by: Janeth Duque
One of the best things you can do to save money on your
landscape is to properly care for your plants. This is
very important to keeping a healthy yard and an
attractive landscape. If you properly care for your
plants, you will save money in maintenance costs, and
you will save money in having to replace plants that
succumb to disease or other problems associated with
poor care. Caring for your plants is not only good for
the plants, but it is also good for you. You can get
good exercise, escape from the stale air of your home,
and get a little bit closer to nature. Not only do these
things have positive physical benefits, but they have
mental and emotional benefits as well. When you care for
your plants you are saving money, helping your over all
well being, and preserving a beautiful landscape.
Keeping your soil in good condition is essential for the
care of your plants, whether the plants are part of the
lawn, or whether they are trees or flowers. Having good
soil is essential, as good soil provides nutrients to
the plants and also offers moisture, as good soil
preserves water and can act as a reservoir of moisture.
Keeping your soil healthy is the beginning of caring for
your plants. You can keep the soil healthy in a number
of ways. Check the acid and alkali contents and make
sure that they remain at levels that are good for your
plants.
Also, it is a good idea to add organic material to your
soil at least once a year. Using organic mulch is a good
way to keep your soil in good shape. In shrub and
flowerbeds, and around trees, wood chips can help the
soil retain moisture and they will break own and provide
nutrients as well. Reducing compaction is also
important, as it allows air down into the soil and frees
up room for beneficial organisms like earthworms. There
is also more room for the roots to grow (any kind of
roots — grass, tree, flower, etc.), giving them a firmer
foundation and better health. Annual aeration will help
your grass and the trees and shrubs that you have
planted on your lawn. Turning the soil each year and
adding special potting soil to the garden and flowerbeds
at fall planting can also help.
Efficient watering techniques are also very helpful with
plant care. These techniques include things like
watering deeply and not terribly often. For the most
part, people water their lawns too frequently.
This keeps the roots shallow (shallow roots mean less
healthy grass) and much of the water either runs off or
evaporates. Watering in the early morning (before 10)
and in the evening (after 6) can reduce losses to
evaporation and increase the amount of water that is
actually absorbed into the soil. When watering
flowerbeds and trees and shrubs, make sure that rather
than simply letting a sprinkler run, you take care to
use the hose to water deeply. For established plants,
there is no need to water more than once a week. Even
the lawn does not need to be watered more than once or
twice a week. This type of watering schedule forces the
roots to go deeper into the soil, looking
for moisture and creating healthier plants that are more
tolerant of drought conditions.
Other good care practices include pruning woody plants
and inspecting for pests and diseases. Not only does
this help with the health of the plants, but it also
contributes to their attractiveness. You can help your
plants look fuller (especially evergreen shrubs) by
pruning yearly. Blossoming plants also benefit from such
care, as they will have more blooms when properly
pruned. Additionally, when you inspect regularly for
pests and diseases, you can catch problems before they
get out of hand. You can properly treat the issue as
needed, and save time and money in replacing the plants
later.
While many people make use of fertilizers, pesticides,
and weed killers, these are not necessarily essential
for good plant care. It is true that these chemicals can
contribute to the health and the look
of your landscape, but if they are used improperly they
can also cause damage. Make sure that you carefully read
the instructions in full before applying any such
product. Then, make sure you fallow the directions
exactly. Too much of these chemicals can actually harm
your plants.