Preparing Your Landscape for Autumn & Other End of Summer Tips

Leaves will soon be turning and falling to the ground. Summer is coming to an end and cooler weather is right around the corner. This time of year is a great time to take care of lawn problems or ward off some issues before they arise. After all, you don’t want to leave your lawn in a bad way heading into the cold; rather, you want to set it up for ample and healthy growth for next spring.

Here at Root’s, as a landscape company in Ephrata, we know all the right steps to take to get your lawn ready. Aeration and fertilization is one place to start. We’ve put together a few tips to help you enhance the growth of your lawn through the rest of the summer and into the fall:

• Enlist the help of a professional landscape company if you feel you need help preparing your lawn for winter. Once your fall lawn and landscaping maintenance is complete, rest easy feeling satisfied over a job well done. The spring will yield a much healthier lawn and landscaping as a result.
• Keep the ground tidy around trees that bear fruit. Fallen fruit can eventually rot and invite disease.
• Start preparing for your raking routine. Have you been considering a compost pile? Now is the time to get one started! With the leaves ready to drop, you’ll soon have plenty to compost. Compost is amongst the greatest of all natural fertilizers in existence and you can easily add your landscaping waste into this.
• It will soon be prime time for planting and establishing new shrubs and trees as well as looking ahead with spring flowering bulbs. So plan ahead! Start shopping now for the best selection. The experts at our landscape company, Root’s Nurseries, can help you choose the perfect plants for your unique landscape and our unique climate. And remember, don’t plant too early or you bulbs may sprout early, only to be killed off by the first winter freeze.
• Plan your final mow. This particular mow will allow for you to drop those blades and cut a bit shorter that you otherwise would.
• Apply high-phosphorous fertilizer mix generously to your lawn. Utilizing this sort of fertilizer will encourage the growth of roots that will allow for green turf emerging much earlier in the Spring than otherwise it would.

 Interested in learning more about hiring a landscape company for your Ephrata home or business? Start today by calling Root’s Nurseries at 717-898-0041 or Request a Free Estimate.

Take Care of Your Trees and Weeds: Tips from a Professional Landscaper

The weather is getting warmer! This time of year, everyone is busy sprucing up their homes with some spring cleaning and a fresh coat of paint. But it’s important not to neglect the outside of your home - your lawn! To enhance the look of your home or business property, work with an expert landscaper at Root’s Nurseries and we can set your property up with all sorts of new trees and shrubbery.

With a new landscape also comes preventative care for your trees and weeds. And as a trusted landscaper for Landisville, we thought we would take some time to offer some basic lawn care tips. And if you have any questions about trees, weeds or other landscaping needs feel free to visit our garden center and ask a friendly Root’s landscaper for more expert advice.

All About Weeds

Did you know that one single weed is capable of producing as many as 250,000 seeds? These seeds can survive for a year or can lie in wait for decades. Other weed types even have seeds that can come to your lawn by air or can even be brought to a new location by your shoes. As such, you will want to be on top of the very first weeds you encounter. Once you see one, we suggest spraying with Round Up which kills the weed to the root. Simply pulling can leave roots in the ground which means weeds will just come up again. A landscaper at Root’s Nurseries can help you create a weed fighting regimen for your specific lawn.

Landscaper Tip! An empty patch of land will quickly become filled with weeds if they are not pulled as soon as they begin sprouting. Should you be a composter, take these weeds and add them to your compost heap to kill the seeds. If not, contact our landscaper and we can assist you.

All About Trees

Trees need just the right amount of water and moisture to thrive, but you can't assume that your trees are getting all of the water they need whenever you water your grass. Grass roots will compete with tree’s roots for that water. Most trees need the soil to be moistened at least a foot to a foot and a half deep in order for their roots to be able to get to the water.

Ask a Root’s landscaper about the specific tree you just bought to know exactly how much water to give it and how frequently it should get watered. You can check for how moist the soil is by using a soil probe or by gently digging into the soil. The type of mulch you get also depends on the type of tree you have. Young trees need plenty of mulch. Aim to have three inches of mulch around the base of your new tree at all times. Not sure what mulch to get or how mulch to buy? Contact us and a landscaper can give you their expert advice.

Are you ready to get more expert tips from our landscaper in Landisville? Call Root’s Nurseries at 717-898-0041 or you can contact us to get a Free Estimate.

