Anecdotal Observations Of Landscape Management In Ordinance Restricted Counties Or Municipalities
As the Technical Director for Mainscape, Inc. a full service landscape provider, I have had the opportunity to work with Florida’s unique urban landscape community for approximately 27 years. I have witnessed the “Greening of Florida” one lawn at a time over that time frame. Was it all necessary? Was it all done with ecological prudence then? 25 years ago, in terms of years was like an ice age ago. Our industry evolved from pest control companies applying pesticide to sophisticated lawn care operators who not only applied pesticide, but now fertilizers. The quest was now on to have the greenest lawn on the block. “The bar was set by the Jones’s”. The architects and developers were quick to join the mix and embraced the green grass, palm tree and colorful shrub mentality of selling the Florida vision of tropical exuberance. We were an industry on the move, a growth industry, one that saw no bounds and few regulations. We could make your lawn green and make money for the owners and companies we worked for.
Then the tide began to turn, after a few short years with increased fertilizer came more insects and weeds and other turf and landscape quality problems. Homeowner’s expectations rose and the industry was having a hard time keeping pace. This cottage industry was being forced to grow up. Along came educated professional turf managers turned out from prestigious colleges with turf and ornamental degrees. The University of Florida dedicated more dollars to study the urban landscape’s needs from a scientific perspective immune from the wants of developer and homeowner expectations. More judicious fertilizer programs were developed and put in place, fertilizer sources and rates were studied intensively. The industry started to promote healthy management programs. Turf and landscape quality began to improve. Best Management Practices were devised and became the guidelines for responsible urban landscape management with a heavy emphasis on protecting and enhancing our natural resources. This trend of industry professionalism is embraced and improved upon and became the training tool for legions of owners and applicators.
Then one day it was voted on and this industry governing document was cast aside. All industry intelligence gathered over the years was now a moot point. How to grow healthy turf and ornamentals were decided on by an emotional vote of non-scientific well meaning elected officials.
Our goal at our company has always been to provide a healthy and well balanced turf and plant community.
I have worked in both, Sarasota and Lee counties in Florida before and after the landscape ordinance was adopted. Our goal at our company has always been to provide a healthy and well balanced turf and plant community. I feel that somehow all of the training over the years can be forgotten. It is like starting over with the wide eyed look of 27 years ago. We, as professionals still need to balance our clients’ wants with the needs of the plant community and good resource management at the same time. Our company happens to work with developers on new large scale communities carved out of what once was an ecosystem called Pine Flatwoods. Spoil soils dredged from man-made lakes make up the underlying soil type. This type of construction process results in reduced plant and turf rooting capacity this is due to particle size and hardpan formation. Frequently these soils are saturated and poorly drained. Why this is significant is small frequently applied nutrient replenishment is necessary to avoid run-off and better use of those nutrients. I am now forced to consider other options which are not as friendly to the environment or resources that these ordinances are designed to help.
I took part in a study in 2008 where turf samples were taken on September 3rd, 3 months after an application of different fertilizer sources were applied to coincide with the restricted window of June 1-September 30. Tissue sampling was performed and the majority of samples were already deficient in Nitrogen with a minimum of 1 month to go before fall applications were to be applied. Due to compressed scheduling dates, fostered by the 4 month restricted season, some of these properties could potentially go 6 months or more before service could be rendered again. My observations have been with new developments and their inherent soil problems this delay causes an extreme fall off in color, vigor and lack of over-all health.
This interruption in timing not only caused deficiencies in turf, but also to several landscape plants, most notable Ixoras and Plumbago species which rely on nutrient application in our high pH soils, the fertilizer acting as an acidifier to lower the pH to allow nutrient absorption by the roots. When these plants are young they will quickly turn yellow and are at that point an economic liability with the amount of fertilizer needed to return them to a performing status in the landscape community.
Listed above are just a couple of instances where professional landscape management can reduce fertilizer inputs by applying when necessary in quantities which can be used to economically satisfy our urban wants while also taking into account our resource protection needs. I would like the ability to manage again and not be regulated by non-science based ordinances.
I support science based research results from the University of Florida and other land grant Universities. Our company would like Best Management Practices used as a guide for local ordinance decisions.
Gary Hill
Director of Technical Services
Mainscape
