5 Common Problems of Older Landscapes

You've probably heard that landscaping can add value to your home, and that's generally true. "Great!" you think, "My home was landscaped years ago. I'm good there." 

The real question is, has your home's landscaping been properly maintained since it was installed? Sure, new landscaping looks great "out of the box," but plants are living, growing things. Without regular maintenance, an overgrown, unkempt landscape can actually detract from your home's appearance and possibly its value. A poorly landscaped home can lose up to 10% of its value.

So, how can you tell if your landscape needs a little TLC? Sometimes, it's obvious, like when visitors can't find your front door through the overgrown azaleas. Sometimes, it's more subtle, as when your shrubs have constant problems with pests or diseases due to overcrowding. Here are a few signs that your landscape is begging for attention.

1. The "big green blob"

The definition of these shrubs is lost, plus they are beginning to grow over the windows and porch.

After corrective pruning there is more definition, plus the house is enhanced instead of being hidden by the landscaping.

Ideally, when your landscape was installed, the plants were placed at appropriate spacing for their variety and growing conditions.  To maintain the appearance of separate plants and not one big green blob, those plants should be regularly maintained by pruning.  Of course, some plantings are designed to grow together, like hedges, but if your hedge has grown into your shade trees, you may have a problem.  Overcrowded plants are susceptible to repeated insect and disease infestation, and the persistent problems don't usually clear up until the overcrowding is addressed.

2. Overgrown and poorly-placed plants

Here a small tree is beginning to overgrow into the house, blocking windows and looking out of scale to the house

After some pruning, light can get to the windows again, and even though the height hasn't been reduced, the scale is better. And look! There was another shrub under there.

It may be obvious, like losing unsuspecting visitors who attempt to use your walkway without a machete and a trained jungle guide. Perhaps too-tall shrubs were used as foundation plantings and have now grown so large that they block sunlight from your windows. Plants that have gotten too large for their locations, especially near traffic areas or structures, are common in landscapes that need attention.

3. Larger plants that seemed fine are suddenly dying out

If recent years have found you cutting dead chunks from your shrubs or small trees, they may be declining from old age.  Plants don't live forever, and the average lifespan for many shrubs is 10-15 years.  The signs of elderly plants include sections dying out, poor growth, susceptibility to pests and diseases, and general decline.

4. All pruning was done with shears

These shrubs have been sheared into unnatural shapes.  You can see how thin the coverage of foliage is, even leaving bare spots in weaker areas.

Over time, using shearing exclusively to keep shrubs in shape will cause a decline in the health and appearance of the plants.  Shearing results in a shell of green leaves concealing an empty, leafless center.  (Kind of like a sad, hollow M&M.) This limits the possibility of reducing or reshaping an overgrown shrub successfully, as there is less living, healthy material to regrow from on the plant.  It also leaves plants unable to recover from winter storm damage as well, if at all.

5. Plants don't match the current conditions

As landscapes mature, the conditions they were installed in often change.  Maybe your neighbor lost a tree in a storm, and your formerly shady garden is now baking in the sun.  Or a fast-growing shade tree has turned a formerly sunny patch into a cool, moist space that requires completely different plant choices.  In these situations, the original plants may struggle in the new conditions.

If you see any of these issues in your landscaping, it may be time for a landscape overhaul to keep your landscape from negatively affecting your home’s value.  Solutions range from corrective pruning to complete replacement of plants, depending on how long plants have been unmaintained and what type of plants are affected.  The good news is that even the worst landscapes can be improved to add value to your home. If you see signs of age in your landscape, contact New Garden Landscaping & Nursery to see what options we can offer to rejuvenate your landscape.