POWER RAKE OR HAND LAWN AREA , RE SEED PROPERTY , FERTILIZE LAWN (if absolutely necessary) GRANULATED LIME, PEAT MOSS, CLEAN ENTIRE PROPERTY, DUMP LANDSCAPE GARBAGE (may be extra cost for excess debris and garbage) CLEAN GUTTERS IF REQUESTED, CLEAN & PREPARE FLOWER BEDS, CLEAN CURVE AND WINDOW BEDS, WEED WACKER SERVICE AROUND LAWN AREA.

Horticultural oil

Gardeners have long used oils to control plant-damaging pests, but for many years their use was limited to the dormant season. Today, however, the new horticultural oils on the market are more versatile and safer to use on more plants. Horticultural oils are now one of the best ways to control a wide variety of plant pests during the growing season.

How Horticultural Oils Work

These oils (except neem oil) kill insects by suffocating them. Oils also kill insect eggs by penetrating the shells and interfering with metabolic and respiratory processes. In addition, oils disrupt feeding by insects such as flea beetles, whiteflies, and aphids without necessarily killing them.

The fact that oils kill insects by smothering is a key virtue. Many other pesticides kill them by interfering with biochemical processes that are similar to those in other animals, including people. What kills a tiny insect can make us sick, too.

Also, oils have few residual effects, and so their impact on beneficial or benign insects is minimal.

To Control Diseases

Horticultural oils prevent the spread of viruses by aphids, including watermelon mosaic, squash mosaic, and potato virus Y. Oils also curb the spread of viruses that humans transmit by hands or tools (for example, tobacco mosaic virus). Additionally, oils control powdery mildew. Diluted horticultural oils, mixed with baking soda, control this common fungus.

Effects on Beneficial Insects

Most beneficial insects, such as green lacewings and ladybird beetles, scatter before the spray comes and aren't bothered by the residue when they return. However, small, soft-bodied beneficial insects such as predatory mites can't move out of the way fast enough and are killed. If you rely on beneficial mites to deter other pests, think twice before using oil (or any other pesticide). Better still, release beneficial mites several days after you treat with the oil spray.

Types of Oils: Petroleum, Vegetable, and Neem

Horticultural oil is the preferred general term for the various oils gardeners use on plants. Most horticultural oils are refined from crude oil. They have several common characteristics but different names (see below). The exceptions are vegetable and neem oils, which share some petroleum-oil features but not all.

Petroleum-based Oils

Most horticultural oils contain naphthene and paraffin compounds. Paraffins are valuable to gardeners because they're more toxic to insects and less toxic to plants than other oil compounds. In contrast, oils containing naphthene are less pesticidal and more likely to injure plants than paraffinic types. Oils high in naphthene also contain more impurities such as phytotoxic aromatic and unsaturated hydrocarbons. However, the newest horticultural oils contain only tiny amounts of those compounds.

Another plant-damaging compound in oil is sulfur, and oils sometimes have a "UR" (unsulfonated residue) rating that indicates sulfur content. The higher the rating, the lower the sulfur content. Most horticultural oils have a UR rating of 90 or above.

Viscosity or thickness is another labeled measure of an oil's effectiveness and safety. (Oil viscosity is measured by how long it takes a given amount of oil to pass through a hole or ring.) For example, a lighter oil that takes 60 seconds to pass through a ring is a 6E oil; thicker oil that takes 80 seconds is an 8E oil. Lighter or thinner oils are more desirable. The UR rating and evaporation range are more reliable plant-safety predictors.

Over the years, horticulturists have coined several, sometimes confusing, terms for various oils.

Dormant oil is used on woody plants, especially fruit trees, during their dormant seasons. New, refined, lightweight oils have replaced older heavy dormant oils. Today, the name refers to the time and rate of application.

Mineral oil is a light, petroleum-derived oil gardeners can use to control corn earworm.

Narrow-range oil is a light oil graded according to the range of temperatures over which it evaporates. Lighter oils evaporate over a narrower range of temperatures than other oils, and thus this term is synonymous with superior or supreme oil. If an oil evaporates quickly, as light oils do, plants have a greater margin of safety.

Spray oil includes soaplike emulsifiers that allow water and oil to mix for spraying.

Summer oil is used on leafy plants during the growing season. Generally, it's the same as narrow-range, superior, and supreme oils.

