Jeff Wilson | General Manager
Posted 12/6/2019
The following interview was conducted by General Manager Jeff Wilson with long time employee Chris Angus in November of 2019. Chris is the company’s longest tenured employee, having his 25th full-time employment anniversary in 2019. Chris has worked in almost every division of the company over the past 25 years (he claims that he has never done irrigation), and has gained vast experience in the industry. Chris presently is IPM division lead which means that he oversees all pesticide, and fertilizer applications, as well as supervising the detail crews. In the interview when Chris references Syd, he is referencing Horticulture Services founder Syd Stephan. He also refers to the leadership transition as Jeff stepped into the General Manager role in 2012 as Syd stepped away from the day to day management, He also references the ownership transition that took place when Syd sold the company to his daughter Cathy and her husband Trent in 2014.
Cover Photo, Horticulture Services
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Jeff Wilson | General Manager
Posted 10/16/2019
It’s not unusual to be asked about our history as we introduce our company to a homeowners association board of directors. I often start with the beginning, much of which can be found here at our website. But there is more to the history, how we tried, succeeded, changed course and discovered our identity as an organization along the way.
The story starts begins with our Founder Syd Stephan providing horticultural consulting to a couple key clients at the beginning. One being the developer of the master planned Wedgewood development in Woodbury (still a customer of Horticulture Services to this day), and the other being a commercial property manager, which managed large properties in Maple Grove, Minnesota and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Syd advised Wedgewood about plants and techniques that would be successful in the Minnesota climate and Woodbury soil. At the same time he was also helping the commercial property management company strategize how the landscape at their newly constructed properties should be maintained in a horticulturally appropriate way while providing the most curb appeal and sustainability.
Cover Photo, Horticulture Services
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Jeff Wilson | General Manager
Posted 09/05/2019
Despite what the title says, I can’t actually reflect on the full 30 years, but I can reflect on 25+. There were a few employees before me, but no too many. Only our founder Syd Stephan goes back to the beginning. You see in those early days Syd was a one man show, doing some basic landscaping services and consulting out of the back of his Oldsmobile station wagon. (Click here to learn more about those early years).
Cover Photo, Horticulture Services
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Jeff Wilson | General Manager
Posted 05/24/2019
Controller: Sometimes called the clock, this is “The brain” of the irrigation system. The controller is programmed to start the system at a given time, typically in the overnight hours. When it is time for the system to run it sends an electrical charge to the control valve it wants to open.
Cover Photo, Horticulture Services
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Catherine Nickelson | Horticulturist | Arborist
Posted 11/28/2018
Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) has become a household name and a dreaded pest. Most people have heard of the devastation this pest has wrought on Ash trees in the eastern United States and know that it has an undeniable presence in the Minneapolis and St. Paul areas now. This pest indiscriminately kills Ash (genus Fraxinus) regardless of the tree’s vigor or size. Emerald Ash Borer larvae (youth life stage) create meandering tunnels under the bark which disrupts the flow of nutrients and water between the leaves and roots, eventually this kills the tree. For more details on this pest, life cycle and current location in Minnesota please see Minnesota Department of Agriculture’s EAB information website. Now that this pest is in our backyard, it is time to finalize the strategy to use regarding this issue of EAB.
Cover Photo, BJ Holty
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Syd Stephan | Founder | Horticulturist
Posted 09/26/2017
Every year, thousands of gallons of fuel are burned and tons of debris are added to compost sites because of an unnecessary process called lawn dethatching. Dethatching, also called “power raking”, is generally done for one of two reasons: In spring, in an attempt to clean up a messy looking lawn just after the snow has melted, or, in the fall, to reduce the thatch layer present in the turf.
Cover Photo, Copyright
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Catherine Nickelson | Horticulturist | Arborist
Posted 06/07/2018
Rodents are an order of mammals with a large pair of continually growing front teeth. This includes mice, squirrels, voles, gophers, beavers, capybaras, and many others. Some of whom have a voracious appetite for everything beautifully growing in your garden. Rabbits have these same characteristics, continuously growing front teeth and desire for garden plants, but they are not taxonomically considered rodents as rabbits possess four incisors rather than two. However, for the purposes of this discussion we will consider rodents and rabbits together and classify the plant injury each of these mammals cause as rodent damage. Rodent damage is the injury inflicted when mice, voles, squirrels, gophers, or rabbits gnaw on or consume parts or all of a plant. These pests go after the plants for food and to wear down their teeth preventing them from growing too long. Rodents and rabbits target a wide range of species including woody plants, turf, and herbaceous plants (perennials); the damage caused can range from fatal to insignificant but with careful planning and maintenance the issue of rodent damage can be managed.
Cover photo, Copyright
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Jeff Wilson | General Manager
Posted 05/10/2018
As a landscape maintenance contractor we receive more questions regarding irrigation than all of our other services combined. This is likely because the irrigation system is the most mysterious part of the landscape, after all, it’s invisible most of the time. This is the first post in a series where we will try to uncover some irrigation mysteries. We are going to start by answering a commonly asked question about rain sensors.
Cover Photo, Horticulture Services
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Brian Davis | Account Manager
Posted 12/13/2017
Ice melt is often times used as a blanket term for the chloride or salt family. The purpose of salt is to lower the freezing point of water, which allows solid ice to break its bond with paved surfaces which allows it to run off as a liquid. Many people think of ice melt being rock salt, which is also known as sodium chloride or table salt. While this is not entirely wrong, ice melt and rock salt are distinctly different.
Cover Photo, Horticulture Services
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Catherine Nickelson | Horticulturist | Arborist
Posted 11/15/2017
In recent years, the beauty of many spruce in the Twin Cities has significantly declined. This is not true for the entire population, but does speak to a large portion of these trees which many of us treasure in our landscape. A healthy spruce is a wonderful visual screen and wind block. It can also host strands of Christmas lights nicely, and when graced with a snowy white garment, there is little more beautiful in our winter wonderland. But lately, hordes of spruce have been discoloring and shedding massive quantities of needles. What is wrong with these plants and can anything be done?
Cover Photo, Jeff Wilson
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