery you are unlikely to use for anything else around the house. Ultimately, the money you tried to save by doing the project yourself will be spent on tools and equipment that goes to rust in your garage after your project is finished.

Beyond that, avoiding the cost of a fallen tree from a project gone awry should always be prioritized– for your wallet and for safety.

Cons

The cons of hiring an arborist are similar to the drawbacks of hiring any services you may technically be able to accomplish on your own.

Just like you may be able to watch a YouTube tutorial to repair your car, it is possible, but potentially dangerous to complete tree maintenance on your own. Hiring an arborist may be an inconvenience by taking up space in your yard, but the overall benefits of hiring a professional are well worth the temporary mess.

Trust The Parke Company Difference!

Not all landscaping companies are made alike. When it comes to bigger projects like tree removal, landscape installation, and commercial services, there is only one name to trust in the Nashville area: The Parke Company.

Our time-honored methods and history of happy customers speak for themselves– talk with one of our experienced professionals today at (615) 350-6033 or contact us online to see how the Parke Company can bring your design dreams to life!

Trees and Safety – When Is it Time to Say Goodbye?

March 7, 2024December 19, 2020 by The Parke Company

Trees are every property owner’s biggest dream and worst nightmare. Trees in your landscape can be host to your child’s tree house and some of their best memories, or they can be host to pests and critters that vandalize your yard.

However, some trees can be a tremendous hazard if they fall, causing significant damage to property or people nearby. This is precisely why it is crucial to make tree trimming and other tree services a priority of your landscaping services. Let’s discuss what you should look for so you know when it’s time to say goodbye to a tree on your property.

When to Remove a Tree

Signs of Damage

When asking yourself whether tree removal is necessary, it is first necessary to check for signs of damage. If your trees have brittle bark, weak branches, or leaves dropping out of season, these are clear signs that your tree at least needs a little TLC.

Sometimes, it can be difficult to determine just how far your tree maintenance must go. In some cases, crown thinning or other methods of trimming are all that’s necessary to restore your trees to their former glory. This is not a decision to make lightly, however.

While your branches may look safe to you, an experienced arborist is much better equipped to recognize damage that is too far gone and help you make prudent decisions. Landscaping professionals like those at The Parke Company are prepared to help you rid your yard of risks and keep your trees safe from falling branches.

Critters and Pests

Down trees are not the only threat to your property’s safety. Critters and pests can also present a significant risk. At their best, squirrels, racoons, and owls occasionally run or fly across your lawn, reminding us we share their ecosystem. However, occasionally trees overrun with pests can present a serious health and safety risk. Some creatures that eat away at your home and build nests of their own can impact the safety of your home’s structural integrity.

Contact The Parke Company Today!

Nobody wants to get rid of a tree that doesn’t need it, but knowing just when to cut down a tree is a tricky task best left to the experts.

When it comes to larger tasks like tree trimming for your home or municipal area, it is unlikely that you can complete the job on your own. We urge you never to work with a landscaping business who doesn’t have arborists on staff. These are trained professionals who actually know how to properly care for trees and landscaping.

Hiring the experienced professionals at The Parke Company for landscape services is the first step to ensuring you receive the kind of landscaping and lawn services necessary to preserve the assets on your property. From lawn mowing to removal of trees, the landscaping professionals at The Parke Company have the experience and the skills to meet the unique needs of your property and bring your design dreams to life.

Give us a call (615-350-6033) or contact us online today to see how The Parke Company difference can work for you.

Outdoor Holiday Decorating Ideas

March 7, 2024December 9, 2020 by The Parke Company

For the outdoor enthusiast, winter can be a disheartening time. Most often, gardeners and green thumbs alike trade their gardening gloves for mittens and their trowels for snow shovels.

Whether your winters are mild and green or covered in snow, you still have options for winter landscaping. Today on the blog we’ve cracked the code on landscaping in the cooler months. Here is everything you need to know about outdoor holiday decorating ideas.

How to Decorate for the Holidays

Winter Soft Scapes

If you live in an area like Nashville, winters can be magical. The occasional light snow and mild temperatures are enough to fill even the biggest grinch with Christmas cheer and nostalgia. All of that holiday cheer can even extend to your landscaping. There are plenty of plants hardy enough to withstand the winter if they are tended to the right way. After leaf collection in the fall, you can actually start thinking about planting your shrubs rather than shrub removal.

Evergreens and other resilient plants fare quite well in the colder months and can help bring a little bit of life back into your landscape design. Talk with your arborist about the best options for incorporating new winter plants for holiday landscaping services.

Winter Hardscapes

Especially in the age of COVID, even our small gatherings are being forced outdoors. While many people are taking on new home improvement projects, it is a great time to start thinking about hardscape installations for your holiday landscape design.

Now is the perfect time to contract services for paver or walkway installations. While candlelit dinner parties in your dining room are out of the question for the foreseeable future, backyard bonfires and patio dining are great ways to stay connected with friends and family while keeping everyone safe.

Regardless of the season, a bonfire pit is a great investment that can be installed easily with little time and disruption to your schedule. In the winter months, a roaring fire can help make outdoor gatherings possible, while livening up your summer gatherings with smores and campfire stories.

If you’ve ever dreamt of Christmas songs by the fire, but don’t have the means to install an expensive fireplace, installing a firepit and backyard patio is the perfect choice for holiday landscape design.

Contact The Parke Company Today!

Getting your landscape ready for the holidays is going to take some work. When it comes to larger tasks, like tree trimming or hardscape installation for your home or municipal area, it is unlikely that you can complete the job on your own. Hiring the experienced professionals at The Parke Company for landscape services is the first step to ensuring you receive the kind of landscaping and lawn services necessary to preserve the assets on your property and bring holiday cheer.

From bringing holiday cheer to your lawn to lawn mowing to tree removal, the landscaping professionals at The Parke Company have the experience and the skills to meet the unique needs of your property and bring your design dreams to life. Give us a call (615-350-6033) or contact us online today to see how The Parke Company difference can work for you.