Tree & Shrub
Care
Strengthen, protect, monitor!
Your landscape plantings are as valuable to your garden as the furniture is to the rooms in your home. Each plant has a job to do, a statement to make and a designated place in your landscape. At Zeppa’s our Tree and Shrub Care Program is designed to provide a solid foundation of plant health, ensuring the longevity of your landscape investment. Trust Zeppa’s to strengthen, protect and care for you tree and shrubs.
Zeppa’s Tree and Shrub Care begins with a program of fertilizations which strengthens your plants. Plants need carbon, hydrogen and oxygen and obtain these elements from air and water. Additionally, trees and shrubs need mineral elements for growth, primarily nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K). Fertilizers are classified by the percentage of these three components. For example 8-2-2 would represent a fertilizer with 8% nitrogen, 2% phosphorus, and 2% potassium. Nitrogen promotes the greatest growth in trees and shrubs. Slow release fertilizers are preferred because they slowly provide the nutrients which results in more consistent growth.
Fertilizer Application
Applying fertilizers involves determining the optimal method of application. Fertilizers can be applied in several ways:
- Liquid fertilizer spray - foliar fertilization involves spraying the liquid fertilizer onto the plant leaves.
- Liquid fertilizer injections - professionals project high pressure injections of fertilizer into the soil.
- Granular holes - granular fertilizer is placed in drilled holes.
- Surface application - granular fertilizer is spread over the soil.
- Fertilizer spikes - premeasured spikes are placed in the soil.
Zeppa’s trained professionals will apply fertilizers in the best manner for your trees and shrubs, at the best rate. Our plan provides the strengthening nutrition at the right rate and the right time.
Our Tree and Shrub Care Programs
Proactively protecting your plants is the second benefit of Zeppa’s Tree and Shrub Care Program. Our program is designed to prevent bugs and pests. Some plants are susceptible to certain pests. Commonly we see the following threats:
- Scale Insects - these are insects that form a bumps on plants, the scales suck plant juices and form honeydew, a sticky substance that causes mold to form. Plants may show yellowing leaves, cracked bark and look thirsty. Scale is challenging to control and timing is critical.
- Tent Caterpillars - these nest building caterpillars are a springtime nuisance. They spin nests and feed on the tree which can be problematic should they defoliate a young tree.
- Whitefly - tiny white insect present in warm weather that like scale suck plant juices and form honeydew, the sticky substance that causes mold to form. Leaves may look yellow or dry and could drop from the tree.
- Emerald Ash Borer - this emerald green beetle is around ½ inch and the larva eats the tissue under the bark, killing trees. Sections of tree canopy dying may signify the Emerald Ash Borer.
- Bagworms - unsightly bags made from pieces of leaves and twigs that dangle from branches. Inside the bags are eggs that hatch and caterpillars then eat on the plant, sometimes defoliating the plant.
Pests cause damage that may lead to the death of your plants. Our program conforms to the current weather and climate conditions and proactively wards off threatening pests.
Our environment is constantly changing. The weather changes, pests become more resilient, new improved products emerge to win the battle. Your Zeppa’s team is committed to staying on top of the ever changing conditions and providing you with the latest developments. When we step onto your property we inspect for potential problems and diagnose the current habitat.
Zeppa’s believes in proactively protecting the health of your trees and shrubs. Plan on healthy trees and shrubs with our three pronged approach: strengthen, protect and monitor.