Reinvent Spring Cleaning with a New Beautiful Landscape

Have you seen the tulips lately? Spring has in Pennsylvania! That means it’s time to get outside and begin sculpting the perfect new landscape for your home. As the weather warms throughout the season, your garden and grasses will continue to bud with new growth. Root’s Nurseries is ready to tame, design and guide your yard into a relaxing outdoor oasis to enjoy all summer long. As a trusted landscaper for Mt Joy and surrounding areas, we’ve put quite a bit of thought into landscape design. So, here are a few tips to consider when designing a new landscape:

Start Spring Cleaning

Now that the cold weather has lifted and the snow has melted, you will likely be able to see the marks left behind by winter. You’ll notice broken branches, bare patches and some additional cleanup that needs to take place in your yard. Here are some tasks you or a landscaper can perform:

• If you notice any bare patches, loosen the surface and spread a mixture of grass seed and compost or fertilizer over the bare spot.
• Carefully rake up all of the dead leaves, debris and pine cones that have gathered on your lawn over the last several months.
• You or your landscaper should apply a new layer of mulch to help your plants retain moisture; helping them to grow throughout the spring and summer.

Find Inspiration

Start online! Gather a few ideas and photos of your dream landscape you can show to your landscaper. Look for landscaping inspiration in the area or find some examples of properties that you think are done well. This may help you in presenting our team with a good idea of what you’re looking for.  Not sure what plants will grow best in the area? A landscaper at Root’s can answer those questions for you!

Make Plans

Setting things up in proper proportion is one of the most daunting tasks associated with designing the ideal home landscape. Your plants need to be proportionate to each other as well as to whatever plot they are being installed into. A  trained, professional home landscaper from Root’s can step in here, take measurements and help you visualize the scope of your project and what the outcome should look like.

Get Colorful

Colors will be a huge part of your landscape design. Do you or a family member have a favorite color you’d like to include? Tell your landscaper! This can be a great starting point and the experts at Root’s can help build from there.

A Root’s landscaper will come up with the perfect plan for your yard. We can plant shade trees, shrubs and a wide variety of other plants. Your yard and landscaping will be the envy of your neighbors this spring and summer! Are you ready to learn more about our landscaper in Mt Joy? Call Root’s Nurseries at 717-898-0041, or you can contact us for a Free Estimate.

Landscaping Tips to Prepare for Your Lawn for Winter

The cold weather is here and the leaves have already begun to fall. Don’t  leave your lawn in bad shape heading into winter. Instead, consider setting it up for ample and healthy growth in the spring. The cold air prevents growth of any lawn items above ground, but things can be done to improve the health of it for spring by indirectly taking care of that which lies below ground. The effects of the cold are buffered by allowing the moisture trapped within the soil and below the surface to enhance the strengthening of roots, a gift from Mother Nature that gives a head start of sorts that allows you to prepare for next growing season.   

The landscaping at your Strasburg or otherwise nearby home calls for adequate mid-fall care. Here at Root’s Nurseries we care about local landscaping and will be sharing a few suggestions that will help you enhance the growth of your spring lawn and garden by making some simple efforts now:

·         Get rid of dead items from any and all areas of your lawn and landscaping. Should the fall yield an excessive amount of heavy leaf cover, simply rake and remove. Loosing your lawn of dead material will enable otherwise blocked sunlight to reach your grass or landscaping.

·         Get some high-phosphorous fertilizer mix and apply generously to your lawn. Utilizing this sort of fertilizer will encourage the growth of roots that will allow for green turf emergence earlier in the Spring than it otherwise would begin to sprout.

·         Enjoy, celebrate the final lawn mowing session of 2016! This particular mow will allow for you to drop those blades and cut a bit shorter that you otherwise would.

·         Place the gathered leaves in an area where they will decompose naturally. This “waste” will become compost that you can use next year as a fertilizer for your lawn. Compost is amongst the greatest of all natural fertilizers in existence and you can easily you’re your landscaping waste into this.

·         Once your fall lawn and landscaping maintenance is complete, rest easy feeling satisfied over a job well done. The spring will yield a much healthier lawn and landscaping as a result.

Thinking about hiring a landscaping company for your Strasburg home or business? Start today by calling Root’s Nurseries at 717-898-0041 or Request a Free Estimate.

Getting Started with Home Landscaping

If your property, including the lawn and around your house, looks staid and lifeless year in and year out, try to spice things up a bit. This year add some home landscaping to your Manheim property. The aesthetic and potential resale value of your home goes up immediately upon the installation of fine home landscaping, the likes of which Root’s Nurseries can provide. A simple and creative solution to a drab looking property, new home landscaping will make you the envy of neighbors, friends and family.

The process begins with designing the ideal home landscaping set-up. There are many aspects of such an undertaking that you will need to consider. Our professional designers and installers will work with you, seeking your ideas on what you are looking to implement. In this blog, we will cover some of the basics for first-time home landscape designers.

