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Pruning for your Landscape Business

Apr 4

Posted by Lawn Care Business in landscaping, lawn business strategies, lawn care videos, lawn equipment, pruning | 1 Comment

by:
Lawn Care Business

How to properly
prune a limb off a tree.

Small pruning jobs can bring extra money into your lawn care / landscaping business. In today’s example, we have a branch that
has been damaged. The bark is peeling away from the subwood. The entire limb is
dead and needs to be pruned off to maintain the health of the tree.  Read
the directions below the video window.

 

 


This tree limb is joined at a collared union

This limb is joined at a collared union. 
The bark of the tree poofs out as the limb come out of the tree. The poofed out
part is the collar. All cuts at a collared union should be on the branch side of
the collar. You should never cut into the collar of a tree. Cutting into a
collar can do severe damage to the tree.

If this branch were smaller, we could use a pair of anvil loppers to prune away
the branch. Since it is so large, our anvils will not produce a correct cut. For
this branch we are going to use a bow saw. A pruning saw will work too.


Proper pruning: Three Cut Method

The proper method of cutting a branch with
a saw is to use the three-cut method of pruning. If you just use the saw and cut
it at the collar, the weight of the branch will pull down and you risk tearing
the collar damaging the tree. We are going to use the three-cut method.

The first cut is made on the underside of the branch about 5 inches away from
the collar. Cut the branch about 1/4 way through.


Underside Pruning Cut

The second cut is made about 2 inches
further away from the collar than the underside cut. As you can see in the
video, while making the top cut the branch fell downward before the cut was
complete. This action tore the underside of the branch to the underside cut. If
we had not made the underside cut, the tear may have proceeded to the collar and
damaged the health wood inside. The underside cut protected the collar.

After the main branch is cut away, you can make a third cut just outside of the
collar to cut away the remaining stub to finish your pruning job.

Pruning Sealant

On some pruning cuts, you may need to use
an arborists’ sealer to protect against insects and disease. However, since we
made this pruning cut during the cold season, we are not going to seal the cut.

Lawn Care / Landscaping Pricing Guidance

For more information on how to start a lawn
care and landscaping business, check out our lawn care business program found
at:
http://www.StartALawnCareBusiness.com 

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Pruning shears for the lawn care business

Mar 30

Posted by Lawn Care Business in lawn business strategies, lawn equipment, pruning | 1 Comment

by: www.StartALawnCareBusiness.com

Pruning Tools for your Lawn Care Business

Sooner or later your lawn care customers are going to ask you to prune
shrubbery branches or small tree limbs. Proper pruning is an art and as an
artist you must employ the proper tools for the job.

There are two types of loppers which will help you perform the
most common types of pruning jobs.
Shears are small handled cutting devices.  Loppers are very similar to
shears though loppers have longer handles than shears.
The two types of loppers are bypass and anvil.
 

Bypass Loppers

bypass lopping shears loppers pruning

The most familiar type of lopper is the bypass lopper. 
Bypass loppers are designed to cut through green and soft woody material. 
Bypass loppers should not be used to cut hard woods or softwood branches that
have hardened over time.  Overly tough cutting jobs will deform the cutting
blade.

Bypass loppers have two blades.  The
cutting blade severs the branch while the counter blade provides resistance
against the branch.

bypass lopper blades, cutting and counter


Anvil Loppers

anvil loppers for cutting hardwood

Anvil loppers are tougher than bypass
loppers.  Anvil loppers are designed for hard woods and branches that have
hardened over time.

Anvil loppers have one blade and one anvil. 
At the end of the cut, the blade comes to rest within a grove in the anvil. 
The anvil is often made of a soft metal which will not damage the cutting blade.

anvil and cutting blade

 

We advocate teaching new lawn care
companies how to properly prune low, small tree branches and shrubs. 
Proper pruning knowledge will gain you respect with your lawn care customers
allowing you to attract better quality customers that are willing to pay you a
higher price to do their lawn care work.

If you want to operate a better,
more profitable lawn care and landscaping business, check out our lawn care business program available from our website: 
www.StartALawnCareBusiness.com

 

 

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Lawn care mowing equipment. The importance of buying the right mower.

Mar 28

Posted by Lawn Care Business in lawn equipment, lawn mowers | No Comments

by: Lawn Care Business

Commercial lawn mower selection.

