Your yard serves so many purposes in your life: it helps you entertain, it gives your kids a place to play, and it provides a nice place for you to relax on a beautiful spring morning. So doesn’t it make sense to provide your yard with the best care possible? Obviously, regular mowing is essential, but your landscape beds and other plants also require a checkup every now and then!

By performing landscape maintenance, you can help your lawn be the best it can be, and you also get to protect your investment you’ve made into creating a great-looking yard. There are many aspects of landscape maintenance, and each should be done at different times.

You may want to explore the possibility of hiring a professional crew like Sprout Lawn & Landscape, as we are experts in lawn care for Noblesville, IN and the surrounding areas like Carmel and Westfield. 

When Should Trimming/Pruning Be Done?

Trimming and pruning are often used interchangeably, but they’re actually very different practices. Trimming is done to control the shape of your plants and to make your shrubs and hedges look aesthetically pleasing. When hedge trimming is performed, it gives your hedges a chance to grow back thicker while preventing overgrowth. Shrub trimming allows us to shape your plants into the shape you desire. Typically, trimming is performed at least a few times each year. For some properties, it requires bi-weekly performance.

Pruning is done to maintain the health of your plants and is usually done annually. It involves the removal of dead, injured, or diseased branches so that the plant can grow more fruits or flowers. Most plants should be pruned during late winter or early spring while they are still in their dormant period, but there are a couple of exceptions.

Fruit-bearing plants are pruned between February and April, while early spring blooming shrubs need pruning after they have finished blooming. 

Fertilize Your Yard Four to Six Times a Year

One of our qualified team members is about to handle a fertilizer treatment for a customer in Noblesville.

Fertilizing your yard is vital to its health. Without fertilizer and weed control, your lawn cannot retain its green, healthy look. In the area encompassing communities such as Noblesville, Carmel, and Westfield, IN, it’s important to fertilize your grass four to six times a year.

Spring fertilization includes pre-emergent herbicide treatments, allowing you to have minimal weed invasions in your yard. Summer fertilization has a post-emergent herbicide treatment, which kills off any existing broadleaf and other weeds. In late summer, another fertilizer treatment should be applied.

The last treatment of the year should be sometime in the fall with a higher-nitrogen content fertilizer, as this helps your turf get ready for its winter dormant period. 

When to Refresh Your Mulch

Mulch provides many benefits to your landscape beds. By installing mulch, you can:

  • Control weeds
  • Promote plant growth
  • Regulate soil temperature
  • Prevent soil erosion
  • Repel insects
  • Complete the look of your landscape bed design

Most commonly used mulches are dyed hardwood and can be red, black, or brown. These mulches should be refreshed on an annual basis in order to keep maximizing the benefits of having mulch.

Another option is to install rock or decorative stone. These include brown river rock and shale. Rock coverings should be refreshed every other year. 

Be Proactive by Weeding Regularly

While weed control services should be performed during two fertilizer treatments, they still may not catch every weed. That’s why it’s essential to the health of your lawn and landscaping to check for weeds regularly. If weeds pop up in your yard or landscaping beds, pull them up and spray the area to treat it. Don’t wait for weed invasions to get out of control. It is best to be proactive when checking for weeds!

Weeds soak up nutrients quicker than the surrounding grass, meaning the longer they stay, the fewer nutrients your grass receives. 

Reshape Landscape Beds Once a Year

Reshaping landscape beds has been keeping our crews busy throughout Carmel.

Landscape beds are an important part of the look of your yard and sometimes your grass can begin to overtake them. By reshaping them once a year during spring cleanup, you can ensure your beds stay looking fresh and crisp. You may also want to give them a color refresh by planting some annual flowers during this time. 

Call us to see how our lawn and landscape services can create a beautiful yard for you.

We’d love to help you cultivate a beautiful lawn and landscape! If you are located in or around Noblesville, Carmel, or Westfield, IN, contact us at (317) 900-7151 to see how our services can create the yard you’ve been wanting.