To keep your property safe you must control snow and ice that forms this winter, but at what cost? What you may not know could be hurting your property -- damaging your landscape and the architectural beauty of your buildings.
Ice-melting products can ruin your plants, damage your turf, strip concrete, and corrode metal stair rails, gates, doors and other metal fixtures on your property. However, you can buy ice-melting compounds powerful enough to get rid of snow and ice while being gentle enough for the rest of your landscape. Consider using these compounds especially in areas such as sidewalks, porches, stairs and entranceways.
You can buy snow-melters and de-icers that contain fertilizers. The fertilizer minimizes the damage of the de-icing agents and protects your plants from dehydration. Dehydration occurs when salt is placed near plants or sprayed on them by passing cars. The most common fertilizer products have either urea, potassium or a mixture of both.
Damage to concrete caused by ice-melters usually goes unrecognized. What you may think is damage caused by other elements, such as the wear and tear of everyday traffic, may really be the result of snow-removing chemicals.
Damaged concrete is not only found in parking lots but also on buildings. Certain de-icers can get sprayed on concrete buildings, indirectly from cars or even passing pedestrians. There are several brand-name de-icers on the market designed to protect concrete.
Metal also can be damaged by the corrosive aspects of many snow-removal agents. If you have outside metal doors, grillwork, gates, planters or any exposed metals, especially steel, salt can do a lot of damage in one season. Just as there are de-icers to protect concrete, there are also de-icers which minimize the corrosion of your metalwork.
It could be that you will want to use one type of de-icer in one area of your landscape and another type of de-icer in another area, depending on the location. However, it is often a combination of elements that will get you the customized results you want. With the different compound products available, you can have the best of both worlds -- an ice-free property with no property damage. Consult with your landscaper or area garden center about finding products right for your landscape.
Protect your plants from salt damage during the winter by applying an anti-transpirant. This is especially helpful for evergreens, with their year-round foliage being exposed to the salts as well as the winds of winter.
Plants naturally give off moisture into the air. This process is called transpiration. To remain healthy they must take in a certain amount of moisture with their roots. However, in wintertime, this balance is often upset because salt contacting the plants through overspray from nearby salted surfaces dries out the plant, reducing moisture taken in while the same amount of moisture is still being transpired.
Having a good anti-transpirant put on your plants this winter will help equalize the moisture transpired with the moisture absorbed.
When taking bids for various products on your property, avoid future problems by making sure the bids you are receiving are complete. This includes not only the standard information on the job to be done, but also any maintenance or follow-up payment schedule and guarantees.
All bids should be include a payment schedule including amounts and dates due. This should be performance based, that is, services are paid after the completion or partial completion of certain tasks. Any on-going work or maintenance should be specifically addressed in the bid, with dates of inclusion. Guarantees of work done should also be in the bid along with the length of any warranties, if any. This includes the right of the property owner to evaluate work done and to demand a correction of any problems without additional cost over what is in the bid.
When it comes to bids it is the details that are important. Taking the time to examine the conditions of payment, ongoing work, and quality assurance through guarantees is well worth the avoided misunderstandings and unexpected costs of the future.
"Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy bells, across the snow;
The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true.
-- Alfred Lord Tennyson
This information is provided as a public
service by Alan Horticultural Enterprises, a full-service landscape management company.
Although we've been in business 20 years and service over 80 multifamily properties, we
maintain personal, one-on-one relationships with all of our clients to ensure customer
satisfaction. We are an environmentally conscious company, using EPA-approved products to
maintain healthy lawns that are beneficial for humans, pets and wildlife. If we can help
you with your lawn needs or questions, please call us at 630-739-0205.
ALAN HORTICULTURAL ENTERPRISES, INC.