As winter arrives in South Carolina, preparing your commercial landscape is essential to maintaining its health, appearance, and functionality. At Heritage, we understand the unique challenges that come with the freezing temperatures , and we’re here to share expert tips to help your landscape thrive even during the colder months.
Winter Landscape Checklist 📝
✔️ Conduct a Comprehensive Fall Cleanup
During the fall and early winter, leaf removal is a major undertaking in our industry. Especially on properties with mature trees. Our teams work hard during the “leaf season” by removing multiple dump truck loads of leaves at our sites. We also work non-business hours to help avoid getting debris on cars in parking lots while cleaning.
Proper cleanup helps prevent:
– Slips and falls on steps and other hard surfaces
– Clogged storm drains to prevent potential flooding
– Leaf and debris build up that can harbor pest infestations.
Above: Proper leave removal is important to ensure your property is safe, healthy, and maintains proper curb appeal.
✔️ Prune Trees and Shrubs
Selective tree pruning during the fall helps remove dead or damaged branches that could pose a safety hazard during storms. It is also an opportunity to focus on reshaping shrubs in high-traffic areas of your commercial property to help increase visibility for pedestrian safety and security.
✔️ Protect Your Plants
Mulching is a crucial step in protecting plants within your commercial landscape from extreme temperatures. A layer of mulch or pine straw helps insulate roots and retain moisture in the soil.
Above: Our team is utilizing our mulch blowing truck to apply an even coat of much.
✔️ Winterize Your Irrigation System
It is important to properly shut down your irrigation system in the fall. The rule of thumb in South Carolina is to have all water off by November. Winterizing tasks include:
– Shutting off irrigation controllers
– Confirm all battery valves are off
– Cutting off meters or backflows
– Draining pumps and insulating wells
Proper winterization now can save significant costs in the spring.
Above: Every year we see other properties that did not properly shut down their irrigation during freezing temperatures and the whole landscape (and parking lot) is covered in ice. This is dangerous for people walking and can cause traffic issues.
✔️ Cut Back Perennials and Take Soil Testing
Cutting back perennials ensures a tidy appearance and promotes clean regrowth in the spring. (Please note some perennials should be cut back at different times of the year). Additionally, testing your soil during the winter months ensures your commercial landscape’s soil pH remains balanced and nutrient-rich. Correcting imbalances now can set the stage for vibrant growth in the spring.
✔️ Check Stormwater Systems
Inspecting your stormwater management systems ensures they are functioning properly. It is a great time to clear any blockages and make necessary repairs to prevent flooding or damage during heavy winter rains. Our certified stormwater inspector can make site visits to ensure your stormwater system is operating properly and in compliance. It is important to be proactive with your pond to prevent small deficiencies from becoming large deficiencies.
Above: This pond is maintained properly and easier to identify deficiencies.
At Heritage, we take pride in helping businesses across South Carolina care for their commercial landscapes year-round. If you’d like an expert evaluation of your property to ensure it withstands the cold temperatures, our team is ready to assist. Click here to get started.
