We are now in the middle of the fall foliage and because of the rainfall this summer, we still have many green trees—but wait!  Trees will be turning red, range and yellow overhead and roadside grasses dry to shades of russet and tan.  Perennials such as asters, chrysanthemums and Japanese anemones provide fresh looking flowers in the fall garden.  Pretty soon, we will have our first hard frost which will kill tender plants to the ground signaling the time for fall cleanup.

Live Oak Landscape Maintenance crews are now starting cleanup for this important time of the year.  Please call to make an appointment soon because  the days are flying by fast.  Our staff is the best in the business and we look forward to working with you.

First day of Autumn, finally!  It’s been a long hot summer!  We’ve had earthquakes, violent thunder storms and Hurricane Irene and it should be time to start relaxing – almost!  Autumn is the time to do many things before putting the garden to bed.  Transplanting is not difficult but it does require a certain amount of skill.  Live Oak Landscape Maintenance crews have this skill to correctly rearrange your landscape.  This is the best time to transplant, after the summer heat has past and autumn rains are beginning.

All of the best planning and careful planting can be negated without the proper follow-up.  A few simple maintenance tasks can make all the difference in achieving an attractive, healthy garden.  Please call now for our yearly fall maintenance service.

What is a beneficial Insect?  Generally, the term refers to any bug that is advantageous to the gardener or farmer.  Bees, butterflies, moths and other pollinators are clearly beneficial insects.  Most of us know how valuable they are and we can usually recognize them without much effort.  It is the “less famous” beneficial insects that we need to begin to appreciate,understand and encourage.

The ladybug has become the poster child of beneficial insects.  While she does play an important role in controlling pests, she is by no means alone.  Some new names that you might not be familiar with are Assassin Bugs (helps rid the garden of aphids, cabbage worms, cutworms, earwigs, Japanese beetles, etc), Parasitic Wasp (these tiny non stinging wasps are some of the most beneficial insects in the garden and are known to parasitize over 200 species of pests!), Ground Beetles (help control cutworms slugs, Gypsy moth larvae, snails, slugs) and Praying Mantis (help to rid the garden of aphids, asparagus beetles, caterpillars, earwigs,, four lined plant bugs and leafhoppers, ect)., just to name a few.

 Live Oak Landscape knows the best plants to attract these very important insects to your garden.  Even though some may be small, they pack a powerful punch.  Combined, these few insects help control several hundred different kinds of pests….and they do it even better with a little encouragement from you, the resident gardener

In the war against weeds, organic mulch is a gardener’s best weapon. It prevents sunlight from baking bare soil and suffocates unwanted weed seedlings before they spring to life.  Besides repressing weeds, mulch also serves as a shady umbrella for soil, preventing it from overheating and trapping moisture under the surface. 

Shredded hardwood and pine bark are thick organic mulches that take a couple of years to completely break down.  This makes them perfect for mulching trees and shrubs where mulch is maintained over a long period.  Shredded leaves work best for perennials because they break down rapidly, offering easy access to beds for dividing, transplanting and adding new plants.  Hardwood mulches used on perennials beds must be scraped away before you can plant.

Used incorrectly, however, mulch can wreak havoc on the health of your plants!

Our maintenance crews at Live Oak Landscape Contractors know exactly how much mulch and what type of mulch to apply to your garden.

Toads, ladybugs, lacewings, bees and other beneficial insects can save you from hand-to-hand combat with pests.  Here are some tips to make your garden a haven for these hardworking beneficial insects.

Birds consume an incredible amount of insects as part or all of their diet, depending on species.  Don’t just put out birdseed: Plant a diversity of plants in your landscape to provide fruits, seeds and nesting sites for birds.  Hang up nesting boxes and provide water.

Plant flowers for food.   A wide range of parasitic, predatory, and beneficial insects can be attracted to a border of flowers rich in nectar and pollen.  Mix plantings in throughout the garden such as small, shallow flowers, like sweet alyssum which provides insects an easy access to food.  Other choices include members of the parsley family such as angelica, anise, caraway, carrots, cilantro, cumin, dill and fennel.  Daisy family plants like asters, calendulas, cosmos, daisies, feverfew, goldenrod, marigolds, sunflowers, yarrow and zinnias are great choices. 

Just a word about spiders!  They are among the mose effective insect predators!  Ignore them and they will keep working hard  for you in your garden.

Even organically acceptable pesticides such as oil and soap sprays can harm some beneficial insects like lady beetles.  Instead of spraying for pests, provide beneficials with favorite flowers, water and shelter.  They will get  your pest problem under control and keep it that way!

