Landscaping Peeve

Does anyone else have the "peeves" about the so-called landscapers out there. I live on the east coast of Florida. I am just stunned at times when I see what they're doing around new buildings, whether homes or offices or strip-malls (yuk !). What on earth possesses them to plant live oak trees, magnolias, palms and other (soon to be large) trees about a foot away from the foundation -- when they do spend the money on these gorgeous trees. Well, I guess the real landscapers aren't involved -- it's just the builders/contractors hiring the cheapest labor force to dig holes and plop the poor speciman in the ground.
I have been noticing that a lot of planting that has been done within the last few years just proves how ugly all of this has become -- tree trunks bendng away from the walls and overhangs to reach more light - so say nothing of adequate water. The worst is when they bulldoze and remove perfectly nice trees to build - and then just to pop a few palms in - well, I just want to scream.

I totally agree with you! They are doing that here, plopping totally inappropriate stuff in the ground with no thought to what it's going to look like 5 - 10 years down the road.

X

Oh here as well, planting large weeping willows and all kinds of things just plating them where they will fit. no worry about how they will grow in years to come or how much maintenance they need. When something doesnt work out, they just simply hire someone else to come dig up the poor things and carry them to the dumpster! Just a pure waste of time on their parts. I think if they have enough money to build these huge buildings, they should take some time out to really think about the landscaping! Just stupid in my book!!

It's happening everywhere! Blue spruce trees, destined to become forest giants, planted next to the front door; maple saplings planted under the power line; yew bushes that will grow up to 10 feet tall planted beneath windows; and so on. Maybe the nurseries or tree farms should start attaching warning labels to their plants, e.g. "This tree should be planted more than 60 ft from any structure".

Yep ... see it all the time! I just wonder what the homeowners will think when those trees get HUGE root sturctures that begin to crack the foundation of the house! But, it probably won't be the original homeowners .... the way folks move about today, some only stay in one house for 3 or 4 years and then move...but down the road, some unsuspecting person will have the possible damage to deal with!

Well, the builder is just insuring that his contractor brother-in-law will have some work along the way! As in, around here they've been putting the HOT WATER HEATER in the ATTIC! Talk about asking for a disaster.

At least my builders didn't put any "wrong" trees in -- they didn't put any in at all!

In my parents' neighborhood ( in the South) they planted barberries around a spruce, looks cute small, but after a couple years, the barberries are lost and the spruce was damaging the side of the house. My brother had the joy of removing that mess as well as a weeping willow near the rear patio. It's not like the info is not available, it's like the builder's friend decides to become a landscaper and practice his ignorance at the expense of others. The other crazy issue was layers of that ugly red dyed mulch that came with the landscaping along with the pyracanta bushes he planted near their picture windows along the walkway in the back yard. Now how would you like to meander near the pyracanthas and become impaled with thorns with a slight misstep. Yep...I adored my brother for moving those wicked bushesas well!

About that red dyed mulch. Does anyone know exactly what that is ? Can't get any info from the manufacturers.

I am a landscaper here in Michigan and I can tell you that unfortunately that it is often times the big landscape architects that make the biggest mistakes. I have done installation and maint. on many plantings designed by big named architects and the mistakes they make drive me crazy. How do you explain to a client that it is not the fault of the installation or maint. when the lovely blue spruce planted in the shade of a mature oak dies? They don't want to take the word of the lowly landscaper that the highly paid, college educated, big name landscape architect should not have designed a spruce in the shade. Or some of the maint. nightmares they create. Design looks great on paper but in the real world it is an impossible to maintain bed of death for most of the plant material. I find clients much easier to deal with than architects and designers. So many of the college educated morons don't know diddly about plants but they are completely arrogant, whearas an uneducated (about horticulture) client who isn't being fed garbage from a designer is usually very happy to listen to recomendations especially when you explain your reasoning. I do some designing, and I always try to give people what they want but quite often I have to explain to clients that the particular design idea or plant material they want is unworkable. Most 0of the time they are greatfull that I have saved them from a costly mistake, but when occasionaly they want it anyway I simply refuse to garauntee results.
And about the RED mulch, it is ground up old pallet wood dyed red. I hate it. But I do have commercial clients that like it in highly visible beds to attract attention, I'm not really against it under those circumstances, it does have a limited use.

Julie

Julie~ thanks for the explanation about red mulch...can you please tell me why in the world would anyone think that pyracantas make a good shrub to line a meandering walkway?.. one could bleed to death just in trying to clean up the litter let alone when pruning the deadly, ugly bush.

