# Expectations from a Landscape Pro



## jha4aamu (Oct 16, 2017)

My wife and I recently moved to a new home with a pretty neglected backyard so we have been trying to make things a little more presentable. We removed alot of unkept shrubbery, repaired the deck, removed a few trees, etc all in preparation for a pool that should be getting started in the next month or so.

The final project before the pool was redoing the flowerbeds in the back yard. We hired a landscape company to 1) remove all existing weeds and plants, 2) place paver border 3) place landscape fabric and decorative rock 4)transplant a calla lily from the back to the front

We are 4 weeks post "completion" of the job and 1) there are plants that are growing in the same exact spots they should have been removed from 2) the pavers had to be reset twice 3) the weeds are worse than they were before. With some plants having 10+" weeds growing from their base 4) the lily didn't survive the transplant. A "new" lily is now sprouting in the location it was supposed to be removed from

The company has been pretty unresponsive and unwilling to address any of this. So my question is should I just chalk this up as an L and vow never contract work with them anymore? Or is it worth my time to fight with them and get them to come back and complete the work to what I feel like is a reasonable job considering they are a professional landscaping company.


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## jha4aamu (Oct 16, 2017)

All these photos are from 3-4 weeks after they left.


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## cleohioturf (Jul 20, 2020)

they likely pulled old weeds but the weeds popping up now are from weed seed earlier this year. You can spot spray those. Lilly's will pop up constantly, if they didnt get the entire bulb or bulbs up, they will be back in growing season.

Honestly, pro landscape jobs are hit or miss. Your job sounds more like a one time labor job. They saved you a lot of your own time but you should expect to have future time spent, unless you keep them coming back routinely.

If you are just wanting a rock garden without weeds, I would spray what has come up, then next spring water in some preen and keep up on the schedule (usually every 90 days, but the newer preen says 6 months, just read labels.)

FYI, I would transplant that hydrangea in the first pic, it is not doing well in that spot. Give it more sun and some good soil.


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## jha4aamu (Oct 16, 2017)

cleohioturf said:


> they likely pulled old weeds but the weeds popping up now are from weed seed earlier this year. You can spot spray those. Lilly's will pop up constantly, if they didnt get the entire bulb or bulbs up, they will be back in growing season.
> 
> Honestly, pro landscape jobs are hit or miss. Your job sounds more like a one time labor job. They saved you a lot of your own time but you should expect to have future time spent, unless you keep them coming back routinely.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the reply. Yes the weeds are unsightly but I understand the nature of weed seeds and their ability to grow almost anywhere. I was actually planning on using some Isoxaben on my beds next year, just wasnt expecting this amount of weeds so soon. Especially with them supposedly using the "high grade" landscape fabric.

Its funny you mention that hydrangea. I actually sent that exact pic to the landscape designer who came out and she responded "its not stressed, I can actually see new growth so its doing really well."smh

Thanks for the info on the lily as well. Just sucks because I had a nice calla in the back that I didnt want moved but they insisted that they could transplant it in a better spot. Didn't even make it a week before it was toast in its new spot. Now I have a little 4" sprout coming in where it initially was.


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## Phids (Sep 24, 2020)

My two cents...

I would consider the most value of a landscaping company to be one that saves manual labor more than for their expertise in horticulture. If their work with the pavers has quickly failed, then I think that is something they should address since it may have been an engineering fail.

However, whether the plants they put in succeed isn't something I would have much confidence in. There are probably too many factors involved, and the workers are most likely not trained horticulturalists.

As far as the weeks coming through the landscaping fabric, that is concerning. If the company just "removed" the weeds by using a trimmer, then the problem did not go away, and perhaps the weeds are coming through seems where fabric sections were laid down. Did look to see if there is actually landscape fabric under the rocks? If so, how are the weeds getting through?


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## Old Hickory (Aug 19, 2019)

What does it hurt to nicely request that they fix the issues? And then, if you are not satisfied get a lawyer (hopefully a friend) to write a letter to them stating the options you have in pursuing legal action. Sometimes, push comes to shove. I know some construction-type folks who won't budge until threatened with legal action. It's how some in that industry roll.


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