Category: 2020

Growing Roots

I trust everyone had a nice holiday. Christmas and Thanksgiving are two of the few holidays that families make the effort to get together. It truly can be a special time. We will not be attending 

the Cal Expo Home and Garden Show this year and the main down- side is I really enjoy talking to you! However, I look forward to meeting many of you via our appointments. Our business comes from you via the magazine, not so much the show. So, as much as w will miss that we are already getting busy, so if you are thinking of landscaping please make an appointment soon. We have a self-registering website and it will take you to the days available (Janu- ary is full). For those of you who took the time to call or email me regard- ing the Christmas article, thank you. 

Your words were very encouraging; they mean a lot to me (it is the first time I shared my struggles publicly). Each January I like to start the New Year off by reviewing landscape care, hence the title. As a grower in the wholesale business that I come from, my focus was on growing strong roots. If I succeeded in that, the plant would do the rest and grow strong and healthy shoots. I want to discuss the care of the garden, and directly connected to that is your enjoy- ment of it. Although I will be speaking in “big picture” terms, you can find more detailed information by clicking on the tab titled, “Landscape Tips,” on our website (www.executivecareinc.com). It makes no sense to spend money on a landscape and not have some understanding of the garden. Plant care can be broken down into 

three general categories: Proper Irrigation, Pruning, and Fertilization. Generally speaking, if we are hitting high marks in these three areas, the plant can fend off the bugs and protect itself. 

Proper Irrigation Trees are often the most neglected in the land- scape. We tend to not water the trees deep enough, therefore compromising their health, and causing many other concerns. Surface roots are a result of this causing difficulty in mowing, and concern that the roots will crack a driveway or sidewalks. Aphids, weak growth and yellow leaves are also the result of improper watering. Ultimately, the tree can become top heavy and potentially fall over due to the lack of deep rooting. If you have this problem, it is best to seek the advice of an arborist. Next, check your drip emitters and make sure you have two per plant and at least two gallon per hour for landscapes 3 years or older. For trees, I prefer 3 drip bubblers evenly spaced around the dripline of the tree. An extra measure would be to include tree wells. You can assist the downward flow of water with an 8” long and 4” wide PVC pipe. It must be back filled with gravel and have a drip bubbler inside. This enables the water to soak into the ground as opposed to running off. Lastly, remember to check the emitters and bubblers from time to time. Emitters can get clogged and bubblers need adjusting on occasion. Minimum run times for drip is 35 minutes, 45 minutes for landscapes 4 years and older – 4 to 5 days a week during the growing period. If you sink when you walk on your lawn, it is time to dethatch. Dethatching “beats up the lawn” as it removes the dead lawn matter that interferes with irrigation and fertilization. To find out how deep the thatch is, cut a wedge-shaped piece with the shovel and then lift it leaving the back side intact. Measure the distance from where the soil ends to where the blades of grass emerge. That will give you a good indication of how thoroughly you need to thatch the lawn. More than 3⁄4 inch of thatch starts costing more money in irrigation and fertilizer use. Aeration is also recommended, especially for lawns on slopes. Remember to check your sprinklers for leaks, plugged nozzles or buried heads. If the lawn is on a slope and you are using conventional nozzles you may want to consider the water miser nozzles (MP Rotor nozzles), though I also recommend them for level lawns. See your irrigation stores for more information on this. They minimize run-off and allow the water to soak into the lawn better. The alternative is to water less but use multiple cycles with conventional nozzles. 

Pruning Plants: In proper combinations they bring so much beauty to the landscape. Unfortunately, most of the landscapes we do are “re-dos.” They consist of the same eight to ten plants. These plants tend to be aggressive growers, which need frequent pruning. During the next few months these large growers can be pruned up to fifty percent. This will make them more manageable. In hard pruning there is one rule. Never leave the plant without leaves. Prune the top first or the sides, but not both. Let the pruned portion leaf out and then do the other. Trees: Just keep them thinned; with our strong winter winds, the canopy acts like a sail and catches the wind. Evergreen trees such as Magnolias, Japanese Pears and especially African Sumacs are examples of trees that can topple over. Oak trees are by far the worst, leaves or no leaves. Be diligent to keep these under the care of an arborist, especially if they are growing close to your home. 

Fertilization Even if you are not pruning, fertilizer should be applied. My preference is an organic fertilizer with mycorrhizae (fungi). These beneficial fungi help the plants with nutrient up- take and drought tolerance. The organic fertilizer feeds the biology in the soil, which in turn feeds the plants. This is nature’s way. Nurseries and some irrigation stores are now carrying organics. Be generous with the fertilizer as if you are heavily salting your food. Once you have broadcasted the fertilizer, scratch it into the ground if possible. I know with mulch and roots this step is not do-able. In either case the rains will help carry the fertilizer and fungi down to the roots. And since this is rain sensitive, do this sooner as opposed to later. 

