Legacy landscaping maintenance may not be the best for your landscaping and may be costing you more money than it needs to. TELEPHONE: 702-348-8399 EMAIL: INFO@ONTIMEVEGAS.COM

Many times hedge trimming starts because plants anticipated mature size was not taken into consideration when they were planted.  This means recurring hedge trimming costs to keep them small / contained to the area they were plants. 

Many times hedge trimmed bushes were planted in locations that are not ideal to have them trimmed and to be able to properly clean up.  

Look at the amount of room in the middle of this landscaped area where plants could have been planted to make it easier to maintain the landscaping.  There are time of day restrictions so trimming before or after vehicles show up is tough.  Once vehicles are parked what happens about the dust and debris that gets kicked up from blowing and wind blowing.  Some people keep windows open and debris can get under cars which means clean up is tough.  

 Blowers stir up dirt, dust and debris that can get into properties or vehicles if doors or windows are open.      

Many hedge trimmed bushes have an outer layer / crust of leaves.  Just below those leaves is usually dry wood / branches.  Think about the risks if bushes at your property catch fire especially if they are close to buildings and vehicles.  

TELEPHONE: 702-348-8399  

EMAIL: INFO@ONTIMEVEGAS.COM

When bushes are hedge trimmed, the acceptable amount of growth between trimming is subjective and can make landscaping look unkept. What one person says is ok, another says not. 

Since each round of trimming has a cost it is sometimes difficult to balance looks and costs.  

Who dictates how often bushes get trimmed?  

If bids, contracts and proposals use verbage like "neat and trim" whos neat and trim opnion is being used?  What happens if that changes throughout the year and the landscaper budgeted for more or less trimmings?  

Each time bushes are trimmed there is a cost.  

Labor, fuel, insurance, disposal, etc.

Consider how old your property is and how much has already been spent trimming bushes.  Now consider how many more years this cost and noise will continue if changes are not made.

 Have you ever asked your landscapers to break out the annual cost of hedge trimming at each property? Multiply that number by the number of years hedge trimming has been going on.  As costs rise; so does the cost of hedge trimming. 

Have your landscapers offered ways to reduce or eliminate risks of hedge trimmed bushes and the costs to maintain them?  Why not?

We prefer to take a proactive approach to dealing with costs and it involves customers understanding that other landscapers silence affect budgets and how landscaping looks. 

TELEPHONE: 702-348-8399  

EMAIL: INFO@ONTIMEVEGAS.COM

Many landscape maintenance contracts call for visual inspections of irrigation systems one time per month.  If an irrigation system is inspected today and a leak starts tomorrow, that leak can waste water for weeks, leading to costly fines and an unnecessarily high-water bill. 

To address this, we have used a smart monitoring device at customer properties. These devices detect abnormal water use and immediately send notifications to designated people allowing us to quickly dispatch a technician. Because we know what time irrigation clocks turn on and off the water, we can compare that info with when the notification was sent to hopefully quickly narrow down the location of the issue. This usually significantly reduces the time and cost required to find and fix leaks.

TELEPHONE: 702-348-8399  

EMAIL: INFO@ONTIMEVEGAS.COM

 From the Southern Nevada Water Authority. “Clay, sand and rock-hard caliche make up the majority of soil types found within the Las Vegas Valley, but one thing they all have in common is a small percentage of organic matter - which is needed to support plant life. The pH or relative alkalinity of the soil may be high which could be limiting nutrients added through fertilizer.” 

Many landscaping contracts “include” fertilizing with granular fertilizer. There are many issues with fertilizing this way including that it is typically is activated when it gets wet and the Vegas valley gets rain only a few times a year which means the fertilizer might not get activated when the plants need the nutrients so it is a waste of money and can be activated in areas where plants do not need it or allow animals to eat it since it can sit on the surface for some time.  

There is an alternative that delivers nutrients to plants through the irrigation system.  Water usually costs more per gallon the more is used so the less water that is used saves customers money. 

TELEPHONE: 702-348-8399  

EMAIL: INFO@ONTIMEVEGAS.COM

  Many landscape maintenance contracts “include” removing lower branches for clearance up to about 10 or 12 feet off the ground. What are customers paying for once there are no more branches below that height?  Tree health can generally improve if trees are cared for as a whole rather than below or above a certain height.  

Have you ever priced out from a tree company the cost to trim just below 10 / 12 feet off the ground and compare that number to your monthly maintenance contract?  

 Mature and healthy trees provide benefits to but total tree health and trimming is often times not addressed by properties or their landscapers. Proper care can reduce exposure to risk and is more beneficial to trees and properties. 

From Davey Tree Service website "Good pruning practices from the time trees are young can benefit trees health as they mature…also frees the tree of weak or overextended branches that could fall and damage property…"

From Arboristnow website "  

…strong winds can make them (branches) incredibly dangerous. Gusts and gales can send branches flying… while particularly strong winds can uproot trees or snap trunks like twigs… In urban and suburban areas, limited rooting space prevents trees from establishing a robust root system, making them more susceptible to being uprooted by wind… Through proper pruning techniques, these issues can be mitigated or… corrected, reducing the tree's risk of failure…"