“Tree-topping” is a four-letter word

Author: Fred Roybal; Published: Mar 28, 2011; Category: Tree Care; Tags: Trimming Trees; 2 Comments

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If you’ve ever seen a tree that has been topped you’ll know what I’m talking about. On my way home every day I cross the Rio Grande and the silhouettes of the Rio Grande Valley Cottonwoods against the beautiful setting sun is a sight to behold. The intricate branch structure is revealed in all it’s detailed glory. So when I see an urban tree that has been topped, it gives me spine shivers.

There are untrained tree workers that still believe that the topping of trees is acceptable or even good for trees. They see the flush of sucker growth as a sign of vitality. Little do they know how harmful it is from a biological and structural standpoint.

First, from a biological perspective, when a tree is topped it loses it’s ability to produce food and carry on respiration, similar to having your lungs cut out of your body. At that point the tree is in a race against the clock. It needs leaves to produce food through the process of photosynthesis to carry on life functions. The tree has to draw heavily on energy reserves to regrow the canopy, the leaf surface area. If those energy reserves are low due to insect infestations, drought, or repeated years of topping, the tree’s defenses are weakened against insect, disease, or drought, which could lead to death of the tree in severe cases.

Second, topping removes all the natural branches which have a very strong attachment. After a tree has been topped, all of the new growth are suckers. Suckers are produced as a survival strategy by the tree. Suckers are produced from dormant or latent buds and are superficially attached. It is because of this poor attachment we see many limb failures years after the topping was performed.

Decay and insects are another biological consequence. Making large cuts at indiscriminate locations on the branches or stems, where the tree does not have the ability to close off the wound, leads to decay. This is the point where the new “branches” suckers will be forming. It’s like building a sky scraper on swamp land. Sooner or later it’s going to fall. In most cases, we would classify a topped tree as hazardous! In some cases, depending on the species or severity of the topping, we can perform corrective pruning to try and restore the structural integrity of the tree, but rarely can we restore the natural beauty.

Trees can be a work of natural art to be enjoyed. Sometimes they need a little help from a professional arborist to correct a defect or clean out the deadwood. All pruning should be done to improve the health, and natural beauty of your trees so that they can be enjoyed for many years.

So get out and take a walk around your neighborhood in the evening, and take in the beauty of all the different trees beautifully silhouetted against New Mexico’s painted sunsets.

Wow! What’s blooming in Albuquerque?

Author: Mary LeBus; Published: Mar 25, 2011; Category: New Mexico Plants and Trees; Tags: Plants and Trees, Spring; No Comments

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We seem to wait so long for spring to get here; then suddenly, even with all the cold temperatures and crazy winds there are those irrepressible Winter Jasmine and Forsythias in all their wild yellow joy!

Bulbs are poking their brave leaves up above the cozy winter blankets of mulch. Lilac buds swell to bursting, and the trees dress up in their spring frocks of delicate blooms.

The phones start ringing at Hilltop Landscaping a bit more in the last weeks of winter—calls filled with wishful thinking about plans for the yard, but it soon turns to a positively enthusiastic chorus of questions about plants we see all over town doing their colorful best to cheer us all up. Some of the first trees to bloom are the refined, but profusely flowered plum and cherry varieties with the white and pink clouds covering the branches before any leaves appear. The flowering pears are next displaying a luscious bouquet of larger white flowers and the redbuds whose branches are lined with petals of a hue somewhere between mauve and red violet.

Leaving the confines of house or car you might start to notice more subtle signs of new life such as the tiny buds of the Chinese Ephedra I’m trying out in my yard. The stem and leaf colors of many plants are changing as well. The maroon cold season leaves of Wintercreeper Euonymus are gradually going back to their summer shade of green as are the red twigs of the so-named Dogwood. I know lots of seeds are ready to germinate, but I wait impatiently to see if the acorns I tried wintering in pots outside will produce oaks!

This spring in Albuquerque has seen a great deal of freeze damage to plants from the super-cold spell we had; many of us are waiting anxiously to see the Raphiolepis (Indian Hawthorn) as well as other evergreens with freeze damage put on new leaves. It’s always a little unsettling—this spring thing—waiting and watching to greet the new and the hardy survivors of dormancy, preparing to make the most of this growing season.

In a few short busy months we will be tired and hot, but right now we can’t wait to see the parade of lively colors reappearing as they inevitably do after even the hardest winter. For me this is the real “March Madness”!

Irrigation tips for a healthy and beautiful New Mexico landscape

Author: Victor Rodriguez; Published: Mar 22, 2011; Category: New Mexico Landscaping; Tags: Commercial Landscape, Landscape Maintenance, Residential Landscape, Watering; No Comments

I think everyone in Albuquerque has seen this video and heard the radio commercials from The Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority (ABCWUA). Now that watering season has started, it won’t be long until I get the call from a homeowner wondering why their grass is dying. I’ll ask them how much they are watering and they reply, “I’m following the guidelines set out by the Water Company. You know, 1-2-3-2-1.”

What I am finding is that while homeowners are following the “1-2-3-2-1” guidelines, they do not understand how much they should be watering.

On the ABCWUA site there is a link to a handy calculator that will generate a watering schedule depending on the square footage of your yard. Just type in how many square feet of grass you need to water what kind of sprinkler head you have and the precipitation rate, and it will generate a watering schedule that will be a good guideline for the whole year.

