—Services—
organic & hybrid lawn care
Organic Lawn Care
Plantscapes offers organic and hybrid lawn care programs that include the services detailed below. All materials have been tested over many years, weeding out (no pun intended!) the good products from the imposters. Our organic lawn care program produces better results than your common “chemical” program utilizing a much more creative and caring approach. Every property we visit is different so we will analyze the current conditions and issues and then tailor a program specific to your property. Depending on the current condition of your property we may recommend a transitional (hybrid) program which reduces chemical usage over time while dealing with issues plaguing your lawn.
Our staff members have all be trained and certified by CT NOFA as organic land care professionals. The organic lawn care programs include such services as:
Organic Fertilizing:
Plantscapes applies only the highest quality tested organic fertilizers that will nourish the soil and provide the proper nutrients essential to growing health turf. Our fertilizers contain highly coveted soluble humates and soluble seaweed extracts, in addition to re-mineralizing the soil they are safe for human and pets.
Organic Weed Control:
Plantscapes will scout your property throughout the season and will apply various organic weed control products as deemed necessary to control weeds throughout the growing season. Organic weed controls include horticultural vinegar, citrus oil, clove oil, etc. Hybrid programs include a mix of traditional and organic products usually reserved for lawns with severe weed issues.
Organic Lime:
Plantscapes recommends applying organic lime 1-2 times per season to maintain a PH level adequate for maintaining healthy turf. Lime helps breaks down soil allowing it to access nutrients provided by fertilizers. Additionally, lime is used to repair damaged and summer stressed turf. Cool season grasses as commonly found in CT require a PH level over 7. Lawns with low PH levels are prone to weeds, diseases, and other turf issues. During the growing season Plantscapes will test the soil and check PH levels. Lime is then applied at a rate determined by the soil test.
Aeration and Seeding:
As part of every lawn program Plantscapes recommends aerating and seeding your lawn every fall. In late August and early September as temperatures start to fall and weeds are no longer an issue we will de-thatch, core aerate, and overseed our client’s lawns. Core aeration promotes air exchange, water uptake, stronger and deeper root systems, faster seed germination, and elimination of soil compaction. Additionally, aeration and seeding helps to repair bare areas and drought stressed lawns. Plantscapes uses only the finest quality grass seed containing various grass types that don’t requires lots of harmful chemicals to keep healthy. In addition, we will repair all bare areas and overseed your lawn every Spring.
Insect and Disease Control:
Insects and diseases are common occurrences in CT landscapes due to many factors. Plantscapes will inspect your property throughout the season and be on the look out for insect and disease issues. When found our clients are advised of the organic and traditional treatment options.
Landscape Maintenance:
Plantscapes is different than most other landscaping contractors in our area because we actually provide all landscaping services where as in most cases clients would have to hire multiple contractors to care for their landscapes. In most cases this reduces “finger pointing”, less contractors in and out of your property, and the convenience of knowing you only have to call one company to resolve any issues. Our full services maintenance programs include
Gardening & Pruning performed on a monthly, weekly, bi-weekly, or ad hoc basis
- Spring and Fall property cleanups
- Weekly Lawn Mowing
- Mulching with organic mulches (sweet peet, pine, cedar, hemlock)
- Organic Lawn Care and Hybrid Organic Lawn Care Programs
- Tree and Shrub Care
- Organic Tick, Deer, and Mosquito control
Planting and Construction
Plantscapes works with residential homeowners as well as many well-known landscape designers to provide planting and design installations. One thing that separates Plantscapes in this area is that there is always an owner managing the project with a crew of highly skilled and trained workers that know how to properly plant to ensure plant health and long-term success. Also, we source the plant material from only the best nurseries which helps reduce costs and allows us to provide the healthy-looking plants that we guarantee to live. We provide a 1-year guarantee on every plant that is placed in the ground. In addition, we always provide high quality organic compost and topsoil mixtures for use when planting to ensure plants are placed in only the healthiest soils. Our landscape construction services include:
- Planting and design installations
- Specimen tree planting: No size too big!
- Lawn installations using SOD or Seed
- Excavation and drainage
- Walkways and patios
- Wildflower meadows
- Invasive plant removal
- Wetland Remediation
- Vegetable Garden Construction
Organic Tick Control
Over the last 20 years ticks have become a major problem in the landscape. Feeding on warm-blooded animals like deer, ticks thrive in shaded environments especially along woodland areas and property edges, where humans live, work, and play. With the recent research and reporting on the dangers of Lyme disease, combined with increasing tick populations, clients more than ever before have become conscious about the threat that exposure to ticks can pose.
Plantscapes offers an organic tick control program which consists of applications every 30-45 days starting in late March/Early April and ending usually in October or November. The application of cedar oil is 100% organic and much more effective than the synthetic alternative. Cedar oil spray also has a double function in that it not only controls ticks but also mosquitos as well.
Plant Health Care
Using the same objective as the organic lawn care program we provide a comprehensive year-round tree and shrub care. Through the careful monitoring of your landscape and using only the latest techniques and finest quality materials we can keep your trees and shrubs healthy all season long. Our tree and shrub care programs include the following:
- Scouting and Monitoring
- Expert Pruning
- Insect and disease controls
- Boxwood Care and Protection
- Root feeding with organic fertilizer
- Compost Tea applications for trees and shrubs
- Organic Deer Control
- Winter Protection