Landscaping New Construction

Landscaping New Construction The single biggest problem facing people who buy a new home is soil compaction. Soil compaction occurs when particles of soil are forced closer together by external forces. This can be caused by people, animals, machinery, or water droplets. Compaction of soil may lead to decreased plant vitality. The most common problem around new constuction is from heavy equiptment being operated on the soil. Compacted soil is more prone to soil erosion and leads to faster water runoff. This increases sedimentation buildup in streams, ditches, and waterways. An early symptom of compaction is slow infiltration of water from a light rain. You may see ponding on level ground or fast run off on slopped ground. If your new home is located on sandy soil, compacting the soil may be helpful. It can slow the perculation rate of soils so more water can be available for plant use. If you have compacted soils there are steps that can be taken to lessen its effects. Stay off of wet soils. This is the single biggest cause of soil compaction. Use a push mower instead of a riding Tractor. Return organic materials to the soil and use compost. Confine traffic by use of plants and fences to keep traffic to specific lanes. Over a period of time nature thru droughts that open up cracks in the soil, small organisms living in the soil, and the freezing and thawing of winter weather, soil compaction will naturally be reduced. The best choices of landscape plants are smaller plants with more fiberous roots. Irrigation and Drainage can be used to help counteract changes in grades made near new construction. Excessive water may now lay where it once did not. If there is a new drainage problem, it is a latent defect to the landscape. Your trees will decline rapidly. You must correct this problem to save the trees. Many people see the decline and think they need fertilizer. Lack of fertilizer would not be a likely cause to decline of large trees near new construction. If drainage is not suspected but stress if evident the root zone may not be getting enough moisture. Moisten the top 6 to 12" of soil with a long soaking over the entire area of the root zone. Do not over water for this leads to a loss of oxygen to the roots. Proper control of moisture in the root zone is the single most important aspect in areas of new construction. Suggestions For New Construction Plantings Viburnums We raise over 10 types ofViburnums on our farms from seedlings to 5' shrubs. If you have poor soils due to compacting from construction, try viburnums. Being rugged and hardy, they perform where other plants fail. We fell that viburnums are attractive, versatile, adaptable shrubs for any garden. They can serve as hedges or screens and in mixed perennial and shrub borders. We like them most as specimen plants. They usually in the form of shrubs, but can become small ornamental trees(sieboldi). They range in size from the small Dwarf American Cranberry at 2 feet tall by 2 feet wide, to the Siebold at over 15 feet tall. Viburnums are plants with year round interest. Viburnums have white to pink flowers in the spring. Some are fragrant. They have large, attractive and often textured leaves. Some viburnums have fragrant flowers that are produced in snowball like clusters in the spring. The flower clusters can be of pink buds, which develop into white flowers. Some fruits are red and turn black with age while others are orange and some blue. Leaves are glossy, dark green and turn a burgundy color in the fall. Midsummer berries are an important food source for birds. Viburnums are a must for the avid birder. Viburnums can have colorful red to purple leaves. Some viburnums can become medium-size trees, especially if they are pruned. Viburnums are specimen plants or can be anchors in mixed borders and hedges and screens. You won't find a better group of shrubs for hedges or for massing in groups, since viburnums are delightful in every season and landscape. Some viburnums, such as Prague viburnum, are evergreen and have fragrant flowers. Others, such as leatherleaf viburnum, are semi-evergreen in colder climates, losing their leaves when temperatures dip below 10 degrees. We like Viburnums because of their adaptability and durability. While they would prefer full sun and moderately watered, well-drained rich soils, they grow very well in part shade in alkaline, clay soils. Diseases and pests are not common for viburnums. We have more trouble from my kids running over them with brush hogs. They claim they were testing their durability. Yet all the viburnums they chopped to the ground survived. In fact, we sold these plants for a premium as they produced better numbers of desireable stems. Their fibrous root system makes them transplant and propagate easily. (We do have more difficulty with the Korean Spice rooted cuttings.) If you are shopping for a sharp hardy shrub consider one of the many cultivars of the Viburnum family. In fact select a couple of them. You will be