Don’t let anybody tell you landscape maintenance in Idaho is boring.
Voracious chomping bugs could lurk in your shrubs! Dying tree branches could come crashing down from overhead at any time! Squishy, slimy grubs devour once-healthy lawns from underground, destroying the tender roots!
It’s like a “Mission Impossible” movie out there.
Except this mission is possible. Start with these handy landscape maintenance tips.
Don’t delay — they’ll self-destruct in 15 minutes. (Actually, they won’t. That would be cool, though, right?)
Table of Contents
1. Why is Landscape Maintenance Important?
2. Lawn Care
3. Flower Bed Maintenance
4. Tree and Shrub Care
5. Irrigation Tips and Tricks
6. Tips to Seasonal Landscape Maintenance in Idaho
7. What Are the Benefits of Hiring Professional Landscaping Services?
8. How to Choose a Landscaping Company in Idaho Falls
Why is Landscape Maintenance Important?
Imagine pulling into your driveway after a long day at work to see a brown, weedy lawn; thin, ratty mulch; and slimy, decomposing flowers.
Wait, that IS what you see? Yikes, you got here just in time.
Why is landscape maintenance important? So you don’t cry every time you come home and see your yard.
Need more details?
Here you go:
You Want Healthy Green Grass
That means regular fertilizing and weed control, the super important duo that keeps your lawn well-fed and reduces weeds with perfectly timed treatments throughout the seasons.
Want green? You need this.
Everything Needs Water: Hello, Irrigation Maintenance
Don’t ignore your sprinkler system. It works hard out there, which means occasionally, things need repair. The importance of landscape maintenance will suddenly become very clear when your lawn and landscaping are dying of thirst and your irrigation system isn’t working.
Mother Nature is Messy
Anybody who assumes moms are the tidiest ones in the family haven’t spent much time with Mother Nature. She’s a slob.
She drops branches all over the yard, scatters leaves everywhere, drops flower petals all over the place, and leaves ratty decomposing flowers where everybody can see.
Ignore spring and fall clean up, and the mess in your yard makes the importance of landscape maintenance super obvious.
Mowing Alone Doesn’t Cut It
Sure, mowing is a great and essential start, but if you stop there, things don’t look tidy.
Landscape maintenance in Idaho includes trimming, edging, and blowing off of all walks and paved areas, too.
Mulch!! (It Deserves Two Exclamation Points)
Don’t get us started on the awesomeness of mulch.
Too late.
Bark mulch conserves water so you need less irrigation. It keeps your plants’ roots cozy in cold weather and cool in summer’s heat.
Mulch keeps rain from washing away your soil, keeps weeds from popping up, adds nutrients to your soil, and just plain looks great, adding a tidy, uniform appearance to your Idaho landscaping.
Any list about the importance of landscape maintenance includes mulch, with more than one exclamation point.
Why is landscape maintenance important? Because your landscape is a living thing, that changes with the seasons, grows and dies and grows again.
Sure, you can take steps to create low-maintenance landscaping, but like a toddler who insists on dressing himself, your landscaping needs some help to look its best.
Lawn Care: Green Grass Doesn’t Just Happen
If you’ve been standing out on your kind of lame lawn wishing for it to turn thick and green, you’re doing it wrong.
Time to actually do some stuff.
Check out these landscape maintenance tips with your lawn in mind:
Yard Maintenance: Mow Like a Pro
Proper mowing isn’t just about looks — it actually affects the health of your lawn.
But when pros do the mowing, man, it looks good out there, right?
Don’t mow too short. Keep your mower blade sharp. Collect those clippings.
Check out our pro mowing tips.
Weed and Feed to Maintain Your Landscaping
Fertilizer is your lawn’s food, and timing is everything. Weeds are your lawn’s worst enemy and preventing them is everything.
(Ok, so they both can’t technically be everything.)
When to fertilize your lawn in Idaho? How often?
We’ve got you. Here’s a helpful lawn fertilization schedule for Idaho lawns.
Meanwhile, seven weeds probably sprouted in your lawn just while you’ve been reading this. Crabgrass. Clover. Canada Thistle. (Do all Idaho weeds start with C?) Dandelions. (Never mind.)
Check out a list of the worst lawn weeds in Idaho, and what to do about them.
Aeration and Seeding for Healthy Idaho Landscaping
Listen. Do you hear that? It’s the sound of your lawn gasping for air.
When your soil is compacted, its roots can’t take in the air, water, or nutrients it needs, which weakens your turf.
Aeration and seeding to the rescue! Lawn aeration uses a machine to pull out plugs of soil, creating spaces so that air and water can penetrate, which leads to healthier roots.
Aeration is typically followed by overseeding, as the holes created by aeration are perfect new homes for the grass seed.