Live Oak Landscape Architects and Garden Designers have a wealth of beneficial insect information at their finger tips!

Spring is finally here and  after our long hard winter, you should start thinking about tuning- up your landscape.  Maintenance is critical for healthy plants and for a beautiful landscape.  Real estate studies have shown that a beautiful landscape can add as much as 10% value to your property.  Below are some tune-up tips:

Weed Pre-Emergence: Were you overcome with weeds last year?  Consider an application of Planting Bed Weed Pre-Emergence.  Live Oak can treat all of your planting beds and tree rings with a broad spectrum weed pre-emergence to greatly reduce the growth of unwanted and invasive weeds.

Plants need Nutrients: Live Oak also offers Planting Bed Fertilization.  A slow release formula is applied to all planting beds designed to stimulate root growth, maintain plant vigor, and enhance leaf color.

Ornamental Tree and Shrub Care: Steps can be taken to ensure that your ornamental trees and shrubs are protected from invasive insects which can cause considerable damage.  These applications include spring dormant oil, spring and summer applications, to control leaf chewing insects such as scale, aphids, and control of mites and a fall dormant oil or anti-desiccant application to prevent leaf dehydration.

Mulch Installation: Mulching your planting beds serves a number of purposes.  Aesthetically, your yard will look great with a fresh coat of mulch in the beds.  For trees and shrubs, mulch helps maintain a more consistent soil temperature, aids in the retention of water,  suppresses some weeds and adds nutrients into the beds as the mulch breaks down over the year.

The Christmas 2010 Blizzard dumped up to 28 inches of snow in some parts of New Jersey leaving many people in the state stranded.  It was the 5th worst storm in New Jersey history.  People in New Jersey have high expectations and want to be on the road as soon as the big snowstorm is over.  Our Live Oak Maintenance Teamworked hard to meet those expectations and kept the roads clear for our clients–in some cases several trips were needed for client safety.

….Hearthwood was the only community I did not get a complaint from regarding snow removal – it was refreshing to know Alan and his team were organized and efficient…Joyce Gilbert, Community Manager, Wentworth Property Management.

….Alan, I just wanted to let you know that it is my opinion that our complex looks great.  we got a ton of snow and your team did a great job…Brian K, Past Board President, Hearthwood Community

And, our great testimonials go on—–please go to our home page and click on testimonials.

Our services provide for the clearing at the clubhouse parking lot (if applicable), roads, parking stalls (when open to allow for cleaning), driveways (if applicable), common sidewalks, steps, individual walks and stoops in the priority as it is listed.

At Live Oak Landscape Maintenance, we pride oursevesin our work with a team of professaional employees whose job is to go beyond your expectations.

Our snow storm last week  brought about heavy accumulations of snow and ice which can  cause damage to trees and shrubs.  Most trees with damaged branches can be repaired but some may need a little more work than just pruning.

Survey damage:   As soon as the ice and snow melts but  don’t  be in a hurry to to correct trees bent out of shape by snow or ice.  Often the trees will straighten after the snow melts. Use a broom to gently brush the show upward on bent- over branches.

Branch Removal:  Small broken branches can be removed easily with pruning shears or a pole-lopper.  We can recommend professional arborists to remove any damaged branches that overhand the house or power lines.

Limb Removal:  Remove large branches with multiple cuts.  This will eliminate splintering and peeling of the bark on the main trunk.  First, make the first two cuts 12 inches from the branch collar.  This keeps the bark from tearing into the tree. Remove the remaining stub with the final two cuts just above the branch collor.

Live Oak Landscape Contractors will be more than happy to visit your landscape to assess tree damage and to make recommendations.

 The timing of pruning for any particular plant is partly dependent upon the reason for pruning, but is substantially determined by unrelated practical considerations, including  excessive bleeding (resulting in a serious loss of mineral salts), practical convenience and spread of disease (risk of disease spreading from older to younger wood).

These vary from one species to another so it is unsatisfactory to make generalizations and this once again stresses the need to know one’s plants.

An advantage of winter pruning of deciduous trees and shrubs is that the lack of leaves allows a better appreciation of plant shape and recognition of disease problems.  As a general rule the work should be done in the latter half of the winter.  This reduces the likelihood of frost damage to the newly pruned shoots and provides less opportunity for entry of pathogens, since healing will be rapid during spring.

On the other hand, pruning in autumn or early winter reduces the risk of severe physical damage such as wind rock and wind throw during storms.

Simply put, you must know your plant!  Live Oak Landscape Maintenance  has the knowledge of plants and the crews to give your plants the best seasonal care.