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HOA Landscaping

Licensed Landscape Contractor

Are Un-Licensed or Under-Licensed Contractors You Hire a Liability for Your Communities?

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It is important for property managers such as yourself to be aware of the licensing rules and liabilities when it comes to your landscape contractor or any contractor working for your commercial or association property. Not only does this ensure protection of your company and the property you manage but also ensures that the work you are receiving is of quality and done properly, avoiding un-licensed or under-licensed contractors attempting to fly under the radar.

Benefits of Hiring Licensed Professionals That are Licensed for the Work they are Proposing and Performing

Hiring a licensed contractor has a number of benefits that are well worth the search to check for a license. To begin, hiring a licensed contractor helps to ensure quality. In order to obtain a license to perform specific work, contractors must possess a minimum amount of experience to a related license, pass an exam related for the license they are applying for, have insurance, and have limited outstanding contracting complaints. It is also important to note that not all licenses are inclusive of all of the work a contractor may propose, so be sure to check these licenses and make sure that the contractor who is proposing commercial landscaping services isn’t only licensed for residential work! By doing this, you can trust you are hiring an educated and reputable contractor that is licensed to provide quality work for your property or community, limiting the liability while they are on-site.

Additionally, hiring a contractor who is licensed for the project they are tasked with protects you and the property you manage from scammers and bad business. When a contractor is properly licensed for the work performed and a complaint is filed against them, property managers can rely on the licensing organization to help handle the disputes for them. Hiring an un-licensed or under-licensed contractor to provide services that they are not licensed for creates a liability quagmire between the contractor, your company, and your client should things go wrong. This is an extremely important precaution that can easily turn into a missed opportunity to protect your company and your commercial property.

What You Should Know About Licensing & Insurance

Licensed contractors, especially commercial contractors, pay for insurance. This insurance includes, but is not limited to: Commercial liability, Automobile liability, Umbrella liability, Workers Compensation, and leased and rented equipment. Doing work at your commercial property or homeowners association requires a contractor to carry much higher limits of insurance than a residential contractor may carry and, in some cases, a non-licensed contractor may not carry insurance at all. Not carrying insurance or being underinsured may allow a contractor to underbid, however not paying proper insurance premiums is irresponsible and creates a liability for you as the property manager.

Property managers can check if a contractor is licensed by visiting https://roc.az.gov/contractor-search using the contractor search that they provide at the website or simply by giving them a call and asking a service representative to verify the licenses for the selected contractor.

Here at ELS, we make it easy for you to check our licenses by providing our license number in our written contracts and business cards. This is a great thing to keep an eye out for when receiving written estimates as it can make the process quick and easy when it comes to searching licenses and checking for updates on your contractors.

Need a written estimate from a licensed contractor you can trust? Request a bid and we will get back to you shortly!

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Pruning

For Residents; The Importance of Plant Pruning in Your Residential Landscape

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When it comes to pruning the plants and trees of your community landscape, your maintenance company has it covered. But what should you be doing when to comes to the landscape of your front yard? We have put together some information on the best practices for pruning your plant material to help keep your yard looking great year-round.

Why Prune?

There are many great benefits associated with proper trimming practices of your plants and trees. To start with, appropriately timed pruning of plant material encourages its natural cycle of bloom and dormancy and promotes growth/flowering as well. Pruning is a great way to help your landscape look its best year round and has positive long term health effects on your plants.

Additionally, practicing proper pruning techniques will ensure that plants do not out grow their designated space- encroaching onto sidewalks and driveways. This will keep them from obstructing nearby signage or views and keep them looking clean and tidy.

When to Prune

Now that you have an idea of how pruning your plant material can benefit your landscape, it is important to understand when the appropriate time to perform pruning is to ensure that you are able to enjoy these benefits!

Here in the Desert Southwest, we recommend following rejuvenation pruning schedules advised by experts such as the Arizona Landscape Contractors Association and Sustainable Landscape Management.

We also recommend referring to resources provided by your landscape management company, such as pruning schedules and species-specific plant information. Here at ELS, we have made resources for our large scale HOA communities to access and this is something that should be expected from your landscape management company as well.

Click Here to download our Free Pruning Schedule Guide

How to Properly Perform Rejuvenation Pruning

Rejuvenation Pruning is a type of pruning that is done annually, as needed, to ensure long term health of the plant. The time of pruning is different per plant species and is based on plant characteristics, blooming schedule, and growth pattern. This type of annual pruning helps you avoid excessively pruning your plant material which typically leads to stress to the plant thus requiring more water and resources to keep it alive.

By performing rejuvenation pruning according to the above schedule and keeping “here and there” pruning to a minimum, you will ensure long term health of your plant material and enhance seasonal bloom and color in your landscape!