You got me why some people do the things they do in landscaping. I spend a lot of time correcting other peoples mistakes. It doesn't bother me when its an uneducated one, but when so called professionals are getting paid to do it it really rubs me the wrong way, and like I said, I've seen more mistakes made by so called professionals than ametuers. I don't understand how someone can get college degree and not know a spruce will die when planted in the shade or rhododendrons don't stand a chance on the windblown south side of a foundation, or a tree that will reach 30' in width should not be planted five feet from a foundation but I have seen all of those mistakes and many, many more come frome folks who are big name architects.

My company built a new building and moved in about five years ago. Where there are trees, they were planted into hugh underground containers that were meant to provide adequate space for a specific time period. Some locations were sidewalks and others regular grounds. I was surprised to find out they had put that much thought into it and had made a commitment to replace the trees at certain intervals. I'm not privy to how these decisions were made, but it appears that some sort of logic was involved, so maybe this is true elsewhere as well.

I can't stand to see the way that landscapers chop off the crepe myrtles. I think they're so pretty when pruned a bit but allowed to 'flow' rather than be these upright monstrosities I see all over the city.

If it makes you feel any better, part of my job (before kids- I'm mostly a Mom now) was to review landscape plans submitted by developers for compliance and appropriateness of materials. It was amazing the stuff they would specify in those plans. One guy wanted to put Cottonwood trees in a 10 wide strip. Um, nope. No Cottonwoods anywhere, let alone that strip. He was so mad I wouldn't approve them. He'd already bought them cheap.

Another problem around here is putting pine or spruce trees in areas where they won't fit- 10-foot strips again. Some developers would get really irritated when I made them change out a regular, inexpensive Colorado Blue Spruce for a more columnar or smaller variety like 'Iseli Fastigiate' or 'Baby Blue Eyes'- those trees cost more. It wasn't that annoying when it was just some small scale development that didn't have it in the budget to hire a Landscape Architect but was much more annoying when I had to be telling the LA no. Don't get me wrong- I have a degree in Landscape Architecture- but I'm always stunned by how many of my colleagues are so ignorant of the plant materials themselves. To be fair, most of them have a much better knowledge of construction than I, it just seems like a waste to do a great job on preparing the site, drainage etc. then mess up the easy part.

O.K. now I need to go a step farther with my pet peeve...landscapers who plant trees that will be huge right on the property line, especially pine trees. Ten years ago we moved to a new subdivision. I no sooner plant some fruit trees and a lanscaper is out there planting white pines right on the lot line. I ask the landscaper if he knew how big those would get (trying to be diplomatic and REALLY holding back). He admits they will get big but adds "But they can be pruned to stay smaller". So I ask him how many people ACTUALLY prune the things yearly to keep them in shape...and he admits not many. I lucked out though because the things don't seem to do well in water logged clay.

Then this year a landscaper puts huge spruces in on ANOTHER side of my property. They actually had it surveyed and the burlap ball TOUCHES the lot line! After a very heated argument about how big the things will be and how far the roots will extend onto my property, he tells me to go ahead and trim any branches that extend onto my property (never mind the roots that will kill my perenials). Now the main trunk is only 3 feet from the lot line so I'm sure you all are laughing imagining the site of this totally ridiculous looking tree in 5 years, if I really do trim off what extends onto my yard.

The whole thing makes me think of a friend of mine who said his neighbor had a weedy bush/small tree that actually hung right over his vegetable garden. He ask the neighbor to trim it back and they said no. He said a 50 cc syringe filled with roundup solved the problem. I have to chuckle at them coming out and seeing the whole thing go from green to brown overnight LOL Now I'm really laughing because I thought he was absolutely terrible to do such a thing....oh, how it is SO different when it's our own "leaf babies" that are threatened. LOL!!!

Well, Addicted.... you've given me something to think over. I have a neighbor behind me. She gave me so much trouble when she moved in. I have two orchid pergolas and the foolish woman had someone plant a Sea Grape right up against her side of the fence. It is now huge and blocks so much of the sun/light. I don't have another place to move the pergolas to. I have been pruning the branches as they extend over the fence; but this thing has already reached at least 16 feet. And those leaves; when they drop they never decay but just smother everything. Ugh. Round up you say and a syringe.....I don't think I'd have the nerve.