Getting a “good deal” on a lawn mower isn’t a good deal if you buy the wrong mower.

We consult with thousands of lawn care business owners. Every year, we see the same problem over and over. Many LCO’s purchase equipment based on price alone and they wind up buying the wrong equipment.

1) Know your lawns:

Are your lawns large or small, flat or hilly, rough or smooth? Knowing the types of lawns you will be mowing will help you with your lawn mower selection. There is no need to purchase a 72″ ZTR if the majority of your lawns are 1/4 acre lots with fenced back yards.

2) Know your budget:

If your company is starting small and you are only going to service 5 or 10 customers per week, it makes little sense to spend $12,000 on the latest 24hp, propane powered, floating deck finishing mower. A good rule of thumb is to spend 1 month’s projected revenue on your lawn mower. If you expect to service ten $30 lawns per week, you should budget $1200 for your lawn mower. For $1200, you can get a quality used commercial walkbehind that should allow you to mow for the entire season and save enough money to purchase better equipment next season as your business continues to grow.

3) Know your abilities:

We all have different physical abilities. You must feel comfortable with your lawn mower. If you have reduced hand strength, pick a mower with easy to use controls. If you are not physically able to walk for hours on end during the heat of the summer, choose a riding style mower such as a ZTR or a walkbehind mower with a sulky or velky.

Choosing the correct lawn care equipment will help your lawn care company be more efficient and profitable.

There is a large guidebook on equipment selection in our Lawn Care Business program available through our website: www.StartALawnCareBusiness.com

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Propane powered lawn equipment.

Mar 21

Posted by Lawn Care Business in lawn equipment, propane, weedeaters | 13 Comments

by: Start A Lawn Care Business

During the Louisville, Ky lawn and garden expo, I saw many lawn care equipment manufacturers displaying propane powered lawn mowers. As pollution laws become more strict, LCO’s are going to offer more and more lawn equipment powered by clean technology.

I’m not sure about your weedeater but one of my old reliable stringtrimmers is a real polluter. Even when it’s dialed in and running right, there is a slightly visible exhaust at all times. I attempt to be as environmentally friendly in my business but there has been very little to replace the 2 cycle engines…until now.

I am glad to say that I picked up a Lehr propane powered weedeater today. After assembling the unit and purchasing a couple cannisters of propane, I gave it a 15 minute test.

I am impressed with initial tests. It starts quickly, it’s quieter than gasoline powered units, torque is impressive, and rev up time seems to be less than my echo trimmer.

My standard review takes about 3 weeks to complete. I will have a long range follow-up review in several months.

Please keep an eye on this blog to see results.

Amazon.com has these propane powered weed eaters in stock. Click the link below to order.

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Commercial lawn mower selection for lawn care business owners.

Mar 5

Posted by Lawn Care Business in lawn equipment | No Comments

As developers of the Start A Lawn Care Business we receive many questions this time of year concerning the purchase of commercial lawn equipment.

It amazes us how many landscaping companies purchase mowing equipment because they think they are getting a “good deal” only to find that a particular mower is the wrong fit for their company.

Retail Lawn Mowers vs Commercial Grass Cutting Equipment:
We understand the need to save money especially when you are starting a lawn care company. However, purchasing consumer lawn equipment as your primary mowing machine is a disservice to you and your customers. Commercial mowers offer far greater quality in deck strength, welds, and transmission.

The right style:
Zero Turn Mowers are the latest “must have” in the lawn care industry. We agree that ZTR’s and other zero radius mower are efficient for a wide range of lawn applications. However (and this is just one example) if you live in a hilly part of the country where your yards are not reasonably flat, there may be a better choice than a zero turn mower your lawn company.

The right size:
It happens every year; a purchase decision is made over a new commercial lawn mower, financing is finalized, paperwork is signed, then when the LCO comes to pick up the mower, he finds his trailer is too small. Or, even worse, he realizes many of his customers have fenced back yards and the new “36 inch” mower’s grass guard adds too much width and the mower won’t fit in the back gate.

Lawn mower equipment purchasing decisions can be easy if you know the proper questions to ask and what to examine on a new mower.

The Start A Lawn Care Business package has a large detailed section showing you how to choose the right lawn mower for your grass cutting business.

Find us on the web at: http://www.StartALawnCareBusiness.com

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