January Landscaping Advice

Happy New Year to all of our friends and family. It feels good getting back to business after the long holidays. To start the year off on the right foot, our friends at Sunshine Landscape Design would like to give some landscaping advice on what to do and not to do during the month of January.

At the beginning of the year, there’s not so much to do since the temperatures are still fairly low. If you are thinking about trimming your bushes, trees or plants be careful and do some research on the type of plants you have. Some of these are not ready for any trimming (i.e. rose bushes). Wait until it’s a little warmer in the month. Continue to prune evergreen trees such as magnolias, live oaks, and wax myrtles to minimize possible ice damage.

What to do…..check indoor plants for insect pests such as scale, bugs or spiders. Mulch leaves from the lawn and remove any debris from grass to reduce disease and insect problems. Continue to protect tender plants from hard freezes.

As always if you have any specific question on a certain plant or tree, you can always give us a call, we’ll be happy to help you. This is it my friends, once again the best for you and your families in 2015. Happy New Year from your friends at SUNSHINE LANDSCAPE DESIGN.

February Landscaping

Our friends at Sunshine Landscape Design have some suggestions for February landscaping in Texas!

Hello friends, I hope everyone is doing well. You are probably thinking, “what can we do to our landscape when it still feels like wintertime?” As we get further into February, the temperatures will start to go up into the 60’s, 70’s and maybe the 80’s on some days.

There are several items that you can knock out now:

Start thinking on plants that you would like to take out and bring in.
Remove all dead leaves from your lawn and flowerbeds, as this blocks the light, which sometimes can kill your grass.
Stop by your favorite hardware store and buy the correct fertilizer for your type of lawn. Don’t forget any additional food for your plants and trees.
Perform a complete tune-up on your lawnmower and any other landscape equipment that you may have. (i.e. oil, sparkplugs, sharpen blade, etc.)
Do dormant pruning of wood shrubs and trees.
Check any water hose connections to make sure there are free of leakages.
Perform an inspection to your irrigation sprinkler system. Ensure everything is running like it supposed to be.

These are just few tips that can get you ahead of the game before the busy season starts. Of course, if you have any additional items feel free to add them to the list. This is it for today my friends, stay warm by staying busy… a message from your friends at SUNSHINE LANDSCAPE DESIGN.

March

Hello friends, now is the time to get down to business with your landscaping. In our previous blog article, we talked about getting ready for the busy season. We are not quite there yet, but we can get started on some items.

Start by mowing your lawn and applying your preferred fertilizer. Remember to apply the correct fertilizer for your lawn; you don’t want to burn your grass.

Apply a weed killer to your lawn, and right now is the perfect time since most weeds are actively growing. Most fertilizers will have a weed chemical in them (weed & feed). Again, make sure you choose the correct type of weed & feed for your grass. If you are unsure of what type of weed & feed to use, asks us. We are glad to help.

Feed your fruit, veggies, bushes, shrubs and trees. They will be hungry after that long winter.

Since the weather is not too hot and not too cool, start pulling those plants that you no longer want or move them around to different spots in your lawn. When doing this, ensure there will be plenty of sun for those that will need it.

Re-mulch all the beds. If budget doesn’t allow for re-mulching everything, then turn your existing mulch and add just a few bags where it’s needed most.

These are just a few tips to get you started before the busy season begins. Remember, we are always here to help you and are more than happy to assist in any maintenance needs. Just give us a call and we’ll make sure to get you squared away. The key point here is to get you ahead of the game and allow you more free time for yourself and your family.

Gearing Up for Spring Landscaping Tips

Hello friends, I hope everyone is doing well. You are probably thinking, what can we do to our landscape when it still feels like wintertime? As we get further into February the temperatures will start to go up into the 60’s and maybe the 70’s on some days.

There are several items that you can knock out before it’s time to get busy:

Start thinking on plants that you would like to take out and bring in.
Remove all dead leaves from your lawn and flowerbeds, as this blocks the light, which sometimes can kill your grass.
Stop by your favorite hardware store and buy the correct fertilizer for your type of lawn. Don’t forget any additional food for your plants and trees.
Perform a complete tune-up on your lawnmower and any other landscape equipment that you may have. i.e. oil, spark plugs, sharpen blades…etc.
Do dormant pruning of wood shrubs and trees.
Check any water hose connections to make sure there are free of leakages.
Perform an inspection to your irrigation sprinkler system. Ensure everything is running like it supposed to be.

-Ben Mejia, Owner of Sunshine Landscape Design

Fall Landscaping Tips

Hello friends, in this month’s blog we are going to give you some tips for the upcoming fall.

Let’s start by saying that the best season to remove trees and shrubs and many perennials is during the fall. Fall season is perfect for this type of work. The climate is comfortable and cool enough to get rib of those dead trees and get some new ones in.

Since the heat is moving away from us, it will be a good idea to reset your sprinkler system and conduct a performance test. At this point you don’t want to completely turn it off, but maybe reduce the times you water your lawn per week. As we get closer to November and enter into December you might want to consider to only water your lawn every other week.

Inspect your beds and get rid of those ugly weeds. Add mulch and nutrients if needed.

As part of you yearly inspection include a tuned up for your lawn mower and any other equipment. Check your owner’s manual for additional details.

Watering

Our friends at Sunshine Landscape Design have some irrigation and home landscaping tips.

Home Landscaping

Are your plants Thirsty?

Hello friends, in this month’s blog we are going to talk about irrigating plants and trees. How do you know when they need water and how much? This is the most common question we get from our customers.

Plants and trees need water just like humans to survive, but be careful too much water can also kill them. There are several ways to know when your plants are thirsty.

Read the signs.

The first sign of water stress is wilting, if several plants in a bed begin to wilt, you know is time to water.

Another old method is by using a wooden stick and inserting it into the soil around your plant. Insert the stick about 12 inches into the ground. If the stick comes out wet, this means that plant has enough water. If the stick comes out dry, then your plant or tree needs more water.

If you think this is too much to keep up with, there are plant moisture sensors that you can purchase at your favorite hardware store for around $10. These sensors will indicate when your plants or trees need watering.

How much is enough?

How much water do your plants need? This will depend on your type of soil, plant, indoor or outdoor…etc. The key point is to ensure water gets to the root of the plant. When watering your plants and trees do it slowly. It’s best to use a soaking water hose as this will ensure proper saturation. Also keep in mind the time of the year. Plants need more water in the Summer and less in the Winter.