Landscape Malpractise Cases

…Or “When to Fire Your Landscaper”

We have a guest writer for this week’s GP blog post, Teresa Watkins! She’s a professional landscaper and garden consultant in Florida (her bio is at the end of the column). As a professional she has seen “landscaper results” that will astound, scare, shock, or otherwise perturb you to no end. She has graciously shared photos and input for this blog post.


We hope this will be a series highlighting what to watch for when hiring a landscape company. Most of the following examples will have a “Caveat Emptor” feel to them. Just sayin’.


GP disclaimer: If you’re bothered by anything in this blog post please do not hold it against Ms. Watkins. Blame the editor who may have taken some liberties with the captions depending on how frustrated they felt at the time.


Let’s get started.

Case #1. Your landscaper charges you to edge dirt.

Don’t pay for “fluff work;” always inspect the bill and the job. Don’t assume the crew sent to do the job knows what to do. It’s up to you to know what needs to be done in your landscape. Please, always be polite when talking with the crews. They’re just doing their job.



Case #2. Your landscaper cut your plants so low to the ground they die.

Beware of landscaping crews wielding hedge shears and loppers, or even weed whackers. Yes, we’ve seen those used for a job like this. Make sure crews understand when to prune and how much to remove. This applies to cutting back or shearing shrubs into cupcakes, “Ding-dongs,” or other snack food shapes. Continuous shearing leads to early plant decline due to excess interior growth and shading. And it’s ugly.
Actually, if you have shrubs or hedges that have to be continually cut back perhaps it’s time to rethink that particular part of your landscape.



Case #3. Your landscaper continues to commit crepe murder.

Do we even have to discuss this anymore? Seriously. If the plant is too tall then remove it and plant something shorter.
https://nwdistrict.ifas.ufl.edu/hort/2018/01/10/correcting-crape-murder/


Case #4. Your landscaper plants a shade species in full sun, or vice versa.

OK, we can see what they were going for here – a color pop. But please read the plant tag! Always review the proposed plant list and diagram, and ask questions. Don’t trust the crew to know which plant goes where. They’re human and can make mistakes. If you’re concerned about what they’re doing tell them to stop and call the company owner or whomever you talked to and explain the situation. Remember you’re in charge, it’s your money, but always be polite.
…And those ferns look crowded for their mature size.
Well, they did follow the work order.


Case #5. Your landscaper insists on using herbicides for weed control along lawns, gardens and fence lines.

These photos show the accumulated effects of herbicide. There’s a three month’s difference between the photos; please note the continued plant death. Be sure crews are state certified pesticide applicators or have training in the application thereof (requirements vary by region). As the homeowner it is your responsibility to know what’s being sprayed. If you don’t want herbicides used then it’s up to you to specify that. If your requests are being ignored then it’s time to change companies. If the crew starts spraying against your wishes tell them to stop immediately. But be polite – they’re just doing their job.
Oops.

Our guest blogger, Teresa Watkins, is a landscape designer and owner of Sustainable Horticultural Environments. She creates unique, beautiful, and sustainable landscapes with her “gardening with soul” philosophy. Over 40,000 homeowners and professional landscapers have attended Teresa’s talks and programs. Teresa hosts Florida’s most popular syndicated radio garden show “Better Lawns and Gardens” Saturday mornings on WFLA-Orlando, iHeart, Spotify, Audioboom, iTunes, and on podcast. She enjoys traveling and leading garden tours, checking off incredible national and world gardens on her ‘bucket’ (pronounced ‘bouquet’) list. www.she-consulting.com

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Sylvia Thompson-Hacker

Sylvia Thompson-Hacker is a Doña Ana Co. New Mexico Extension Master Gardener. She is also an admin on the Garden Professor's Facebook page and the Garden Professor's Facebook blog group.

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