Category

Strata Maintenance

Line-edger Head Maintenance

By | Arborist Insights, Strata Maintenance | One Comment

If you are like me, you concentrate on production and let your line-edger do its magic. Most attention goes to the engine. Re-fuel with a Proper gas and oil mix,
check the fuel and air filters, and spark plugs.

But let’s not forget about the head down below. Let’s take my commercial Stihl machine as an example.

Use good Lithium grease and Proper tools

1

Carefully remove the bolt and note the gears.

2

Pump in good Lithium lubricant and spin the head slowly as you do so

3

All done!

4

Re-check periodically, depending on how much you use your edger. A happy, well-maintained machine will allow you to provide good service all year!

Garden Giant Gunnera

By | Arborist Insights, Company News, Landscaping, Resources, Seasonal, Strata Maintenance, Tips | No Comments

Gunnera manicata is one of the biggest and most spectacular herbaceous plants. It requires a lot of space and is best used as specimen plant in damp bog gardens or beside ponds.

The fat growth buds clustered in the crown are prone to frost damage so cut back the leaves in the fall and pile them over the buds for winter protection.

A B

Picture A is from fall 2014; picture B is from spring 2015.

Is Your Viburnum tinus Full of Holes?

By | Arborist Insights, Landscaping, Resources, Strata Maintenance, Tips | One Comment

Healthy Vuburnum tinus are great plants with fragrant pinkish white flowers. But sometimes your plants get attacked by the Viburnum leaf beetle ( Pyrrhalta viburni) in numbers and soon all you see is tons of holes in your leaves. The larvae attack in spring and adult beetles in late summer.

Now what?

The cheapest solution is to renovate the plants by cutting them back hard at the base and waiting for new growth to emerge. A more expensive but better long-term solution is to remove the plants and plant a more suitable substitute.

Blooming NOW!!

By | Landscaping, Seasonal, Strata Maintenance | No Comments

Cherry, Ribes sanguineum ‘King Edward’, Clematis, and Camellia