Superior oil describes new, more refined oils that can be applied safely-at lower rates-to green leaves. Today, all horticultural oils are superior-type oils, and label directions specify varying application rates for use during dormancy or the growing season.

Supreme oil is one brand name for a superior or narrow-range oil.

Neem oil comes from the seeds of the neem tree ( Azadirachta indica ) and is used as both an insecticide and a fungicide. Neem oils such as Rose Defense or Trilogy (formerly NeemGuard) are effective at killing insect eggs and immature insects, notably small soft-bodied pests such as whiteflies and aphids. It has been shown that neem oil kills certain mite eggs, too. Neem oil also prevents powdery mildew and black spot. Use it on roses, fruit trees, and vegetables.

Neem-derived insecticides contain azadirachtin. Sold under trade names such as Azatin, Bioneem, Margosan-O, and Neemazad, they control whiteflies, aphids, and other soft-bodied insects. Neem oils are largely azadirachtin-free.

Other neem-seed compounds inhibit insect feeding, repel pests, disrupt insect growth, and kill fungi.

Vegetable oil is the term for any oil that's derived from oilseed crops such as soybean, rapeseed (canola), or cottonseed. Stoller's Natur'l Oil is cottonseed oil (the most insecticidal vegetable-seed oil) with an emulsifier. Soybean oil provides good control. Canola and sunflower oils are less effective, and corn oil shows mixed results intests.

How to Apply Oils

Most often, gardeners apply oils with a hose-end sprayer. Apply mineral oil with an eyedropper in the ear tips of corn to kill corn earworms.

Label directions on most oils prohibit their use within 30 days before or after a sulfur application. Other oil-incompatible pesticides exist. Be sure to check the label.

Temperature Restrictions

Labels of most horticultural oils warn against applying them to plants when temperatures are below 40 o F or above 90 o F. Labels continue to include this advice despite increasing evidence that this temperature range is conservatively narrow. It's more important that the plant shouldn't dry out, and humidity should be low enough (45 to 65 percent) for oil to evaporate quickly.

Dormant Season

Actively growing insects or mites are more susceptible than dormant ones. The best time to apply dormant-season oils is after insect dormancy ends in late winter or early spring when insects resume growth.

Growing Season

Read and follow labeled application instructions and precautions. Although the recommended temperatures may be moderate, don't assume safety. Irrigate the day before spraying to be sure plants do not lack water. Likewise, spray in the early morning on cloudy days of low humidity (to speed evaporation). Don't apply oils when shoots emerge in spring.

Oil-sensitive Plants

Several plants are susceptible to oils: maples, particularly Japanese and red maple; hickories and black walnut; plume cedar ( Cryptomeria japonica ) and smoke tree ( Cotinus coggygria ). Injury to these plants can occur from either dormant or summer oil applications. Several plants are also somewhat sensitive: redbud, junipers, cedars, spruce, and Douglas firs.

Light yellowing indicates that a summer oil application has burned the foliage. Later, these sites become water-soaked, darken, and die. Terminal or branch dieback indicates damage from a dormant application.

SPRAY APPLICATIONS STARTS @ $ 60.00 PER PROPERTY (15% if pre-paid for 6 applications of lawn and /or shrub care before march 15th or before the 1st application of the year)

Tree and Shrub Deep Root Feeding (an injection to the root system with nutrition, fertilization, hormons & numerous vitamins)

Does My Tree Need Deep Root Feeding?

Trees growing in their natural habitat should have access to all of the minerals they need to survive and grow. Anything you can do to mimic that habitat can reduce the need for fertilizer. This may include letting leaves remain on the ground in the fall instead of raking them up. Chances are, though, that despite your best efforts, the need for fertilizer will not be entirely eliminated.

When Should I Fertilize My Tree?

A good time to fertilize trees in most Northern temperate climates is from fall to mid-spring. At these times the tree's roots take the nutrients from the soil and apply them to important health-promoting functions such as root development and disease resistance, rather than simply putting out new growth.

During the growing season, fertilizing can help a tree overcome mineral deficiencies and fight off infections. If you are fertilizing in mid- to late summer, avoid formulations high in nitrogen as this will just promote weak, new growth that may be easily damaged in the winter.

