Happy New Year!

Welcome to the first post in my blog.
Hope everyone is having a great 1st day of the new decade after a great night of seeing off the dog of a decade we're leaving behind (and good riddance!)
I don't know anyone who will honestly miss the 2000's. Here's to the teen years being a return to prosperity.

Last night I watched 'Julie and Julia' and it inspired me to start this blog - it's a project that has been on my list for awhile now, but I just never seem to find time to take the first step.

My intent is to deliver timely and relevant info to you, my loyal following of gardeners, clients, cohorts and proteges in the landscape and green industries, and pick up a larger following (who knows? Maybe even on a global scale) of like minded individuals.

A word of introduction may be in order here, as most of the world won't know me from Adam.
I am currently the owner of a small landscape design/build/maintenance company based in DuPage County, Illinois, a company I founded about 10 years ago in response to what I saw at the time as a real lack of qualified individuals serving the western suburbs of Chicago and the missinformed homeowners who thought they were taking excellent care of their landscapes by hiring some of these 'professionals', or emulating their malpratice.
But I digress...
My background in the landscape industry began some 30 years ago working at my Uncle's garden center in the Wrigleyville neighbohood of Chicago. After 10 years at the family business doing 'whatever needed doing' (design, sales, retail opperations, installations) and the completion of an associates degree program in Landscape construction and maintenance, I went on to work for one of the largest lawncare service providers in the world as a horticulturist and have been a licensed pesticide applicator for turf, ornamentals, forestry, aquatics and rights of way for most of my career. I became an ISA certified arborist in 2001 and a Board Certified Master Arborist in 2008. I have spent the last 30 years diagnosing and devising remedies for all manner of landscape problems, both natural and man made. I won't claim to be an expert on all things horticultural, no-one should as there is just too much to know in this field, but I have a solid and relevant background, which I intend to share with anyone interested in listening.
Hopefully I can save at least some of you time, money and aggrevation.

If I haven't bored you to death with my ramblings yet then on to my 1st topic for conversation and discussion:

Excessive mulch depth or 'volcano mulching'.

Mulch should be maintained at a depth of 3 inches, with no mulch piled against the stems/trunks of the plants. Typically the root flare should be visible at the soil surface.
The problem is, most landscapes are mulched on an annual basis to a depth of 3-6 inches and the mulch depth can accumulate to depths of over a foot.
This kind of mulch build-up can cause any number of problems on your landscape, including mulch layers becoming water repellant, causing drought stress instead of preventing it.
Roots can grow into this layer of organic material and be subjected to abnormal temperature and moisture extremes.
The soil below the mulch can become super saturated, causing anerobic conditions for the tree roots. (plant roots need air, much as people and animals do).
Mulch can also provide an ideal nesting place for rodents, and rabbits at the base of landscape plants, where they then chew on stems and trunks, and cause what is often an unbelievable amount of damage.
Bark can deteriorate because of the constant contact with wet mulch, setting the plant up for easy entry by insects and disease pathogens.

The fix is relatively easy.
Cultivate the old mulch to break up crust and dig it back from the plants.
Keep mulch thin (a max. depth of 3 inches)
If you hire the job out, make sure the crew understands this guidline and sticks to it.
Your landscape will look better and live longer for the extra effort.
You'll probably spend a little more on labor to spread the mulch this thin, but you should need a lot less material, which will pretty much offset the cost.

Watch for my next topic - mechanical damage.

Blog to you later,

Ron Levinson
Basic Landscape
Ron@BasicLandscapes.com
http://www.BasicLandscapes.com
http://BasicLandscapes.blogspot.com