Lazy Landscaping

• Created by: University of Minnesota Extension Master Gardener-Anoka County

• Eva Knudsen

What Can We Do? To Do Less

• Cultural Practices: What you do or don’t do makes a difference

• Plant Selection: the right plant for the right place and for you

• Plant Placement: What works best for you and the plant

“The gardener in him sold outto the nature-conservationist”

Visit Your Garden Regularly

Stop Treating Your Soil Like Dirt

Compost improves moisture retention and fertility of soil

Minerals 45%Air 25%Water 25%Organic matter 2-5%

Composting• Does not requires elaborate,

expensive structures

• Does not need to be turned

• Does not have to smell

• Materials do not need to be added in exact proportions

• Do not require special chemical starters or activators

Compost bins provided by Anoka County

Watering

Irrigation can lead to problems when performed incorrectly• Water early in the morning• Install a watering system

-With a timer and moisture indicator

• Use soaker hoses or drip emitters when possible

Mulch• Suppresses weed growth

• Maintains soil moisture

• Stabilizes soil temperatures

• Prevents spread of soil-borne diseases

• Prevents soil compaction

• Improves landscape appearance

• Increase soil fertility (depending on mulch used)

• Reduces bark injuries on trunks

Organic Mulch•Wood chips

• Shredded bark

• Pine needles

• Cocoa bean hulls

• Straw

• Leaves

• Grass clippings

Inorganic Mulch

• Rock

• Landscape fabric

• Newspaper

• Plastic

• Shredded Tires

Living Mulches

variegated bishop’s weed

Lamium

Woodland Phlox

Hen and Chicks

Mowing

• Leave clippings on the lawn

• Keep blade sharp

• Keep grass about 3” tall

• Low maintenance grass mixes only need to be mowed 2-4 times per year!!!!

Pesticides There is no such thing as a weed-free or

insect-free lawn

• Routine chemicals are not necessary

• Avoid broad spectrum insecticides

• Know the difference between annual and perennial weeds

• Use edging around gardens

Fertilizers

• Routine chemicals aren‘t necessary

• Know the right time to apply

• Some plants can do the job

Pruning• Prune only when necessary

• Choose plants that need minimal pruning or can be pruned at times when you are least busy

• Pruning produces tender, succulent growth, which bugs prefer Pagoda Dogwood

Cornus alternifolia

In the Garden

• Don’t walk where you plant

• Let some flowers go to seed for volunteers next season

• Leave some volunteers to create more diversity

• Let some herbs and vegetables bolt (flower)

• In fall, leave some plants and all roots in the soil

Wild ColumbineAquilegia canadensis

Bleeding HeartDicentra spectabilis

Selecting The “Right” Plant• Select plants suited to your

region, soil conditions and microclimate

• Know each plant's ultimate height and spread at maturity

• Observe plants in your area or at the arboretum

Lead PlantAmorpha canescens

Plants With Deeper Roots

LeadPlant

Big BlueStem

Liatris

LittleBlue Stem

SwitchGrass

CompassPlant

KentuckyBlueBrass

Go Native• Easier and

cheaper to maintain

• Fewer pest and disease problems

• Require less supplemental watering

Pearly EverlastingAnaphalis margaritacea

American Painted Lady (Vanessa virginiensis)

New England Aster (Aster novae-angliae)

Use Grasses

Little bluestem Andropogon (Schizachyrium)scoparius

•Bottlebrush•Hystrix patula

•Prairie Dropseed •Sporobolus heterolepis

•Indian Grass •Sorghastrum nutans

Dixie skipperAtrytonopsis hianna

What Trees and Shrubs Can Do For You

• Improve air, thermal and acoustic environments

• Enhance occupant comfort and health

• Contribute to overall quality of life

Kentucky Coffee Tree Gymnocladus dioica

• Kentucky Coffee tree

American Linden or Basswood Tilia americana

TreesWhat you should know• Mature size• Soil Preferences• What is going to happen

under them?• What is going to happen

around them?• Particular habits• The species and cultivars

TreesWhat you should know• Mature size• Soil Preferences• What is going to happen

under them?• What is going to happen

around them?• Particular habits• The species and cultivars

“Messy” Trees• Oaks• Willows• Catalpa• Maples• Crabapples• Mulberry• Fruit trees

Catalpa Catalpa speciosaCommon Mulberry

Morus alba tatarica)