Bindersbee, how wonderfull for your community to have someone who actually knows plant material in your position. I agree with you, it is such a waste to see a beautifull design, hardscape, and all the work that goes into drainage, berming etc. wasted by using inappropriate plant material. I used to work for a local city in the department of public services, we are the folks who maintain the parks etc. Well the city manager decided to spend buku bucks redoing this little play lot in a small neighbothood. They PAID someone to design this thing. It must have cost a fortune, trees everywhere, a fancy pavillion, tons of concrete sidewalk, fancy fence. An approximately 8' tall berm directly abutting the property line fence with spruce trees on the side! Why did the inspectors approve this? For one thing this bern caused drainage into the adjoining property, a no no, and with the grade of the berm up against the fence you couldn't even get a push mower in there the whole back side of that berm had to be cut with weedwhips! Then add to that the spruces will quickly destroy that cute little fence. Not to mention the trees were so closely spaced that it was impossible to get a riding mower in there effectively and as they grow some of them will deffinately be shaded out by others. The whole thing LOOKS cute right now, but its a maintenance nightmare and a huge waste of money on trees that are destined to fail. The thing that really shocks me though is the inspectors approved the steep berm and spruces directly adjacent to the property line, even non-plant persons should have known better than that! After they were don I asked my boss if he had seen it and he just laughed and shook his head. Wish our city had someone as knowledgable and conscientious as you, they could have saved themselves a ton of money and hassle. And how do these people keep getting these design jobs?
Oh and Orchid, if you ask me you don't need nerve, sounds like clearcut case of self defense! LOL

Reading this reminds me of a past job I had. We would access information in my dept, by satalite. Well, they were doing some road construction out front and were going to take down this nice tree. My boss (of the company) pays to have it moved....right by his office window....right in front of the satalite dish. A couple weeks later, the thing sprouts leaves. Satalite stops working. This is something I needed to do my job, well, the sat company said it was the tree of course. So money was forked out to trim the tree....still no luck... then the tree was moved....still no luck. After the sat guys did the repair on the sat....my dept ended up with all the expensis, tree moving, trimming, moving, the real repair, and then the thing died from all the trouble. My dept then had to pay again for removal. There went that years comission!!!! Is it any wonder I do not work there anymore!!!!

orquid 923,

I have something else that works...at least for pin oaks. They make me crazy holding leaves so the whole raking time is ten times longer, when a beautiful tulip poplar would be better fall color and drop all leaves in one day.

My grandfather was an amazing horticulturalist and a stern serious man. Once when I ask him how he got all his plants to grow so well, he told me that either out loud or in his mind he talked to them and thought kind things about them (If you knew this man you'd definately say I was lying).

So, when my neighborhood association planted pin oaks all down our street, without even asking how we felt, I'd drive out each day sending "die, pin oaks, die" thoughts. Over the last 6 years I bet they've replaced them all twice. They've even paid to have them fertilized and they still keep dying. And I promise I never resorted to the roundup :)

OK addicted -- I'll fall for it and try the subliminal thought route of wishing the sea grape tree to die. Failing that -- where does one get a syringe -- I don't know anybody who's on any kind of drugs (they may act like they are) or a diabetic who could give me a used one.

I'll send you one. LMK.

Maggie

Oh, Maggie - would you ? I'll D-mail you. Many thanks. I did go out there this morning to make sure the sheets/quilts were properly draped over the orchid pergolas and clipped together. I had rather a short talk to the "tree" as it was bloody cold.

A big problem in San Antonio is the city planting Sycamores beneath power lines. genius, that is. And the there are the home owners who think it's cool to plant a yucca tree or prickly pear along a sidewalk. There's nothing like stumbling into razoring spines to wake a gent up.

I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw what was planted at a new Sonic here in town. Two young southern magnolias planted less than 5 feet from each other directly under power lines. The grassy knoll they're planted in is less than 4ft wide with concrete on each side. What a shame.

This message was edited Feb 26, 2007 12:06 AM

Crape murder is one of my pet peeves. People in my area feel the urgent need to whack their myrtles down to about four feet in height each fall. I have seen many with trunk diameters of over two inches that aren't even shoulder high. I have two red ones and a white one. All of them are unmolested. Crape myrtles,if not mutilated,will resemble the one pictured here.

Rocco, here, here! I dislike the crape murder wacking too.

Cordeledawg - why don't you go to the owner of the Sonic and see if you can work out a deal with him/her to take the magnolias and replace them with something a little more appropriate. Most of the people who own these places have no idea what is going on with landscaping and just rely on someone who says he is a landscaper (in his dreams). That is what I would do.

Good idea. I'll do some researching on what plant would best fit the space and then I'll approach manager.