Here are some basic tips on how to water your lawn:

• If you follow the 123 guidelines, some days you may have to water for a long time. To avoid runoff split up the times into shorter cycles. Water for ten minutes, wait an hour then water again.
• Try not to water when it is windy, water early morning or in the evenings.
• Do not water in the heat of the day; you could lose a significant amount of water to evaporation.
• Make sure your sprinklers are adjusted properly and do not have broken nozzles. Check the seals on the heads.
• If you don’t have a digital timer, consider replacing your current timer with one that has multiple starts. Modern timers can help you save water by allowing you to adjust watering times to within the minute. We can help you chose an irrigation timer that will meet your needs.
• Let your lawn grow a bit taller. A higher cut lawn does not need as much water.
• If you’re following the 123 guidelines, there may be periods that are so hot that you might need to deviate a little and water your lawn.  If your lawn starts getting that bluish-grey cast to it, and doesn’t spring back when you step on it, get water on it immediately.
• Keep your lawn healthy, stressed grass will require more water to recover.
• New lawns require more frequent water during the establishment period.
• Do not over fertilize your lawn as that increases the plant’s need for water.

So there you have it! Watering your lawn is as easy as 1-2-3. It’s really not rocket surgery, following these common sense tips will get you on the road to a healthy beautiful lawn.

What do you think? Do you have some other tips we can share with our readers?

Focusing on focal points in landscape design

Author: Nicolas Carpenter; Published: Mar 18, 2011; Category: New Mexico Landscaping; Tags: Commercial Landscape, Landscape Design, Plants and Trees, Residential Landscape; 2 Comments

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Landscape design covers a wide range of approaches to create a functional and beautiful environment. One of the most important elements in a design for creating an attention-getting landscape is the ‘focal point.’ A focal point can be naturally occurring, a carefully placed feature, or an object that will attract your attention to a specific place in your landscape. Focal points are used to bring an area of landscape into focus or a place for your eyes to rest.

Focal points can be created by single specimen trees or a grouping of certain plants. Differences in size, shape and texture are the keys to bring a grouping to life visually. A tall specimen tree surrounded by a small group of plants and shrubs will stand out more than if the tree stood by itself.

Focal points can be something as simple as a boulder, cobblestone accent, shrub, or a tree. In Albuquerque, a southwestern xeriscape is the perfect set-up for that type of simple, compositional focal point. Probably the most common focal points are statues, pot fountains, and boulder water features.

A focal point does not have to be visual. Don’t forget about your sense of sound. Personally, I love the sound of water trickling over rocks. Makes me think I’m sitting next to a stream holding my fishing pole.

A focal point should be something special that draws your attention when you glance at your landscape, but it does not have to be in your landscape. It could be a view of the mountains or river, if you plan your landscape to frame them.

Focal points can be an asset to your landscape, but you can over-do it, attracting too much attention. For example  you don’t want the ‘space shuttle’ in your front yard. A common mistake is having too many focal points, which can be visually confusing, and can also take away from the importance of having a ‘focal point.’ It can have a positive effect on your landscape if done in moderation. While you want a focal point to pop-out at you, you don’t want it to dominate your entire landscape.

Tips for your spring yard cleanup from a professional cleaner-upper

Author: Victor Rodriguez; Published: Mar 16, 2011; Category: Landscape Maintenance; Tags: Landscape Maintenance, Spring, Trimming Trees, Yard Cleanup; No Comments

Spring is a busy time for planning and reinvigorating our landscapes. There are many aspects to this work that may demand more time and energy or experience than you have available to deal with effectively. Why not reduce your burden and enlist the help of an experienced landscape professional? All it takes is a phone call, and The Hilltop will have a crew at your place tidying up so you can enjoy your yard this spring and summer.

But if you are a die-hard do-it-yourselfer, here’s a little checklist of things that you may want to include in your spring chores.

Leaves and trash

Clean up all the leftover leaves and trash that have accumulated in the landscape over the winter. Cleaning up litter removes hiding places for bugs that can attack your plants later. Add the leaves and other organic debris to your compost pile.

Plants and tree trimming

Most trees and shrubs benefit from annual pruning. It keeps them in shape, gets rid of dead and diseased wood and encourages new growth. But not all trees and shrubs should be pruned early, especially some of the flowering ones. Pruning them early in the spring would mean losing some blossoms. But sometimes it’s easier to prune when you can see the shape of the plant, before the branches are covered by leaves. Trees and shrubs that are in need of a good shaping could sacrifice a few blooms to be invigorated by a spring pruning.

So generally prune flowering trees and shrubs after their spring bloom. If you’re not sure about pruning there are many resources on the web. You may need an expert tree trimmer to handle the bigger trees on your property.

Irrigation system check

If you have an irrigation system, do a thorough check up of the system. Check drip irrigation systems to ensure they are not clogged up. Check that all the valves are working properly as well as backflow prevention devices. Inspect lawn sprinklers for even coverage. This may be the time to add or move a sprinkler head to get rid of that annoying dry spot in your lawn.

Lawn care

After a long winter your lawn needs to be mowed, aerated and fertilized. It’s a good time to patch in or reseed bare spots.

Check the mulch

Walk around your yard and look for bare spots in the mulched beds. Add mulch to areas that are thin. If you have gravel mulch in your beds rake the beds to even out the gravel.

Till the Garden

Till up your garden and add compost or other organics. You can start many vegetables and flowers from seed at this time. Start making plans for your vegetable or flower garden.

Plan summer landscape projects

Spring is a great time to plan ahead for your big summertime projects. If you don’t want to do-it-yourself, you can arrange for a designer to come for an on-site visit and meet to discuss your garden’s problems, potential and what you would like it to be. Whether it’s starting from square one or rehabilitating existing plantings, a landscape professional will be able to recommend the best course of action.

Did I miss anything? What’s your favorite or worst springtime chore? Please comment below.