Managing Leaves For Curb Appeal, Landscape Health, And Environmental Sustainability
If you have trees on your commercial property, you’re quite familiar with the vibrantly changing foliage that indicates the seasonal transition; and while you are obviously aware that fallen leaves can create an untidy looking landscape, did you know that if left unattended leaf litter can create other hazards such as slippery surfaces, turf disease, and an inviting haven for unwanted pests, just to name a few? In short, managing leaves with annual fall cleanup is vital to curb appeal, landscape health, and even environmental sustainability, all of which are great reasons to include leaf management services in your yearly landscape maintenance plan.
Now, if you’re in charge of the grounds of a large commercial property like a multi-family dwelling, a business park, a retail shopping center or the campus of a healthcare facility, you may be thinking: “Instead of dealing with the added expense of leaf management every year, why not just remove all the trees?”
Trees Make A Huge Contribution On Multiple Levels
Because trees make a huge contribution on multiple levels that effect you, personally, as well as the outcome of your business goals through:
- Pollution Control – trees control pollution in a variety of ways, from above as well as below:
- Noise Pollution – particularly in urban areas that operate 24/7, strategically placed trees serve as an effective sound dampening system.
- Light Pollution – trees are great for blocking out unwanted light
- Air Pollution – the photosynthesis process absorbs carbon dioxide and releases oxygen, creating that precious, clean air we need to breathe. Even more, trees also clean other dangerous pollutants from the air.
- Soil/Ground Water Pollution – tree roots are a natural filtration system, eliminating contaminates from the soil and preventing them from leeching into the ground water.
- Erosion Control – while tree roots are serving as natural filtration systems, they also slow down water runoff and help hold the soil in place which controls soil erosion too.
- Privacy – a tree line can double as a living privacy fence, so people can enjoy peaceful outdoor time on your grounds.
- Temperature Regulation – trees offer invaluable temperature regulation, helping to shade and cool off urban areas where too much pavement can cause excessive heat.
- Beautification – when it comes to curb appeal, well-tended trees beautify, present a welcoming façade and make you more attractive to prospects than your competitors.
- Wildlife Habitat – trees provide food and shelter for the wildlife that completes any outdoor space with the perfect natural ambiance.
The Difference Between Deciduous Trees And Evergreens
So, now that we’ve presented a few, very powerful arguments for the benefits of having trees on your commercial property, it’s an opportune time to define and explore the basic differences between deciduous trees and coniferous trees.
Deciduous trees, more commonly known as shade trees, shed their leaves in the Autumn and remain bare until springtime, when they awaken from their winter dormancy and bud out with new leaves.
Some varieties of deciduous trees include maples, birch trees, hickory trees, and oaks–an exception would be the Southern Live Oak tree (only native to the region between Virginia and Florida), which is not considered as a true deciduous, rather an “almost evergreen,” because it doesn’t drop all its leaves in the fall, but instead loses them gradually as the new leaves come in.
Coniferous trees (also called conifers or woody evergreens) have cones and needles and grow in the form of trees as well as shrubs. As the evergreen name implies, conifers do not drop their leaves (needles) all at once but shed over a longer period. In fact, it can take anywhere from two to seven years for an evergreen to shed and replace all its needles. Familiar examples of evergreens are pines, junipers, and firs.
Why Is Leaf Management Such A Crucial Landscape Maintenance Service?
While deciduous trees do tend to make a bigger mess as they shed their leaves en masse each autumn, regardless of the types of trees you have growing on your commercial property, leaf management is a crucial service that should be a standard part of your annual landscaping plan. And it can be quite a job too, especially for our customers who manage tree-rich landscapes.
Since it matters so much, we asked one of our very own experts, U.S. Lawns Hall of Famer and owner of U.S. Lawns Hampton Roads, VA, Stephen Ferguson to explain more about the value and process of managing leaf litter.
U.S. Lawns Expert Stephen Ferguson Explains What It Takes To Stay On Top Of Leaf Litter
Steve started by clarifying that leaf management is a separate service from fall landscape cleanups, which consist of pruning, trimming, removal of sticks, twigs, and other organic debris, clearing out flowerbeds and plant beds, mulching, weeding, and new planting projects.
Why? Because it is a time-consuming process; one which takes place between two and six times a year, with the initial service starting the second week of October (in the region where U.S. Lawns Hampton Roads provides a full suite of landscape management services for commercial properties of all types), although this timeframe will vary depending upon where you’re located.
Their leaf management process begins by blowing the leaves out of the plant beds, off sidewalks and parking lots, and onto the lawn where they’re able to mulch them back into the turf. They accomplish this by using special mulching decks on their lawn mowers, which cut the leaves into a very fine mulch that then naturally settles onto the soil.
Mulching Leaves Into The Soil Is Beneficial For The Flora And The Environment
Mulching the leaves back into the ground more efficiently manages organic waste and feeds the grass at the same time; and as Ferguson says, “We’re a green industry and we’re here right on the Chesapeake Bay; nitrogen in the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act is a huge thing, so if we can reduce our actual nitrogen output and do fertilization naturally, that’s the best thing.”
If you haven’t guessed, decomposing leaf mulch produces nitrogen, which translates to a reduction in the need for fertilizer applications, which is incredibly beneficial for the flora as well as the environment.
What Happens When There Are Too Many Leaves To Mulch?
Turning the leaves to mulch only goes so far though, so once the leaf litter becomes too heavy to be able to mulch them, it’s time to break out the dump trucks equipped with hoop systems and leaf vac trailers. For this process, the team blows the leaves into a line along the street curb, and they’re then vacuumed into the trucks. From there, the leaf waste is either delivered to a vendor who uses them to create fire starter logs, or to the recycling center to be turned into compost.
As you can see, there’s a lot more to leaf management, especially on a larger scale. But U.S. Lawns is always up for the job, and we delight in doing everything we can to support sustainability for our customers, our communities, and ourselves.
Leave The Hard Work Of Leaf Management To Your Local U.S. Lawns Pros
So, now that you know a little bit more about why leaf management is so important (and that it’s so much more than just raking and bagging), go ahead and call your local U.S. Lawns professionals today. We’re here to make managing that leaf litter one less headache for you and doing it the right way while we’re at it! Your Turf. Our Lawn.