Lastly, some tips for DIY-ers. In landscaping you must consider the final maturity of the plant and what you will add in addition, such as boulders. Initially the plants are small, and the boulders “appear” oversized. The funny thing about boulders is that they do not grow with the landscape. Therefore, if your starter-yard looks more like a rock garden than a landscape, you’re probably doing a decent job. To do an extraordinarily awesome job with no dirt under your nails, you will need to call us. Until next time—happy gardening. 🙂 

Big Results, Small Yards

Welcome to our March edition. I very much appreciate those of you who follow my articles. They are intended to be as much informative, as enjoyable to read. I have fun writing (though

it’s work) and sharing aspects about the landscapes that would not be known just by sight. All the jobs are rewarding, being that they are creative as well as challenging and they all have an aspect of surprise to them. It’s as if each job takes on its own person- ality. Sounds strange, I know, unless your work has a creative element to it, then you understand. There are the natural surroundings, the light that ex- ists – shady or sunny conditions, the mounds we create which are unique to each yard and add depth, the boulders, which are unique in and of themselves and bring in a variety of sizes and shapes and color. All these factors contribute to the “personality of the landscape” and we work to complement it. This month’s clients were Mike and Vickie. Their landscape was no exception. The backyard was a typical size yard for their village in Gold River. The medium to smaller yards here are more challenging, and the use of space must be more calculated. The way the yards were planned out is interesting. Normally, all the space is in the back, and the side yards have limited space which are primarily for entering and exiting and/or light landscaping. For Vickie, her kitchen window faces the non-entrance side of the yard. Therefore, this side yard carried some importance, and fortunately the layout of the yard allowed for it. If you picture an “L”, that was our portion to landscape. Initially, when we met, I did not care for the 2/3-to-1/3-ratio, because it felt too chopped up. However, as we talked about what she was hoping for and what she viewed from inside the house, the goal became clear. I could now see how the awkward division of space could be used to achieve our goal of a contemporary Asian accent landscape.

Mike and Vickie both liked lawns, just not their lawn. The shadiness and roots of the Redwoods made growing lawn impossible except for the east end. However, it did not make any sense to just have a patch of lawn. The Mondo grass family could be a lawn alternative since Vickie did not want any- thing fake in her yard (e.g. synthetic turf). Mondo grass being a shade plant would do well. We would plant it and then use ornate gravel to achieve our semi – Asian feel. However, prior to all this, we had to deal with the drainage. The Redwoods were adversely impacting the drainage and raising the overall grade of the yard. Also, the roots had gone under the concrete patio and several stress cracks were very visible. The raised elevation of the yard caused the patio to be about 1 1⁄2” below grade. Water pooled along the patio edge leaving the first two feet of patio always soiled. The solution was not another drain that the Redwood roots could affect, but rather to add channel drains along the edge of the patio. The water would run off the land- scape and be collected into the channel drains which framed the patio. To make this work we needed a small tractor trencher to cut through the roots for us to place the channel drains into. As an extra step to protect the patio from further damage we installed root guards. This did add extra cost to the job, but it ensured that the drainage would work and that they would not need a new Patio unless they wanted one. Next to consider was the footpath. People have patterns or habits, and I noticed

By Arthur Navarrette Executive Care Landscaping

Vickie exits from the kitchen slider (side yard) to her current steppingstones which are round aggregate – both outdated and too lightweight to be safe. We would upgrade both safety and design with a contemporary steppingstone. We chose a modern, slightly grayish/white steppingstone (2’ by 2’) with a smooth finish to be the perfect complement, and it brought safety to a ten. The next feature would be a dry stream bed. Half of our jobs, especially the no-lawn-landscapes, have dry stream beds of different shapes and sizes. I have seen many done incorrectly. They look like cobble set on top of the ground. It’s important to dig down and work on an interesting shape or position for the boulders so it looks like nature may have really placed them. Done correctly, it’s an asset to the overall natural feel that we are working towards. Finally, we were ready for plants, which can make or break all the work done up to this point. Because I am writing in February, there is still the presence of winter in the landscape. In a month, things will look better, and in two months flowers and new growth will be present. The test of a yard well landscaped is that it always looks good regardless of the season, but it looks better during growing season. This yard has silk plants (I have yet to landscape with those), and represents three shade variations (light, moderate and heavy shade). Determining where one ends and the other begins is a bit tricky. I relied on my compass and my knowledge that it was installed in October. In October the sun was just beginning to “lay down in the sky,” so, combined with the Redwood trees, this means the yard would be moderate to heavy shade until April or May. The selection of plants had to go through this period, year after year. With the years of growing plants, there is still an ele- ment of hopeful estimation. This is the challenge of landscaping – knowing how far the plants can be pushed in either direction. Too much sun for shade plants can cause them to burn, and too much shade for sun plants can cause them to be leggy and weak.

