Landscape Maintenance

The purpose of any maintenance program is to maximize an asset's useful life. With landscaping, it is important to understand that one is dealing with an asset that is comprised of living organisms. Turf, trees, palms and ornamental plants, for example; reproduce, need nutrient, sun and grooming to meet their respective life spans without the need for premature replacement.

This guide will bring to your attention basic concepts and issues relevant to a community's landscape management needs. Regardless of H.O.A. or Condominium style associations the basic presented criteria remains constant. Presented concepts will however vary in quantity and complexity depending on the physical nature of the property.

1. Landscape Maintenance Contract

2. Turf Maintenance

3. Palm Maintenance 4. Tree Maintenance

5. Ornamental Plant Maintenance

6. Mulch

7. Landscaping Design

Landscape Maintenance Contract:

The basic idea behind all landscape maintenance contracts is to preserve the established standards of existing landscaping. The contractor will agree to provide the man power and equipment to accomplish a uniformed look of the existing plant material and to remove debris generated by the work.

The typical composition of the scope of work is as follows:

Service Visits:

Service visits vary based upon the needs of an individual community, they may range from keeping a full-time crew on the property every day which is possible in very large H.O.A. style communities with miles of privacy hedge and dozens of acres of turf to once a monthly or by-monthly service if the scope of work is limited to a small planter bed at the entrance to the community.

An average service schedule will range from by-weekly 26 services to 36 services adjusted to suit the seasonal growth rates of the plant material. The seasonal adjustment is needed due to the drastic increase in growth of the plant life during summer months and nearly dormant state during the winter. Considering the seasons, it is of benefit to the community to manage services accordingly. Fox example, if the community is serviced 34 times per year it may want to consider 2 services from January through March, 3 services from April to May, 4 services from June through August, 3 services September though October, and 2 from November through December. This seasonal adjustment will meet the typical service visit needs for South Florida but may be further adjusted to other locations depending on the inherent weather patterns.

Mowing:

Mowing of turf typically occur every service visit. The work is done utilizing appropriate equipment for the scope of work ranging from 60" (60" width that is covered by the mover blades) commercial sit down mowers to small walk behind mowers needed for narrow strips of turf. The focus is to maintain the height of grass blades at an acceptable and uniformed level. Typically, the mower blades are set at 2". The setting can be adjusted higher but lower settings may cause bald spots where bumps are found in the ground.

Edging:

Edging is the practice of creating a defined edge to the turf areas. This is performed with an "edger" which is a hand-held tool that is ran along the outer perimeter of the turf area cutting away excess grass that is over growing on to paved or other surfaces not intended for turf.

Weed Control:

Basic maintenance contract including weed control will not include weeds in the turf, this is a separate service, but it includes controlling weeds in the garden beds within pavers, tree rings, exterior walkways and vehicle driveways. The contract will typically mention the methods that are used; including chemical, mechanical and hand removal. The contactor will select the best method for each maintained location. For example, the pool deck will most likely be treated chemically with a weed killer and areas such as planter beds with seasonal annuals will be de-weeded by hand due to the sensitive nature of these plants.

Hedging:

Hedging is a practice commonly evolves the use of a " hedger" to shape the ornamental hedge rows and designs within the landscaping. The contractor's objective is to achieve uniformity in the appearance of the hedge and to prevent overgrowth that could have a negative impact on the design. Not all materials used in landscape design are intended for hedging. It is important to be clear with the landscape maintenance contractor as to what needs to be hedged and what does not. For example; ferns and some flowering hedges may not be suited for hedging due to the intention within design. Additionally, plants such as ferns have a dramatically worse appearance after hedging compared to their natural look.

Trees and Palms:

Trees and palms as part of regular scope of work in landscape maintenance are typically depended on height. Palm tops reachable by a pole saw (12'-14' in height) typically will be tended to by removal of the seed pods and dead and unsightly fronds. Trees are typically tended to by removal of branches that may be an obstacle for walkways no higher than 8'-10' from the ground. The basic idea for tree maintenance is to allow for unobstructed pedestrian passage. Additionally, tree trunks are tended to by removal of "suckers" which are sprouts growing out of the trunk, again, within the 8'-10' height criteria.

Debris Removal:

During the process of maintenance debris that is naturally occurring and debris that is produced due to maintenance work needs to be removed. Litter is also considered debris. First step involved within this process is managing the debris in to one location for pick up. This is achieved either by hand, rake or blower. Blowers are commonly utilized to clear walkways and driveways as well as other open areas. It is recommended that debris not be blown into the shrubbery as if sweeping dust under the rug because an accumulated debris lair will serve as a host to insects and other pests. Instead the landscape workers will need to remove all debris from underneath the plant material and haul it off location.

Turf Maintenance:

Maintenance of turf areas consists of regular shaping by way of mowing and edging as well as feeding the turf through fertilization and watering. Additionally, turf areas must be protected from pests, diseases to be replaced by disease same in multiple locations and weeds that can create unsightly dead and damaged locations.

The routine shaping of the turf areas as applicable to the regular scope of work will allow for uniformity. This practice is typically done every service visit with use of mechanical equipment as earlier discussed.

Palm Maintenance:

The basic scope of palm maintenance that may or may not be included in the general scope of work of the landscape maintenance agreement consists of 3 parts:...