Next up, happy lawn
Flower Bed Maintenance: Tips from the Pros
Maybe this doesn’t exactly keep you awake at night, but did you ever notice how professionally landscaped flower beds always look amazing, and yours, well, are kind of sad?
If you want to give your Idaho flower beds a boost, follow these great pro tips:
1. First, Tidy Up
How are your blooms supposed to wow when they’re surrounded by weeds, dead flowers, ratty old mulch, and decomposing leaves?
Clean out the yuck so your beds are fresh.
2. Flower Bed Maintenance: Boost Your Soil
If your flower beds have been there a while, the soil probably has few nutrients left to nourish flowers. It’s hungry!
Till in some compost with fresh topsoil and add granular fertilizer.
3. Flower Bed Weeding: Add Barrier Fabric
Here’s a real pro tip: skip the skimpy plastic weed barrier. Pros hate that stuff. Water can’t get through it.
Use the good stuff: 20-year weed barrier fabric. Lay it right on top of your topsoil. Cut an X in the fabric where each plant will tuck through and have fun planting!
4. Proper Spacing, Please
Keep in mind the size of the plants at maturity, not now. Leave room for when the plants get bigger.
5. Mulch is a Must
Top off your beds with fresh, beautiful mulch.
Remember, mulch isn’t a one-time thing. Plan to replace it each year as part of your flower bed maintenance to keep your beds looking great.
Tree and Shrub Care in Idaho
You have to wonder what your trees and shrubs are thinking out there. They might be miffed.
After all, they watch you fertilizing your lawn, weeding your flower beds, showing off your prized heirloom tomatoes.
But have you shown them any attention lately?
Here’s how to give those dependable trees and shrubs some well-deserved love:
Don’t Forget Fertilizing: They’re Hungry!
When you’re hungry, you can open the fridge and grab that leftover slice of pizza that you hid under that salad bag where it’s a safe bet nobody else will find it.
But your trees and shrubs are on their own out there. And they’re starving.
Fertilizer gives them a boost that improves their health and appearance, from strong roots to glossy leaves to plentiful, pretty flowers. Find out more here.
Tree and Shrub Insect Control
Bugs. Ick.
Aphids, scale, and borers are three big villains when it comes to the health of your trees and shrubs.
Aphids pierce stems, leaves, and other tender plant parts and suck out fluids. While a few aphids are no big deal, a mass of them can turn leaves yellow and stunt plant growth.
Scale are tricky little buggers, because even though it’s a tiny insect, it doesn’t look like a bug at all. Scale look like bumps, more like disease than a bug.
Borers, are, well their name says it all. And it’s not good.
How to tell if your trees or shrubs are under attack and need tree and shrub insect control? And what should you do? Find out more here.
Tree and Shrub Diseases
Marssonina leaf spot, Rhizosphaera needle cast, powdery mildew, fire blight, pine wilt — weird names for the diseases that can strike your precious trees and shrubs.
While spraying fungicides can help, Lawn Buddies technicians can treat serious cases with tree injections.
Tree injections are like shots for your trees. They treat diseases and insects by delivering “medicine” directly into the tree trunk, which is quickly taken up by the vascular system and distributed throughout the tree.
This direct treatment works faster and is more effective than spray treatments.
But this is a job for professionals in tree and shrub care in Idaho because the exact treatment differs depending on the type of tree or shrub and the disease you’re trying to prevent.
Tree and Shrub Pruning and Trimming
Why make time for this? Isn’t it way more fun to watch TV or bake brownies?
Sure, but check out a few important facts:
- Pruning out diseased or broken branches now will prevent them from toppling to the ground later, potentially harming people or your Idaho landscaping.
- Pruning also helps direct growth in a healthy way and helps control the size of a tree or shrub. Start with a young tree and pruning helps it develop a strong structure and attractive form — and it will need less corrective pruning as it matures.
- Proper pruning promotes healthy new growth. Shoots or suckers that have sprouted can be nipped before they grow out of control.
- Landscape maintenance in Idaho means heading outside in winter to prune trees and shrubs. That’s when they’re dormant, so you’ll do less damage now than in their prime growing months. A sunny day in January or February is a great time for this yard maintenance task.
Irrigation Tips and Tricks
If you want to maintain your landscaping, you need water.
OK, now what?
How much water? How to save water? How to make sure you always have reliable water? Who knew water could be so stressful?
Calm down. Have some water. Check out these tips:
Lawn Watering: The #1 Tip
Don’t water every day. Resist temptation! If you water too often, it encourages shallow, needy roots. Water less often but deeply, and roots will grow deeper and healthier.
Early morning is the best time for lawn watering — it’s still cool, so all that precious water won’t evaporate in the hot sun.
Keep That Water Flowing
Irrigation system maintenance in Idaho includes regular inspections so your sprinkler system won’t let you down.
