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Category: Tree & Shrub Care

Sylvan Gardens Landscape ContractorsLandscaping BlogTree & Shrub Care

News and notes on arbor practices, shrub care, pest management and best planting practices.

25 Jan 2019
winter-garden-care-hydrangea

Winter Garden Care | 5 Tips to Prepare Your Plants for Winter

The growing season has reached its end and it’s time to prepare the garden for the big freeze. Your shrubs and perennials will find their way into hibernation on their own, but should you help them prepare with winter garden care anyway?

Yes!

Proper winter garden care isn’t just about surviving cold temperatures. You can also ready your garden for spring blooms by clearing things out during the fall and winter. Your yard will look cleaner, and the start of the next growing season will be a breeze.READ MORE

07 Sep 2018
young-tree-care

Why Are My Young Trees Dying?

Few new landscapes are lucky enough to build around big, healthy shade trees. We often start by planting young trees that need more care than established specimens.

Keeping these young trees healthy means starting them off on the right foot. That requires a combination of soil health, proper planting technique, adequate watering, beneficial fertilization and protection from wind, wildlife and other environmental concerns.

It only takes one of the elements to be out of order to damage your young trees. The symptoms often seem similar to the naked eye, but the causes are often there if you dig beneath the surface. All too often, the causes of decline in young trees are easily fixed, but not easily found.READ MORE

04 Sep 2018
hot-weather-plant-care

Hot Weather Plant Care Tips for Your Landscape

Summer is hanging on tight, and that means added stress to the plants in your landscape. Providing the right hot weather plant care is critical to keeping things healthy through this tough part of the growing season.

Too much heat, too little water, too much wind, not enough mulch — the list of hot weather plant care needs is perhaps greater than any other season. The fluctuating temperatures and rainfalls we’ve seen all year have only complicated things.

If you fear that your landscape plants might be falling victim to late-summer heat, keep everything healthy by looking for the telltale signs of heat stress and dealing with them properly.READ MORE

04 Feb 2018

Five Common Types of Winter Plant Damage

One of the biggest benefits of planting with native or hardy plants is resistance to harsh winter conditions. However, even the best-suited plants can become damaged by harsh Northeast winters.

Pittsburgh residents are no stranger to these challenges, and neither are we. While potholes and gray skies get most of the attention, the stress of winter weather can be particularly harmful to plants — even those that are well-established and well-suited to the region.

We can’t control the weather, but we can adapt to it. Here, we’ll list five common types of winter plant damage, and how you can remedy those stresses and even avoid them altogether.

READ MORE