For more information on how to prune, visit our blog post in the topic here.

HOA Budget

HOA Community Management: What to do With Extra Budget in the New Year

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With the New Year just around the corner, its time to start thinking about what you can do with budget for 2021.

When it comes to the landscape of your HOA community, there are quite a few options on where budget can go to ensure that it is being optimized this year. We recommend putting that budget into elements that will save money for your community in the long run, increase community value, and/or upgrade the neighborhood.

Some great ideas when it comes to spending on your landscape include focusing on enhancements that you may have put off, dedicating budget to arbor care, and/or budgeting for plant replenishments.

Interested in sharing this information, download a shareable infographic here!

Enhancements projects can range from irrigation installation and upgrades to pest prevention/control. These projects go above and beyond the everyday landscaping maintenance of a property and involve upgrades to the community that will not only save you money in the long term but also will increase the overall value and appeal.

ELS has its own division dedicated to enhancements projects with a team of professionals who are able to analyze your property’s needs and make recommendations that will be best for you and your budget. Request a bid for any of your upcoming projects today!

Plant Replenishments technically fall under the enhancements umbrella as well. However, plant replenishments are noteable in their own manner as they are a great way to give your property a noticeable upgrade in a quick yet impactful way. Your landscape management company can help you achieve this by taking a full inventory of your current plants and offering recommendations on which to remove/replace or which areas of your community would benefit from additional plants.

ELS has a wholesale nursery with a large variety of plants and trees that spans over 30 acres. ELS can partner with your community to review plant palette opportunities and create a contractual grow plan for your property in advance. Request a bid on your plant replenishment project!

Arbor Care is another great way to spend budget! Trees are the largest asset to any HOA community or property and investing in trees will always increase value. Hiring on certified arborists for your property this year will ensure that your trees are well cared for, properly pruned, and are able to provide years of shade, beauty, and value to your community.

ELS has a division of certified arborists and tree climbers who are dedicated to ensuring quality tree management and services to HOA communities and commercial properties. Our experienced and certified climbers take your tree care to the next level with precision pruning techniques and adherence to strict safety guidelines. To request an Arbor bid, click here.

Now that you have a good idea of options when it comes to your 2021 budget, we hope you feel equipped to make the best decision for your community.

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Ornamental Grasses Image

Ornamental Grasses in Your AZ Landscape

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This holiday season we are talking more than ornaments for your tree! Ornamental Grass is a great addition to any Arizona Landscape and is an aesthetic plant material that thrives in the Winter, providing some green to your community while other plants struggle through the colder temperatures.

Ornamental Grasses are low water use and require little maintenance outside of pruning. They add texture and color to a landscape, specifically in the Winter season as other plants go dormant during the cold. These grasses come in a variety of types to choose from and are great for providing privacy, filling up dead space, and making a landscape look unique.

Maintenance of Ornamental Grasses in an AZ Landscape

Due to their frost-hardiness, Ornamental Grasses should not be pruned during the late Fall/ early Winter timeframe that most plants are. Instead, they should be attended to in the Spring after the frost has lifted and temperatures begin to rise. They can be lightly pruned to ensure they are looking their best at this time.

Water usage should rise slightly in the summertime for these plants to help them survive the hottest months of the year, however otherwise they are low water usage grasses. This is great for a desert landscape to help save on water use that would typically be higher for other plant material and regular grasses.

For more information on landscaping tips to maintain ornamental grass, visit the Arizona Landscape Contractor’s Association blog post.

If you are interested in an AZ landscape management company to help you with the maintenance of your HOA community or commercial property’s landscape, click here.

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Palm Tree

HOA Arbor; Planting and Maintenance of Palms

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Palm trees are notorious for their height, beauty, and position as focal points in a community. While they are not native to Arizona, they fit in perfectly with the Southwest desert climate and landscape- making them a popular choice in homeowners associations and commercial properties.

Palm trees are low maintenance and represent higher monetary value. They are an investment that is well worth what you put in as they add value to a community and serve as an accent planting in the landscape design. When maintaining this investment, it is important that your landscape management company properly cares for these trees to avoid costly replacements.

Our Arbor team has established some tips to follow when maintaining Palms:

Pruning:

  • Only remove fronds that are deceased
  • Refrain from using spikes/nails to climb the trunk of the tree for pruning. Instead use a hydraulic lift so as not to cause damage to the trunk of the tree
  • Do not remove over a quarter of the foilage at any given time
  • When removing fronds, keep removal minimal and to a 180 degree angle

Irrigation

  • Palm trees are not drought tolerant, this is a common misconception
  • Administer slow irrigation drop every couple of weeks to a depth of about 2 feet.
  • In Winter, keep irrigation administration to every 4-6 weeks

If your community or commercial property needs arbor care services to ensure that your trees are being maintained correctly, reach out to our arbor division here at ELS Maintenance.