Research

Thanks to the Internet, researching a perfect landscape set-up is not at all difficult. Countless examples from around the world are now at your fingertips. With just a few types and a few clicks, you begin to gain insight into what looks and feels right for your home landscaping set-up. Gather a few ideas together about your dream landscape. Find some examples of properties that you think were done well. This can help you present our team with a good idea of what you’re looking for at your home.

Color Scheme

Colors will be a big part of your home landscaping design. Perhaps you have a preferred plant or a favorite color (or both) that you wish to include? This provides a nice starting point, but our advice to you is to keep from getting too complicated here. The more bold and audacious you get with your color combinations, the more difficult you will make the process of ensuring everything matches. Go with just a few basic colors when plotting the look of your new home landscaping.

Plant Proportions

Setting things up in proper proportion is one of the daunting tasks associated with designing the ideal home landscaping situation for your property. Our team of trained, professional landscaping experts steps in here by helping you visualize the scope of what the outcome of the final project is going to look like. Your plants need to be proportionate to each other as well as to whatever plot they are being installed into.

Get started on new home landscaping for your Manheim area home today by calling Root’s Nurseries at 717-898-0041. You can also Request a Free Estimate.

Caring for New Landscaping Shrubs during Cold Weather

If you recently bought some new landscaping shrubs for your Lancaster home, you may be wondering how to care for them as the weather turns colder. Some questions you may have are about how much water and sunlight they need and how you can protect them from Pennsylvania’s harsh winters. We can answer your questions personally when you visit our retail plant center to browse landscaping shrubs. However, we also want to offer some tips here that you can follow at home. Winter can be tough on new landscaping shrubs, but they can easily survive and thrive with proper care and planning on your part.

Although it may not seem like it, the winter sun can do almost as much damage to new landscaping shrubs as the spring and summer sun. You can prevent much of this damage by wrapping the shrubs’ trunks in some type of protective material, like burlap or corrugated paper that is light in color. This will keep the bark from experiencing extremes in temperature.

Another way to protect your landscaping shrubs as the weather gets colder is to make sure they get plenty of water in the late fall. Even when temperatures outside are quite cold, the leaves of the shrubs can get warm in the sun, resulting in transpiration. This can pull water away from landscaping shrubs, leaving them dry.

So how much water do your shrubs really need? This depends on the type of shrub, and if you visit our retail plant center, we can give you more specific information. In general, try to water them regularly in the fall. You can also water them on any warm days we might happen to get during the winter.

A serious threat to new landscaping shrubs is winter burn. To prevent this from happening, you can use evergreen branches to form a wind break over the shrubs. Another way to help protect your landscaping shrubs’ root systems is with mulch. The type and amount of mulch needed depends on the type of shrubs you buy, so we can offer advice on this as well.

With preparation and a few precautions on your part, your new landscaping shrubs will be all set for spring!

For more information on landscaping shrubs near Lancaster, call Root’s Nurseries at 717-898-0041, stop by our plant center in Manheim, or contact us for a Free Landscaping Estimate. 

Caring For Your Trees This Summer

Proper tree care is important, no matter what time of year it is. And even though fall will be here before you know it, caring for your trees is still a chore that should be done on a regular basis. Here is a brief overview of how to care for your trees this time of year. And, of course, if you have any further questions, you can always visit our garden center near Ephrata.

Take a walk around your property and look at each tree. Take note of any damage or other issues with your trees, like signs of disease or insect infestation. If you see any signs of these types of problems, visit our garden center to get advice on what to do to get rid of the problem. You should keep an eye out for any branches that are damaged and in need of pruning.

If you have the right tools and if you know how to do it properly, take some time to prune the trees that need it. Sometimes pruning is an art form, so it should only be done by those who know what they are doing. If you are unsure, hire a professional company to come out and take care of it for you. And if you want further advice on this, come to our garden center to talk to our experts.

Weak limbs need to be braced or cabled in order to help them grow. Sometimes it needs to be done after a storm has blown through your area. Cabling or bracing weak tree limbs is another task best left up to a professional. There should be some type of tree care service in your area that you can call for assistance. Or you can visit our garden center to learn more about cabling and bracing.

These are only a few suggestions on how to best care for all of the trees on your property. If you would like to learn even more, take a trip to our garden center. We have plenty of experts on staff who would be happy to answer your questions on how to best care for your trees and other aspects of your landscaping.

If you would like more information on our garden center near Ephrata, call us at Root’s Nurseries at 717-898-0041, or you can contact us for a Free Estimate. Our garden center is on Lancaster Road in Manheim.