Weeping Willow Salix alba tristis

“Cleaner” Trees• Firs• Blue Beech• Honeylocust

(thornless or fruitless)

• Tamarack• Crabapple

(fruitless or persistent fruit)

• Ironwood• Spruce• Pine• Cottonwood

(cottonless)• Japanese tree

lilac• Littleleaf

linden• Arborvitae

Tamarack Larix laricina

Small TreesPrairifire Crabapple(Malus sp. "Prairifire")

ServiceberriesAmelanchier spp.

Japanese Tree Lilac Syringa reticulata

Bristlecone Pine Pinus aristata

American Hornbeam Carpinus caroliniana

Red-spotted Purple Limenitis arthemis

Evergreens • Exposer to wind on hilltops

or on western walls can cause stress by cold and drought

• Position as winter protection for delicate plants or wind breaks

• Know the growth habit of the cultivar (varieties)

• Know the mature size of plant

Shrubs

Things you should know:• Mature size

• If they “sucker”

• When they bloom

• Soil preferences

• Light preferences

• The species and cultivar

• Lilac Miss KimSyringa patula ‘Miss Kim’

•False spirea •Sorbaria sorbifolia    

Common Lilac. Syringa vulgaris

Site Conditions That Can Stress Plants

• Winter winds

• Hot, dry, southern exposures

• Roads, driveways, or

sidewalks

• Foot traffic

• Other plants

Under Trees

Under Trees

• Reduced light levels

• Limited moisture and nutrient availability

• Tree species with finer foliage and more open canopies let more light through than more densely foliaged species

• Use perennial species to keep soil disturbance to a minimum

• Use smaller transplants so holes don’t need to be large

Group Plants According To Their Water

NeedsHydrozone

Group Plants by Their

Maintenance Needs

Blanket Flower Gaillardia Grandiflora

Coleus Solenostemon scutellarioides

Group Plants According to Light Needs

•Wild ginger•Asarum canadense

Jack-in-the-Pulpit Arisaema triphyllum

Prickly Pear Cactusopuntia cymochila

Yucca spp.

Containers• May need more

watering

• Use polymers to help hold water

• Slow release fertilizer pellets or potting soil containing fertilizer helps

Make Things Easy• Place gardens according to your

needs• Plant only what you can maintain• When do you go on vacation?

Dwarf Bush Honeysuckle

Make Things Easy• Get kids involved

• Invest in ergonomic tools

• Get a good wagon or wheelbarrow

• Get something to carry your tools in

Low Maintenance Lawns

Most lawn mixes grow best in full sunlight or very light shade

Routine Maintenance• Once established water only during periods of hot, dry

weather

• Fertilize sparingly, if at all. When necessary, use a balanced, slow-release fertilizer in early spring

• Mow to 4 in. when seed heads develop (end of spring) then monthly to 4 in. or simply leave it alone

• Remove leaves in the fall

• Try a small patch as a trial first, for 1 or 2 growing seasons

UofM Extension Links• Choosing Landscape Evergreens

• Native Trees for Landscape Use

• Trees, Shrubs & Vines For Minnesota Landscapes

• Effects of De-icers on Trees & Shrubs

• Pruning Shrubs

• Tough Trees and Shrubs for tough sites

Dropmore scarlet honeysuckle Lonicera x brownii 'Dropmore Scarlet’

Useful Links: • http://www.extension.umn.edu/gardeninfo/• http://www.BlueThumb.org • http://www.sustland.umn.edu/• http://www.entomology.umn.edu/cues • http://plantselector.dot.state.mn.us/• http://plantclinic.cornell.edu/• http://www.for-wild.org/• http://www.northerngardening.com/• http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/nr/index.html