Landscaping FAQs

• If you have sprinkler irrigation, make sure it is set for the appropriate duration and time of day, being aware of Water Restrictions
• Drip irrigation has no restrictions, and should be left on for longer periods of time (1-2 hour for a residential garden bed)
• Additional watering by hand during a drought and hot periods may be required if the plants start to look stressed or wilted. A hose nozzle with an automatic shut off is required.
• Watering by hand provides the added benefit of getting a closer look at your plants and enjoying your garden
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• Duration of watering depends on the size of the garden bed
• Use a trowel to check the soil 3 to 6 inches deep to see if the water is infiltrating deeply
• If the water is staying at the surface, it could be because the soil is hydrophobic due to a long time with no watering. Using a trowel to dig holes around the plants and manually integrating water into the soil will slowly moisten the area. Alternatively, watering slowly for a longer period of time will also improve infiltration

• Newly installed plants and transplants should be watered every three days in summer, and increase this frequency when temperatures are above 25 degrees or during prolonged dry periods. Less watering is needed in fall, but the ground should be kept moist
• Watering the roots and the leaves is recommended for the first few weeks
• Areas with more sun may need more watering than shaded areas
• Watering early morning, before 9 am, is ideal
• This frequency should last for 4 weeks, until the plants are established
• One year after planting, under-watering (forces plants/trees/shrubs to look for water) is always better than over watering (causes root rot). The correct amount of water is always best

• When you consider adding additional plants to your garden space, ensure you choose the right plant for the right place. Important factors to review: sun or shade requirements, wet or dry conditions, and space required for a plant to mature
• Planting in a space too small can cause more maintenance in the future by having to prune the plant too often
• Knowing the water requirements for your plants is crucial to their care and longevity. Bear in mind that under-watering is always preferable to over-watering; under-watering forces plants to search for water while over-watering causes root rot

• After one year, or when you can rock the tree and it feels solid at the base. The stakes are meant to keep newly developed root systems from becoming damaged when the tree moves in the wind

• In the Spring and Fall, before/after blooming, or when you see stress in a plant. Fertilizing is only of value to the plant when they are actively growing
• Avoid any heavy feeding in the first year of planting
• You can reduce fertilizer applications by half if you are constantly topping up with aged composted mulch

• Avoid pruning, unless you are confident in the pruning techniques needed for that particular plant/shrub/tree.
• No pruning should be done within the first year after planting a shrub, to prevent stressing the plant.
• Rule of thumb, if you need a ladder to do the pruning, call an expert.
• When pruning, remove no more than ⅓ of the plant or leaf material.
• Prune trees while they are dormant in late fall or early spring, and shrubs after the flowering cycle has ended.

Definitely! It is the best thing you can do for your garden to naturally protect and nourish it. Aged composted bark mulch is preferred over bark chips or nuggets that are often sold in bags. Composted mulch provides a finished look to the garden while adding benefits like:

• Promoting water retention in the soil around the plant’s root system
• Reduces weed growth
• Cools the soil in the heat of the summer
• Creates a habitat for beneficial insects and microbes in the soil, which helps control pests that enter the garden, while adding soil nutrients as the mulch breaks down

• Some perennials and grasses are evergreen or semi-evergreen, so they will sustain the winter. Feel free to ask us which plants are perennial and which ones are evergreen
• If there is a lot of browning that you find unsightly, you can remove them by cutting 2 to 3 inches from the base
• Some flowering perennials offer seeds for birds during fall and winter. If you don’t mind the look of the seedheads, leaving them on will help our wildlife. An example of this beneficial plant is Echinacea or cone flower
• Some flowering perennials can spread wildly through seed, so removing the spent flowers will help keep the garden tidier. An example of seed-spreading plants are yarrow and lady’s mantle

If the plant is getting too big for the space, or it starts browning in the middle, you can ask our Horticulture & Maintenance Team for more information. We are happy to assist!

Deadheading is the practice of removing spent or faded flowers from a plant. This process helps to encourage new growth and promote more blooms.  In a nutshell, by preventing seed production, deadheading allows the plant to focus its energy on producing more flowers and overall healthy growth

• Absolutely! Annual plants’ only purpose in life is to set seed, after which it will die. Therefore, removing the spent flowers will ensure the plant keeps blooming all summer. You can deadhead by cutting the flower stalk to the base using secateurs.

• Checking for spent flowers weekly is a good frequency.

• Just like trees and shrubs, annuals must be watered as needed. Please refer to the Trees & Shrubs section for instructions