The bushes and trees on your property are an important part of your landscape. But if you’re like a lot of homeowners, you might not know much about what they need to look and perform their best.
The last thing that you want is for your plants to succumb to a problem. But protecting your plants against pests and diseases might seem complicated and you might not know where to start.
Trees and bushes can be a valuable investment—and one that you certainly want to protect. We’ll explain what you can do to help protect them, including how many times to spray bushes and trees with professional products that can prevent (and cure) disease and pest problems.
Before we go any further, we want to explain what a Plant Health Care program is all about. Plant Health Care provides your plants with vital nutrients they need to thrive while also protecting them against insects and disease. The treatments combine fertilization, pest control, and disease control. All of this directly benefits your plants not only by protecting them from threats but also helping them perform better. With the right program, your plants’ leaves may be greener and your plants’ flowers may grow more profuse with potentially longer bloom time. Think of it as helping your trees and shrubs to be stronger.
Now that you have a better sense of what a Plant Health Care program should entail, you might be wondering how many treatments are needed to achieve your goals.
One of the first things that is important to mention is that Plant Health Care is a lot more than just showing up, spraying trees and bushes, hanging an invoice, and moving on. There is a huge component of diagnostics and evaluation happening behind the scenes and although it’s easy to get caught up in the number of treatments, perhaps one of the biggest values of a program like this is having that professional eye scouting your property and seeking out potential problems.
That being said, at Master Lawn, our typical program includes six visits. Here’s what is included in those visits.
The goal is all about getting good coverage for different pests, different life cycles, different seasons, and more. But it’s important to recognize the program can be somewhat customized based on their plant material and your property’s specific needs.
For instance, there are certain pests and certain diseases that are not included in our standard program, primarily because we’re not out to charge you for services you don’t need. Crape Myrtle Bark Scale (CMBS) is a good example of this. While regular scale treatments are included in our program, CMBS is a pest that not every property is going to have a problem with.
For one, as the name would suggest, it attacks Crape Myrtles, and you may not even have any of these trees on your property. But not every Crape Myrtle will experience problems, either. CMBS don’t show up every year and some trees are lucky enough to never become infested. Since CMBS requires specialty control products, we would never want to charge clients who may never need them—so, this treatment would be an add-on if the need arises.
Our program aims to cover the major problems that the majority of our properties deal with. But one of the biggest added values is that we’re also scouting for other potential problems and can initiate curative treatments or solutions if they arise. That’s where you can gain peace of mind that your property is truly being protected all around.
Although a lot of homeowners don’t worry about their trees and shrubs until they notice a serious problem, at that point, it could be too late to save your plant material. For that reason, ignoring plant health care can be more costly than paying to prevent issues in the first place. If your plants succumb to pests, disease, or environmental stressors, it could cost you way more (money, time, aggravation, reputation, and ultimately, peace of mind) than if you had just invested in Plant Health Care.
Plus, most people are shocked at the minimal investment that is required. At Master Lawn, our program starts at just $35 per visit. For that investment you not only get protection against damaging insects, mites, and diseases, but also the organic, probiotic soil additives that help to improve your plants’ color, vigor, and overall health.
At the end of the day, that all boils down to peace of mind. For a relatively minimal investment you can gain valuable peace of mind that your landscape is being both protected and supported so that you can get the most out of it for years to come.
Ready to invest in protecting your trees and bushes at your Memphis, TN or Northern MS property? Request a quote, get your customized plan, and become the master of your landscape.
