Landscaping 101

Lesson 7: Installation Tips & Mistakes to Avoid

Mistakes to Avoid, Part I

There are a lot of mistakes to avoid! Since there are so many potential problems this has been broken up into two sections. Learn from the mistakes that we have done!

The biggest mistake that homeowners make in landscaping is not to have a comprehensive plan to follow. This is your road map which leads to a logical sequence of landscape construction events. Creating your plan forces you to look at the big picture, as well as details, rather than just piece mealing your project as you go and reacting after the fact to errors made. A typical example of a mistake that is created by a lack of planning frequently occurs when a new homeowner has a driveway installed and then starts in to complete some landscaping. A barrier has now been created if there was a desire to incorporate low voltage lighting or irrigation on the far side of the drive. A good plan would have provided enough insight to have allowed for sleeving under the drive for exactly these options.

Another mistake homeowners make is the incorrect sequencing of work to be accomplished. Work should always commence at the least accessible part of the home and proceed toward the most accessible. Typically this means you start at the back of your property and work forward. In the area where we live this typically means that landscaping should begin lakeside and work forward. The goal should always be to sequence your landscape construction so that the completed work never has to be crossed.

A potpourri of other mistakes home landscapers make:

1) Failure to have a utility locate completed. Some years ago we sold a number of hedge plants to a homeowner. The gentleman had egg on his face after cutting his underground phone line in numerous places. This might not have been so minor had the utility hit been the gas or electric line. Know where your utilities are at all times. Also, don’t position tall growing tree species under electric lines as in the future this will create a conflict with overhead lines. Remember, most states have a “one call” utility number for your convenience. Just one call and all of your utilities will be marked. They generally require at least a two days’ notice.

2) Overwatering plants: In heavy clay and poorly drained soils overwatering is a greater cause of new planting problems and attrition than underwatering. The next time you see a new commercial development with landscaping, watch what happens. Many install irrigation, plantings and mulch and then sod. To keep the sod going the irrigation is run far too frequently, many times creating stress for or killing landscape plants. Our rule of thumb for landscape plantings is to water less frequently, but thoroughly.

3) Not correcting soil conditions. Far too many times home landscapers do not take the time to create an environment for plants and lawns that is conducive to long term growth, development and beauty. Suffice it to say, that preliminary site preparations are extremely important to success.

4) Installing plantings too close together. It is important that you know your plants, their characteristics and the size they might achieve at maturity. Your landscape might look bare or immature at the time of installation, but remember, plants will grow. Plan for an attractive landscape five or ten years down the road, not a jungle. It is better to have spacing a little too wide then too close. And if your mature plants are smaller than you anticipated, it is far easier to put in more plants than it is to remove old plants that have become established.

5) Planting under your drip line. This is one of the most common problems we see. Home landscapers place their plantings under the drip line and then discover that they are pounded by runoff or snow coming from the roof. Plant inside or outside of your drip lines. If you have rain gutters on your home, the water runoff should not be an issue. However, watch your gutters during a hard rain to see if the rain flows freely through the gutters or if there are places water flows over.

6) Failure to protect plants. Merely planting your plants is not enough to ensure success, as you must at times protect them from the weather and from animals. In a hard winter rabbits will gnaw on young smooth barked fruit or flowering crab trees. Very smooth barked trees such as Maples and Lindens can experience cracking in the bark (due to sunscald) in the winter. Deer will also rub against trunks and depending on the winter, may eat the tops of evergreens and other small trees and shrubs.

In both cases it is a good idea to wrap trees through the winter with a professional tree wrap. Also, protect younger trees from “mower blight” and weed whip damage that will weaken the plant years down the line. We have not always followed our own advice here. Two winters ago I didn’t protect five Common Witchhazels I had planted. Overnight rabbits radically worked over four of the five. Small trees and shrubs should be enclosed with chicken wire to keep rabbits from chewing off tender branches.

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