Irrigation pros inspect your whole system to make sure all the parts are working correctly, and your Idaho landscaping is getting exactly the right amount of water, with no waste.
Why bother?
Stuff happens out there. Leaks. Broken sprinkler heads. Controller issues. Water spraying where it shouldn’t.
Ignore sprinkler system maintenance and you could face repairs way more expensive than the cost to pay for maintenance.
Plus, your irrigation pros can tell you about upgrades to make your system more efficient.
Which leads to…
Save Water, Save Money
Those gallons add up. Check out these quick tips for saving water — and money.
1. Get a Water Audit
You’ll find out exactly where your water is spraying, so any water-saving adjustments can be made if necessary.
2. Re-Think Your Idaho Landscaping
Grass is pretty thirsty stuff. How about a drought-resistant ground cover instead? Or a pretty meadow landscape of wildflowers? Or a stylish, no-water-needed patio?
3. Capture Rainwater
Rain is free water! Position rain barrels at the bottom of your downspouts to collect all the water. Use it to water outdoor plants.
4. Install Drip Irrigation
Drip irrigation uses considerably less water than traditional sprinklers and puts that precious water right at the roots of your plants, where it’s actually needed.
5. Embrace Native Plants
While exotic flowers are often real water hogs, Idaho’s beautiful native plants hardly need any.
Tips to Seasonal Landscape Maintenance in Idaho
You already know what you need for each season, from summer flip flops to fall caramel apples to 17 car ice scrapers — you know, in case you lose one.
What about your Idaho landscaping?
Landscape maintenance in Idaho means a list of tasks for every season. We’re lucky that way.
Grab your calendar. Here’s a quick list of seasonal landscape maintenance tips:
Spring Landscape Maintenance Tips
It’s A Mess Out There
Clear off any debris, from stray litter to old leaves to branches that fell during the winter. Your grass and beds need sunlight to thrive.
Zap Weeds Before They Sprout
Apply pre-emergent herbicide to prevent pesky spring weeds from sprouting in your Idaho landscaping.
Have Pros Check Your Sprinkler System
Lots can happen out there during the winter, from sprinkler heads hit by snow plows to leaky lines. Get peace of mind with a professional irrigation inspection.
Summer Landscaping Tips
Water Wisely
You need water every day. Your lawn doesn’t. If you water too often, it encourages shallow, needy roots. Water less often but deeply, and roots will grow deeper and healthier.
Mow Tall
Cutting grass too short is a common yard maintenance mistake. It stresses the grass and makes it more susceptible to damage from insects and disease. Never cut off more than a third of the grass blade at any one time.
Keep Zapping Those Weeds
Controlling weeds seems like a full-time yard maintenance job, right? Actually, it is. Your best bet is professional weed control that includes pre-emergent weed treatment in the spring, to battle weeds before they sprout; broadleaf applications to hit dandelions and clover; and spot treatments when pesky intruders sneak in.
Fall Landscape Maintenance
Collect All That Yuck
If you leave all that messy debris on your lawn, your grass will weaken, attract weeds and maybe even die. Big mistake.
Fertilize!
Fall fertilizing is the most important feeding of the year. The slow-release fertilizer will make your lawn emerge in the spring strong, healthy and green, for impressive Idaho landscaping.
Winterize
Prep your sprinkler system for winter. If you don’t get all the water out of the pipes, valves and sprinkler heads, that water can freeze and expand. Then, your pipes break, and you face a costly repair — and use up all your best swear words.
Aerate
Fall is a great time to aerate your lawn. The tiny cores of soil removed to allow better air circulation and moisture break down nicely during the winter and will help feed your lawn and soil.
Winter Landscape Maintenance
More Mulch
Mulch is great winter protection.
Add 3-4 inches or so of bark mulch around the base of your shrubs and trees for a layer of toasty insulation for your Idaho landscaping.
No Free Lunch for Mice
Protect the trunks of vulnerable young trees from hungry mice and rabbits with tree guards made of plastic or wire.
Think Windbreaks
If you have evergreens in windy, exposed areas, consider building a windbreak to protect them from drying winter wind.
Time to Prune
Here in the Idaho Falls area, winter is the best time for pruning trees and shrubs. A sunny day in January or February is a great time to prune.
Snow Removal
Do you have a plan? Don’t wait until the snow is already piling up to secure your snow removal services.
You want a contractor who offers reliability, a detailed plan, solid communication, and reduced liability. All of that means peace of mind.
What Are the Benefits of Hiring Professional Landscaping Services?
So many. Let’s get right to them. The suspense is killing you, right?
1. Save Yourself Some Hassle
If you’ve tried doing this whole yard maintenance scene yourself, you already know that keeping track of all the product application times and amounts and maneuvering through a garage stuffed with bulky bags of products is a huge pain. Huge.
