How Spring Clean Up Gets Your Property Ready to Grow

Site maintenance is an important part of your agreement with Varsity. Here is what we do to keep your property looking great:

• Remove debris – Winter is rough on landscaping, and a messy lawn makes your whole property look neglected. Snow and ice conceal leaves, fallen branches, litter, and other things that don’t need to be left sitting on a growing lawn. Besides improving the look, rotting leaves and broken branches can lead to mold, and mold can attract pests.
• Prune shrubs and trees – Spring is when pruning is the most effective, and it is an important task that keeps plants healthy. Pruned plants focus growth where you want them and are essential for perennials, roses, and any plant that flowers on new wood. Pruning also allows us to shape these plants the way you want them to look so they don’t block walkways or grow over important utility fixtures like lights, wires, or telecom boxes. Plants react better to pruning in early spring when they are dormant. 
• Edge around walkways and landscape features – The transition from concrete to grass can easily become overgrown. When grasses grow onto hard surfaces, it creates a messy, unkempt look that can be remedied by careful edging. This creates a deep, manicured edge between the turf and the concrete that will be maintained over the course of spring and summer. Edging is also important around trees and flower beds to prevent weeds from creeping into a landscaped bed. 
• Replace sick plants – Annuals, bushes, and trees that are not thriving will be easy to spot in spring, and now is the time to plan to remove and replace them. 
• Prevent weed growth with pre-emergent herbicides – For areas susceptible to weed growth, we apply a pre-emergent to stop weeds from rooting in tree rounds and shrub beds when the soil is still cold. This reduces the need to pull weeds or apply weed killers later in the year.
• Add a fresh layer of mulch – Mulching is important not only to appearance, but it also helps the soil around trees and shrubs retain moisture and reduces the likelihood of pests. Too much mulch can cause rot, so the mulching process includes raking out old material and replacing it with new. Fresh mulch is a great finishing touch to landscaping.