Here is a list of professional tips to remember when working on a successful commercial landscape project.

• The calcium-magnesium or sodium in the hard water can compete with the Roundup molecule and render it ineffective.
• Don’t store plant material on asphalt.
• Train your crew to jet or water in trees by paying attention to the air bubbles.  No air bubbles=a tree that will survive.
• Check tree stakes.  Many crews install them way too tight against the bark.
• When augering holes to install trees, scar the sidewalls of the hole with a shovel to reduce the bathtub-effect.
• Don’t choke strap trees without some protection.  An old t-shirt or burlap can save you a lot of embarrassment.
• A 3 inch B&B tree will need about 6 gallons of water a day in lighter soils for the first couple of weeks.
• The organics in pond water will tie up or use up the glyphosate molecule rendering it useless.
• It’s better to have a tree planted 2” high than 2” low.
• Tree stakes and guy wires need to be adjusted as the tree grows.
• It is always a good idea to water holes before planting the trees into them.
• Treat root balls carefully.  Don’t drag or drop it off the truck or trailer.
• The optimum pH when using Roundup is 5-5.5 pH.
• Always water trees when they are unloaded from the truck after delivery.  Wind from highway travel will dry out the root ball.
• When digging holes for plants, save the soil from the upper half of the hole to backfill because it is more biologically active.
• Discard the lower half of the hole’s soil.
• Little things like this make a difference.