Arbor Inquiry
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Woman Pruning a Shrub

What Your Commercial Landscape Management Company Should be Doing When it Comes to Rejuvenation Pruning

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Are you a decision maker when it comes to the landscape management of your HOA community or commercial property? If so, you may be asking yourself what you should expect out of your landscape contactor this season.

While we have many different posts on what to expect when it comes to communication and performance, we wanted to be sure to focus on something happening this season; Rejuvenation Pruning.

Rejuvenation pruning, aka Renovation Pruning, is a sustainable landscape practice where plants and shrubs are pruned seasonally rather that monthly or bi-monthly. This practice is done to ensure that plants and shrubs are not over pruned-leaving them in a constant state of stress and leading to plant failure.

When your commercial landscape management company is working on rejuvenation pruning, they should be following specific guidelines and schedule to promote plant health and ensure proper bloom. This is dependent on type of plant, plant characteristics, bloom time, and time of year.

Renovation Pruning Practices Your Commercial Landscape Management Company Should be Doing

To start with, your landscape contractor should be aware of the pruning schedules for the variety of plants and shrubs specific to your community. The schedules for a majority of plants and shrubs we find here in Arizona landscapes are outlined in resources such as those provided by ALCA and UofA Cooperative Extension.

Pruning plants at the right time and according to proper schedule will ensure that the plants bloom in the right season, aid in plant waste and water consumption being reduced over time, and ensure that the landscape does not become barren from over pruning.

A common misconception is that this type of pruning should be done to make the plants look aesthetically pleasing in the season of rejuvenation pruning. However, this is not the case. Your landscape contractor will ultimately be performing renovation pruning not for it to look good in the Winter months but instead to promote photosynthesis, enable light to reach the interior of the plant, and ensure healthy growth and bloom.

Interested in finding a knowledgeable and informative landscape management company for your HOA community or Commercial Property? Reach out to ELS for information on the services we provide and how we can benefit you.

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Tree Being Staked to Promote Growth

Arizona Arbor Care; Tree Staking

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Tree staking of younger trees here in Arizona is a common practice that promotes strength and proper growth of the tree. This practice holds tree roots in the soil until they are able to securely establish themselves and helps these young trees in the transition from nursery to landscape. This important step is not necessary for every young tree (multi-trunk trees and low branching trees can typically be planted without a stake) however it can make a world of difference for smaller, main trunked trees that do need growing assistance.

When staking, it is crucial to ensure that you are following the proper steps, monitoring the staking materials and tree growth, and not leaving the stake on the tree for too long. There are detrimental effects for those trees where staking is performed improperly.

Here at ELS, we have an entire division of our company dedicated to Arizona arbor care and this team has come up with some helpful tips and best practices for tree staking that will help you ensure your next young tree is staked properly and can grow to its full potential.

Staking Best Practices

  • Position tree stakes outside of the rootball
  • Position stakes at a depth of 24 inches. Utilize 2″ poles on each side of the tree and ensure that wires/ties used are coated with plastic or flexible to protect the tree itself
  • Monitor tree growth and staking materials so that the stake is removed at the appropriate time without causing damage to the tree
  • Change and adjust wires/ties if they effect tree growth over time
  • Ensure tree is not tied too tightly- the top of the tree should be able to move freely in the wind while the trunk remains stable and anchored
  • Remove staking materials once the trunk of the tree is 3/4 inches in diameter or the tree is able to securely stand by itself

For more information about tree staking and/or tree management for your HOA community or commercial property, reach out to our Arbor Divison!

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Decomposed.Granite

HOA Landscaping; Decomposed Granite Installation and Maintenance Tips

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Living in Arizona, you are probably familiar with Decomposed Granite. This form of rock is used in many of our local landscapes in place of turf and greenery. Decomposed granite is a byproduct of erosion of solid granite, coming in a variety of granulations. It is very similar to sand or gravel and comes in neutral colors that resemble it.

Decomposed granite is a great choice in a large community landscape such as that of a homeowners association. It is less costly than grass or artificial turf, requires less maintenance, and provides for an aesthetic backdrop for other plants and trees that are incorporated into the landscape.

As an HOA landscaping company, we have put together a simple and quick rule of thumb guide on the proper way to incorporate decomposed granite into a landscape.

Applying Granite

Installation of decomposed granite varies depending on the location that it is being applied. For installation in landscaped areas, it is expected to be applied at a 2 inch depth after compaction. For walkways or the like, that rises to a depth of 2-4 inches.