Deep root fertilizing is a process in which a large spike is plunged into the tree’s root ball and fertilizer is pressure pumped through the spike into the soil.

Though any homeowner can go to a local garden supplier and buy a special attachment for their hose that will deliver a soluble form of nitrogen to their tree’s roots, it will not deliver the volume and potency that a professional rig will. The higher the pressure, the greater the spread of nutrients throughout the root system.

Deep root feeding has been shown by University studies to increase the growth rate of trees by 20% or more by supplying all the nutrients the tree will need for healthy growth.

Root feeding strengthens trees and helps the tree to cope with drought. A larger, healthier root system can draw more water from a greater area.

Deep root feeding is especially important in the city where there is no new source for nutrients other than the occasional broken sewer line and in suburbs where leaves are removed that would normally compost and feed the roots of the tree.

These applications are timed for late fall or early spring. It is important to remember that tree roots remain active until the soil drops below 40-degrees Fahrenheit -- this is several weeks after the leaves have fallen in the fall, and a few weeks before they appear in the spring. Deep root feeding in the spring will encourage tip and leaf growth. Fertilizing in the fall develops roots.

Have you fed your trees this year? If not, they may be quite hungry, if not starving.

Trees should be fertilized in October, or in April as soon as the frost leaves the ground. By fertilizing in the fall, some of the nutrients will have a chance to be absorbed by the roots and will already be in the ground when the roots resume functioning in the spring.

Since we don't see the roots, we often don't realize that they continue growing and absorbing nutrients long after the leaves fall, often into December, and begin work again in the spring before the leaves return. After all, they must be absorbing nutrients and water to enable the leaves to resume growth.

A tree may be getting adequate nutrients from the soil already, but it may benefit from additional fertilizer to keep it growing at its best. A healthy, vigorous tree is much less susceptible to attacks from disease, insects, and other stresses.

The recent ice storm a few years ago shows the difference between healthy and stressed trees. One of the hardest cities hit by this storm, Montreal, lost many street trees to ice damage-- trees stressed by many factors including inadequate fertility. Trees in the botanic garden, however, were little affected-- trees which had received proper care. So how do you know if your trees need fertilizer? A tree may need fertilizer if: 1) it makes very little growth, even though it is established and there is adequate rainfall; 2) its leaves in midsummer do not have a good green color, but are yellowish; 3) its leaves gradually become smaller, year after year; 4) its leaves turn to their autumn color and drop in August or early September.

Trees benefit from all of the elements, but usually respond more to applications of nitrogen. Often there is adequate phosphorus in soils from previous fertility.

Trees planted in a lawn will benefit from the same fertilizer as put on the lawn, so if you have fertilized the lawn last spring or early fall, there is probably no need to fertilize trees planted in it. If not, a complete fertilizer (one such as 10-10-10 containing nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium), put on with a fertilizer spreader at 3 or 4 pounds for each 100 square feet, should be adequate. Just make sure you don't use a lawn fertilizer containing herbicides for broad-leaved plants. Such fertilizer may damage or kill your trees.

For trees not planted in lawns, you may also broadcast fertilizer on the surface. Research has shown this to be effective, reaching tree roots, even in lawns. Or you may choose to root feed.

A common method of root feeding for home gardeners is to buy spikes of tree fertilizer and drive these down into the soil. Another method is to make holes in the soil with a crowbar, or similar tool, and pour fertilizer into these holes. Holes should be about 18 inches deep and 1-1/2 to 2 feet apart. They should start about 6 feet out from the trunk of older and larger trees, and extend out about 6 feet beyond the spread of the branches. For younger trees, make holes about every two to three square feet

For a fertilizer containing 10 percent nitrogen (such as 10-8-6), use 2 pounds for each inch of trunk diameter, measured at waist height. So a tree with a 10-inch diameter should receive 20 pounds of fertilizer.