rewarded with shrubs with all season interest. Viburnums are popular garden plants, known for their white, often fragrant spring flowers and their fall color. The Asian viburnums such as the Carlesi are the most loved. Perhaps the most known viburnums are the Burkwood viburnum (Viburnum x burkwoodii), and the Korean spice viburnum (V. carlesii), both of which fill the air with a wonderful fragrance in mid-spring. (The Mohican is a cross of the two.) Also popular is the doublefile viburnum (V. plicatum f. tomentosum), valued for its layered habit, fall foliage, and clusters of red fruits, and its close relative the Shasta, a gold medal winner. We have most of these viburnums at our 5275 W. Swamp Rd. nursery in Fountainville Pa. ready for customer pickup. Viburnum acerifolium (Maple-leafed viburnum) Although I wouldn't garden without any of these, I like the native viburnums. They may not provide the flower fragrance of their Asian counterparts, but I love them for their fall foliage color and for their fruit displays, which attract birds to my garden in the fall and winter months. In addition, several are useful to waterwise gardeners or in urban conditions. They require only corrective pruning, and none commonly suffer from pests or diseases. These native viburnums are hardy and durable. Once you establish them they will not require alot of attention and give years of enjoyment. Viburnums are considered moist woodland plants. In nature they are found along steam banks from Long Island to Florida. When you come to our 5275 West Swamp Rd. location ask us to show some in their native habitat that we found along our stream bank. These plants perform well under normal landscape conditions. I especially like the floral display in the spring and these viburnums that bear fruit in the fall. Winterthur has great red leaves and abundant fruit in the fall. This cultivar needs a cross pollinator such as viburnum nudum. Native Americans used Viburnum dentatum (arrowwood viburnum) for arrow shafts. The stems are long and strait. This plant will grow in places many plants struggle. So if you have had trouble with plants in a harsh location try this cultivar. Viburnums We raise over 10 types of Viburnums on our farms from seedlings to 5' shrubs. We propagate many from cuttings. If you have poor soils due to compacting from construction, try viburnums. Being rugged and hardy, they perform where other plants fail. We have plants from seedlings to 5' shrubs. American Cranberry Bush KoreanSpice Blackhaw ArrowwoodViburnum Chicago Luster (we have 500 3-6' that must be sold by Sept 28 2005) Dawn Summer Snowflake Shasta Winterthur Blue Muffin Burkwood Erie Tea Judd Korean Spice Praque Siebold Lilacs When you say "New construction", I always think of lilacs. These plants are versatile, and durabile. These flowering shrubs have many uses in the home landscape. They are used as corner planting,wind screens, hedges. The soft delicate flowers of lilacs are on some of the toughest plants. Lilacs can survive to -60 degrees f. Many peoples thoughts of lilacs go back to their Grandma's and Pa's house where plants only survived if they could be neglected. They bear old memories for lilacs have been with us for years. Pruning these plants is all that is needed to keep them in shape. These plants range in size from 3' to 10' and come in many colors such as purple, magenta, blue, white, and violet. We usally have a large selection for you to choose from. French Lilac Korean Lilac-Miss Kim Chinese Lilac Common Lilac Donald Wyman Peking Lilac Large Clump Ivory Silk Lilacs Proper places for trees around homes. Planning for the future. Because different trees have different mature heights, pay special attention to where you plant each tree. Planting the right tree in the right place will enhance your property value and prevent costly maintenance trimming or damage to your home. Good landscaping utilizes shrubs and low-growing trees that are compatible with utilities and electric lines. These "wire friendly" trees will not reach electric lines and, therefore, will help prevent power interruptions to you and your neighbors. Windbreaks - Plant evergreen trees, which can serve as protection from the wind, on the west or north sides of the house, approximately 50 feet or more from the house. Temperature - Plant deciduous (leaf dropping) trees on the south and/or west side of house to cool in the summer and allow sun to enter the house in the winter. Typical Wire Friendly Trees: Amur Maple, Hedge Maple, Serviceberry, Eastern Redbud, Flowering Crabapple, Japanese Tree Lilac, and Viburnums. Note: Planting tall-growing trees within utility rights-of-ways (land over which electric lines pass) will require utilities to trim trees to maintain proper clearance from electric wires. This may result in the tree having an unnatural appearance. Never plant large pine trees and large ornamental pines in a raised bed 2 feet from your house. You can see more of Bill's articles at his web site http://www.seedlingsrus.com