The finer the granulation of the granite, the easier it is to compact and less pervious the surface. This is important to note when choosing where to install certain types of granite. A rule of thumb that many HOA landscaping companies have is to use finer decomposed granite for walkways and a more sized material of granite near plants and trees.

HOA Landscaping and Granite Maintenance

Maintenance for decomposed granite includes applying pre-emergent for weed control, replacing decomposed granite where depth has been impacted by foot traffic and/or erosion, and the addition of stabilizers to provide strength (if necessary).


Need a Granite installation done for your community? Our enhancements division has got you covered!

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Arizona Arbor

Arizona Arbor Care; Tree Planting

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Trees are a great addition to any landscape as they protect soil underneath them, provide shade for surrounding plants, and mitigate wind effects. However, it is important to consider that in the Arizona desert landscape, the choice of which trees to use may be quite a bit different than that of a cooler climate.

In Arizona, we have a variety of native trees that look great in a community landscape and thrive in the desert climate. Trees such as Mesquite, Palo Verde, and Acacia are recommended as they typically adjust better to the local environment and are much healthier to use in an Arizona landscape in comparison to their non-native counterparts.

When planting a new tree, make sure to do your research and refer to professionals such as certified arborists or landscape architects to help you make the best decision when it comes to species of tree.

Planting How-to

Once you’ve decided the type of tree/trees you want to plant in your landscape, it’s time to get started!

When planting new trees make sure to:

  • Plant them in a space that they can grow in! Plant trees in areas large enough for them to grow to their projected full size.
  • Leave temporary/small branches on the new tree if possible
  • Dig a large enough plant pit for the new tree (This should be anywhere from 1/2-2 times the width of the tree’s root ball, according to ALCA)
  • Loosen outside of the root ball to help with growth into the new soil of the planting pit
  • Backfill the planting pit with soil that was previously removed, while ensuring not to mix with any decomposed granite surrounding the area
  • Cover the backfill with granite or mulch

Arizona Arbor Care Specialists

It is always a good idea to work with an arborist or landscape management company when looking to plant multiple new trees, especially in the case of a larger landscape project such as a commercial property or HOA community.

For trusted and certified arbor care, contact the ELS Arbor team today!

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Scalpingarticle.FeaturedImage

OverSeeding: The Importance of Scalping

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It’s officially time for OverSeeding here in Arizona! As temperatures begin to cool, we are looking to transition turf from Summer Bermuda to Winter Rye grass. Because OverSeeding is a process with multiple different stages and steps, many people are not sure where to start. Not to fear, we’ve got you covered by giving you all of the information you need to understand the first step in Overseeding this season; Scalping.

Download a Shareable Version of this article here.

What is Scalping?

Scalping, in its simplest terms, is a preparation technique that involves mowing turf lower so that the stems of the grass are exposed. This is done by lowering the mow height on the lawn mower while mowing, thus creating the brow-colored lawn that you see. This is specifically important in fall scalping as it allows the Bermuda to stay stronger while going dormant and allows the Rye seed to reach the ground.

How is Scalping done? In order to properly and effectively scalp, we start off by cutting the water a couple of days before scalp and then proceed to drop the mow height about 1-3 days prior to OverSeeding. After mowing, we collect and remove most of the clippings (leaving some as mulch for the OverSeeded seed). Once this is done, the turf should appear brown/tan as only the stems of the turf remain and a little bit of the soil is exposed. Light de-thatching, or the removal thatch accumulation, during this time ensures that the seed has appropriate contact with the soil.

After scalping, turf should be ready to move forward in the OverSeed process with the application of new seed. This new seed will require more frequent water times with shorter watering duration as we want to be sure to keep the seed moist without floating it.

Benefits of Scalping

Scalping, if done correctly, has a variety of benefits when it comes to a healthy transition for turf. Scalping works as a clearing process to ensure that the turf is free of debris, clippings, and thatch that could prevent the lawn from taking on new seed. This makes it easier for the seed to reach the soil while also working to prevent disease and turf health.

Another benefit of winter scalping is that the process exposes the soil to more sunlight, warming up the soil and promoting the growth of the seed.

Finally, scalping brings the entire lawn’s turf down to the stem, ensuring that all areas are the same height and receive the same amount of new seed. This promotes even growth throughout and leads to a better-looking lawn as the new seed grows in.

While it may not be appeasing to see the brown turf that appears following scalping, it is important to remember the benefits and reason behind performing this step when OverSeeding. The process takes anywhere from 4-6 weeks, but in time the brown turf that you are finding following the scalping process is replaced by healthy, strong winter grass that is appropriate for the season and promotes long term health.

Scalped Lawn Example
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