Avoid Fall Planting Mistakes

Even seasoned landscapers can run into issues when it comes to replanting homeowners' yards that have been devastated by summer heat. Here are a few of the landscape mistakes and ways to avoid them for happier clients and repeat business.

Subsoil on top - This is a major problem of landscapes and poses immense challenges. Builders carve off the topsoil from a site, leaving only the subsoil. It sometimes means landscapers are trying to grow things where it's almost impossible to do so. This is the reason so many soil amendments are needed. The landscaper is replacing what the building contractor took away. Sometimes, despite soil additives, it's hard to work around barren soil areas, thus the reason the landscaper may have to resort to raised beds.

Take care of the big issues first - Drainage problems kill more plants than anything else in mountain soils. Plants that sit in a monsoon pool will develop root rot and die. So to contour the landscape, install French drains, or simply abandon a problem site and go with raised beds should be decided up front. These are big decisions, which, if made before the landscaper begins to plant, will make the task easier and add to the landscaping success.

Too much of the same thing - If your client wants to camouflage the neighbor's chain link fence, there is a better way than planting an Arizona Cypress every 10 feet. Too many of the same type of plant sets up a monoculture, which is susceptible to an invasion of pests. Rather, choose a selection of cedar, photinia, pine, silver berry, cotoneaster, and other flowering and fruiting shrubs. That ugly view will be hidden by growth that will provide multi-season interest and feed (or house) birds.

Out of proportion - We all know of at least one house that is all but obliterated from view by one or two gigantic Colorado spruces planted in front of the home. Years ago these might have started out as cute Christmas trees but many years and 40 feet later they give only the slightest glimpse of the home they are hiding. Be aware of the expected mature size of a plant when you specify and don't plant it in an area where it won't have room to reach its potential.

Planting too deeply - A tree needs to have a ''basal flare,'' a widening of the trunk near soil level. If you have a tree that looks like a telephone pole coming out of the ground, it's planted too deeply. Plant all trees and shrubs at the same level as they grew in the nursery. If the top of the root ball at the nursery is exposed, it should be exposed when planted.

Grade changes - Grade changes around established trees can wreak havoc on a tree's health. Adding as little as six inches of soil on top of what's already there can reduce air circulation and restrict the movement of water and nutrients.