Now Blooming

November 2005

Fall Landscape Maintenance:
From Drainage to Pruning, Plan Ahead for Winter and Beyond

By Rachel Ezekiel-Fishbein

Baker Creative ensures that good drainage looks good, too, whether creating an innovative ravine garden that ensures the proper flow of water or creating an egress for water through a beautiful rock wall.		With proper fall pruning, Baker Creative can capture the drama of the landscape and ensure it lasts through the winter and beyond.

After October’s drenching rains, it is not surprising to learn that 2005 is the third consecutive year of significantly above average rainfall in our region. This may be good news for ducks, but not so good for homeowners in a season when trees are steadily losing their leaves, clogging downspouts and causing gutters to overflow, thus drowning foundation shrubs. “Autumn offers a great opportunity to think about drainage, as those fallen leaves can wreak havoc on your drainage system, causing water to pool against your house or your shrubs,” says Brad Baker, president of Baker Creative, a Wyncote landscape design firm.

While most homeowners know to clean out their gutters after the leaves fall, many remain unaware of the importance of clearing out downspouts, which can become clogged with leaves, sticks and acorns. Pooled water from a clogged downspout can kill an azalea or rhododendron, whose roots cannot survive saturated soil. It can also cause unexpected, hazardous icy patches as the weather turns colder. Pooling against your home can cause cracks in the foundation, as well as the risk of seepage. For a home without a well-conceived drainage system, the heavy rains of fall and spring can be particularly hazardous.

“A smart approach to drainage doesn’t have to be a complicated matter,” notes Baker. “Basically, the water just needs a downhill exit leading away from the home and away from the plant material. Like people, roots need oxygen to survive and can drown if stranding water makes the oxygen unavailable.”

The other critical piece of fall maintenance is pruning. Now is the time when homeowners need to think about preserving their landscape well into 2006 and providing beautiful vistas even without summer’s palette of bright flowers. Pruning can significantly improve the views from inside and outside your home, while preserving the health of your landscape. As the days get shorter and you spend more time inside, pruning large evergreens can allow more sun into your home. At the same time, removing stray branches can enhance views, and pruning a shrub for the interest of its sculptural form can create a new focal point. What’s more, well-pruned shrubs can enhance security and ease when entering and exiting your home in the dark. And where you park, clearing away bulk from bushes will prevent them from rubbing against you and transferring rain and snow as your get in and out of your car.

“One of the best reasons to prune in the fall,” says Baker, “is that with the structure of the trees now visible, you can see how to prune for better health and aesthetic appeal.” He explains, “the four cardinal rules of pruning are to remove: dead and diseased branches; branches which are growing down; branches which are crosing over each other; and branches growing back into the middle of the plant. The added bonus is that whatever pruning you do to now will be highly visible for the next five months and will reap you rewards in the spring when the plants bloom anew. For example, when you prune the wild growth from a Forsythia or Azalea with branches growing above the central form, you will create a much cleaner look for the winter. In the spring, that same shrub will be much more pleasing, because you won’t have huge shoots of green growing above everything else in your garden.”

Proper pruning will also protect your home from outdoor pests. Low-lying branches on shrubs can catch leaves and create a warm home for field mice. These furry scavengers have a habit of biting the hand that feeds them by chewing off the bark and killing the plants they call home. Higher branches which grow near your roof must be pruned to protect your attic eaves and walls from squirrels and rodents looking for a warm, dry, winter shelter. This will also protect the structure of your home; left unpruned, branches blowing in the wind can rub against roof shingles and gutters, knocking them to the ground and creating a leaks.
When the weather outside is dreadful this winter, you can rest assured that your landscape doesn’t appear dreary and your drainage is in tact. Proper care and maintenance in the autumn helps ensure that your property can provide you with a warm, appealing view on even the coldest, wettest days.

Brad Baker is a Pennsylvania Certified Horticulturist. You can reach him at Baker Creative, 215-884-4978 or Brad@BakerCreative.com. To see his work, visit www.BakerCreative.com.

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