Dustin Wolff | Account Manager
Posted 9/23/2022
IPM is an abbreviation for Integrated Pest Management, which is defined by the United States Environmental Protection Agency as, “an effective and environmentally sensitive approach to pest management that relies on a combination of common-sense practices.” Pests are broadly defined as insects, plants, diseases and even animals that hinder the health and productivity of a plant. Humans often want to manage one or more pests in a particular setting to maximize our perception of health for that setting.
Cover Photo, Stock Photo
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Dustin Wolff | Account Manager
Posted 5/4/2022
It may be tempting to ignore crabgrass, especially since it has “grass” in its name, but crabgrass is among the most troublesome lawn weeds. It can invade poor turf and, if allowed to develop through its complete lifecycle, a single plant is capable of producing thousands of seeds before dying off in the fall. Crabgrass management can be intensive, but it is an important practice in maintaining a healthy lawn.
Cover Photo, Jake Louwsma
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Jake Louwsma CLP | Sales and Marketing Manager
Posted 4/14/2022
Pruning trees is a historic practice serving many purposes. These purposes include tree health, longevity, aesthetics, and safety.
However, some people wonder, “Trees are natural and alive, why do we need to prune them? Why don’t we leave them alone and let them do what they naturally do?”. It’s a matter of context. Yes, trees are alive and grow naturally, but the maintained landscapes we live in are far from natural. Maintained landscapes contain living and natural elements like grass, trees, and plants, but they are not in a natural context. In nature, a solitary tree would rarely be seen growing in the midst of a pristine field of Kentucky Blue Grass. In our maintained landscape spaces, natural things are put together in unnatural ways. This isn’t necessarily bad, it’s what we humans do, and it is important to understand these differences in contexts.
Cover Photo, Jake Louwsma
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BJ Holty | Account Manager
Posted 11/05/2021
Do you have a shrub that is disheveled or overgrown? You know it will be expensive to remove, replace, and put new mulch around a new one. Instead of replacement, your shrub may be a great candidate for rejuvenation pruning. Rejuvenation pruning is simply cutting the shrub down to approximately 6-8″ off the ground and removing the debris. The result of this pruning is that the shrub sends out new growth from the base, thereby “rejuvenating” the shrub, which gives it a fresh look as if it is brand new, or dare I say “rejuvenated.”
Cover Photo, Horticulture Services
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Catherine Nickelson | Arborist | Horticulturist
Posted 07/30/2021
Surface roots are the normal result of a shallow-rooted tree aging. The primary roots of many trees are within 8 inches of the soil surface. As these roots age they increase in circumference, just like a branch or trunk. The root does not reposition itself below the soil, so the thickening results in part of the root showing up in the turf.
Cover Photo, Catherine Nickelson
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Jeff Farrington | Account Manager
Posted 4/14/2021
Turfgrass in Minnesota is dominated by cool season grasses including Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass, tall Fescue, fine fescue, and some less common varieties. A significant benefit of turf is that it is relatively care-free, especially in situations where it can be kept healthy. However, in less-than-ideal situations, problems can occur. In this post, a few common problems and solutions are explored.
Cover Photo, Horticulture Services
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Brian Davis | Account Manager
Posted 4/13/2020
Minnesota winters present a number of challenges to our landscapes. Salt usage, deep snow piles, and the freeze/thaw cycle all contribute to one of these challenges called ‘winterkill’. Winterkill is used as a general term to describe grass (ie. turf grass, hereby referred to as “grass”) that has died over the winter, possibly due to the causes described above. Living in our climate, winterkill is an unfortunate and inevitable problem that we must tackle each spring to some degree. Over the years, Horticulture Services has tried a number of different methods for winterkill grass repairs, with the two main methods being sod and grass seeding.
Cover Photo, Horticulture Services
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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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