It’s an unknown science, and there is no literature that precisely documents sun or shade durations for plants that number in the hundreds for our two zones. My best teachers have been the plants themselves.

Spring is here, and I have appointments already into the first week of April. I will say a creative and correctly done landscape is well worth the wait. Doing the job twice, in my opinion, is not an option. We have three crews and once I complete the estimate, I can usually get a crew over there within a week or two. If you have a graduation or a special occasion coming, please let me know and I will see what I can do. Gardeners, if you plan to use seed, now is the time. Till the ground well so that the roots do not struggle and fertilize moderately to heavily with organic fertilizer. Water so that the soil stays moist, but not wet. Until next time – Good Gardening, Arthur

The Beauty of a Slope

Welcome to our April edition. Spring is here, and it’s very beautiful with all the different flowers in bloom. Like everyone else, I feel the business of life, especially during the spring season. However, I make myself stop and appreciate its beauty. It only comes once a year, so taking the time to look, observe, and at times smell, is good for the soul. It makes me love what I do even more, and I would encourage you to do likewise.

People will often ask what the hardest terrains are to landscape; without a doubt, it has to be slopes, especially in the summer. Whether it’s Rocklin, Folsom, El Dorado Hills, or Auburn, the one thing these slopes all have in common are rocks! At times we uncover boulders, but mostly a lot of cobble. As difficult as this terrain is, it is nothing that time, patience, jackhammers, and a pair of strong arms can’t handle. The job we are featuring is in Rocklin, and we have featured it before; however, it has been about a year and a half, and the plants have really grown. This home was new, so the landscape was bare.

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The slope we are showing is really the neighbor’s two houses down. I get excited when starting a job and sometimes forget to take a before picture, but its basically the same slope. There are several important aspects involved when considering a hill landscape; however, I will share the two most important ones. I want to leave room to show the before, the completion, and finally today’s look of the slope.

Proper irrigation—I will come to a slope already landscaped, and the first thing I look for is how the water is being delivered to the plants. It’s never right, and the plants show it. Without getting too technical, you can push water uphill only so far before limitations occur. When that happens, the plants beyond that point suffer. However, if you spend the time to trench and run a PVC water line to the top of the hill, and from there attach the valve and run the drip line across the face of the hill, you get consistent water.

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This hill has three valves, one for the top, midpoint, and lower. It costs more in labor and materials to do it this way; however, what is the point of landscaping if the plants will die in a couple of years? It is critical to get the irrigation right. Part of the irrigation process is knowing how many valves you need and making sure a valve is not overtaxed with too many plants. You must also make sure each plant receives two emitters. I get super annoyed when I only see one emitter. These last two concerns are true whether landscaping a slope or not, but they are extremely critical when a slope is involved.

Plant selection and placement—There are plants that are not suited for slopes. They are not strong growers and should never be used on slopes. Even if we have amended the slope, eventually the roots will make it into the rocky soil, so the plant needs to be a good grower. Some people feel the easiest solution is to use native plants, and to some extent, this is true. However, some of the native plants require a lot of pruning and the last thing you want is a high maintenance slope. So, with respect to toughness, natives fit the bill, but they are not always the best choice.

The next thing to know is which plants can tolerate soil that is wetter than normal. These will be the plants that you plant at the bottom. The plants that like a drier condition go to the top, and in the middle are your average water need plants. If you know the plant, you can manipulate this a little. The bright yellow plants at the base are Rockroses and they are fairly drought tolerant, yet I planted them at the base. Farther up, I planted Loropetalum (Chinese Fringe), which normally would not go that high up the slope. Another important consideration is the view. The Rockrose stays low, and the Loropetalum Dwarf (the only high maintenance plant I used) gets up to 4 feet if left unpruned. If planted at the base, it would block the view of the rest of the slope, which always needs to be considered when laying out the plants. When we terraced this hill, as we do with all our hill landscapes, we brought in enough topsoil blend and so I was able to break a few of my own rules.

There’s more to slope landscapes than these two rules; however without these two it does not matter what you do, the landscape will eventually fail and become an eyesore.

Gardeners now is the time to plant. Remember the vegetables come in small, but they grow quite a bit so allow ample space.