How many times have you stubbed your toe on that stupid spreader? How many times have you planned to apply crabgrass preventer at the exact right time (it’s a small and important window) only to realize a month later that you missed it?
Rats.
Let professional landscapers in Idaho Falls keep track of all the important yard maintenance dates and store all those bulky products for you.
2. It’s a Mess Out There
Hate getting your hands dirty?
Landscape maintenance in Idaho is dirty work. Pulling stubborn weeds, deadheading wilted blooms, spreading heavy mulch, wielding bulky bags of fertilizer, confronting icky bugs, raking up slimy decomposing leaves. Yuck.
Why not hand over the yuckiest yard maintenance chores to professional landscaping pros who will do it all for you?
3. Say Bye to Irrigation System Worries
Sprinkler systems are great, but they bring their own list of yard maintenance worries, right?
Heads get clogged. Valves get stuck. Controllers are confounding. Why isn’t that one zone working?
Wouldn’t it be great if your system just watered the lawn, on schedule, no worries?
Idaho Falls professional landscapers who are also irrigation experts will set you and your sprinkler system up for success, with routine maintenance that keeps it — and you — happily humming, along with the seasonal attention it needs.
Get your watering season off on the right track with a spring irrigation start up. Irrigation technicians will turn on your water in the spring, set your clock, adjust all your sprinklers and check the irrigation zones.
Then, woo hoo, they’ll be back in the fall to winterize it to prevent freezing. And this is absolutely a job best left to the pros, who have the special equipment needed to get every last bit of water out of your lines.
4. When an Unexpected Surprise Hits, You Know a Guy
You’re out there doing your best to maintain your landscaping, then a fun surprise happens. A storm knocks a bunch of tree branches down. An ugly disease strikes your pretty green lawn. A drainage problem pops up.
Ugh.
If you’re already partnering with Idaho Falls professional landscapers, you have pros on board to fix your unexpected yard maintenance disaster.
No sweat. Maybe a little sweat. But it’s theirs, not yours.
5. Don’t You Deserve Peace of Mind? (You Absolutely Do)
When professional landscaping maintenance pros take care of every inch of your lawn and landscaping through all of the seasons, we get to know it pretty well.
That means we spot potential problems before they get out of hand, from early signs of lawn diseases that can quickly devastate your grass to signs of destructive bug damage on your precious trees and shrubs.
They’ll catch stuff early, saving you a ton of stress.
How to Choose a Landscaping Company in Idaho Falls
You could tape business cards of all the Idaho Falls landscaping companies to a dart board, take aim, and choose the card that has a tiny hole in it.
But that’s not the best idea. You’ll put somebody’s eye out. Also, you can do way better than that.
How to find the best landscaping company in Idaho Falls?
Check out these tips:
Hello, Is Anybody There?
When you call a prospective Idaho Falls landscaping company with questions, you should get a prompt reply. If they don’t reply promptly to a prospective customer, what happens when you try to contact them later about a problem?
Ask how they’ll keep in touch with you, and make sure there’s a point person you can call on if you have questions or concerns.
Chat with Their References
A great landscaping company that does quality work should be eager for you to talk to their customers.
Then, talk to them! Ask plenty of questions:
- Is their Idaho Falls landscaping company reliable?
- Do they do what they say they will, when they say they will?
- Take a look at their property. Does it meet your high standards for appearance?
- Ask if crews go the extra mile. Do they pay special attention to those details that show they really care about the property?
Great Photos of Their Work
A quality Idaho Falls landscaping company should have lots of photos that show examples of the landscapes they design and maintain. Are you impressed?
Top-Notch Training
Do they know what they’re doing out there? You want an Idaho Falls landscaping company that commits time and resources to training their employees.
A Good Understanding of The Job
When you’re looking for the best landscaping company in Idaho Falls, make sure the company understands the scope of your project.
Have each contractor walk you through the project step by step, so you know who has a thorough understanding of what needs to be done.
Year-Round Service
Your landscaping has needs year-round. You want one Idaho Falls landscaping company that can meet all of your property’s needs — spring, summer, fall, and winter.
When one full-service company takes care of your landscaping, that means when you need something, you have just one vendor to call. That means less stress for you.
Trust Your Landscape to Outback
Looking for the best landscaping company in Idaho Falls? You can stop your search here.
Outback Landscape is a full-service maintenance, design, and landscape installation company serving Southeast Idaho and Wyoming.
We install beautiful, functional landscapes. But our work doesn’t stop there. We’ll stay with you for the long haul, taking care of your property through all four seasons.
At Outback Landscape, we’re confident about our services. Ask us anything. We’ll happily provide references and show you stunning photos of our work
Reach us by phone at (208) 656-3220 or fill out our contact form.
We’d love to hear from you.
Image Source: pruned tree branch, aphids