Another method of root feeding is to use a tube you attach to the hose. On the hose end is a container to add fertilizer tablets. Simply push into the ground, turn on the water, and the fertilizer solution is injected into the root zone. Use similar spacing as above. This is the method usually used by tree care professionals. Such wands can be found in complete garden centers, and specialty garden supply catalogs. DEEP ROOT FEEDING TO TREES STARTS @ $25.00 PER (depending on size), SMALL BUSHES PRICES STARTS @ $5.00 PER SHRUB (minimum of 10 shurbs) THERE`S A BULK RATE FOR PROPERTIES WITH MORE THAT 10 TREES AND SHRUBS. RATES START AT $125.00

1. STARTS WITH A SPRING CLEAN UP SERVICE IN MARCH OR APRIL $200.00

   POWER RAKE SERVICE, SEED AN RE-SEED IF NECESSARY, GRANULATED LIME, PEAT MOSS, FERTILIZE IF NECESSARY, CLEAN WINDOW & FLOWER BEDS, CLEAN CURVE SIDE, DUMP LANDSCAPING GARBAGE, CUT & EDGE LAWN AREA, WEED WACKER SERVICE AROUND LAWN AREA (price will depend on size and condition of property)

2. MOWING SERVICE ($22.50, oversize or corner property $27.50) FROM THE MIDDLE OF APRIL TO THE MIDDLE OF NOVEMBER. ALL NECESSARY TREATMENTS ($35.00) TO LAWN EX: ALL WEED KILLER PRODUCTS AS NEEDED TO LAWN, PATIOS, WALKWAYS X 2, CRABGRASS CONTROL x 2, GRUB CONTROL, CRABGRASS CONTROL X 2, INSECT CONTROL, FUNGUS CONTROL (only if absolutely necessary), FERTILIZE 3 TIMES, (there will no charge if a second treatment is needed to control lawn problems from the application schedule), TRIMMING SHRUBS ONCE A YEAR IN JUNE, JULY OR AUGUST $100.00 (2nd trimming @ 1/2 price) AERATE SERVICE $100.00 (fall seeding, includes service seed & fertilizer)

3. FALL CLEAN UP SERVICE $200.00

   FINAL CUT & EDGE FOR THE SEASON, CLEAN & PREPARE FLOWER BEDS, A VERY LIGHT TRIMMING IF NECESSARY, DUMP LANDSCAPE GARBAGE (extra fees and cost for excess garbage and debris), GRANULATED LIME AND WINTER FERTILIZATION APPLICATIONS

ESTIMATE FOR THE YEAR $ 1,600.00

(customer is entitled to free services, discounts, priority work orders and coupons EX; gutter cleaning, flowers, top soil, mulch, shrub treatments)

1. STARTS WITH A SPRING CLEAN UP SERVICE IN MARCH OR APRIL $200.00

   POWER RAKE SERVICE, SEED AN RE-SEED IF NECESSARY, GRANULATED LIME, PEAT MOSS, FERTILIZE IF NECESSARY, CLEAN WINDOW & FLOWER BEDS, CLEAN CURVE SIDE, DUMP LANDSCAPING GARBAGE, CUT & EDGE LAWN AREA, WEED WACKER SERVICE AROUND LAWN AREA (price will depend on size and condition of property)

2. MOWING SERVICE ($22.50, oversize or corner property $27.50) FROM THE MIDDLE OF APRIL TO THE MIDDLE OF NOVEMBER. ALL NECESSARY TREATMENTS ($35.00) TO LAWN EX: ALL WEED KILLER PRODUCTS AS NEEDED TO LAWN, PATIOS, WALKWAYS X 2, CRABGRASS CONTROL x 2, GRUB CONTROL, CRABGRASS CONTROL X 2, INSECT CONTROL, FUNGUS CONTROL (only if absolutely necessary), FERTILIZE 3 TIMES, (there will no charge if a second treatment is needed to control lawn problems from the application schedule), TRIMMING SHRUBS ONCE A YEAR IN JUNE, JULY OR AUGUST $100.00 (2nd trimming @ 1/2 price) AERATE SERVICE $100.00 (fall seeding, includes service seed & fertilizer)

3. FALL CLEAN UP SERVICE $200.00

   FINAL CUT & EDGE FOR THE SEASON, CLEAN & PREPARE FLOWER BEDS, A VERY LIGHT TRIMMING IF NECESSARY, DUMP LANDSCAPE GARBAGE (extra fees and cost for excess garbage and debris), GRANULATED LIME AND WINTER FERTILIZATION APPLICATIONS

ESTIMATE FOR THE YEAR $ 1,600.00

(customer is entitled to free services, discounts, priority work orders and coupons EX; gutter cleaning, flowers, top soil, mulch, shrub treatments)

5 - SAME AS SECTION 2 A & B (fall)