Providing the Westhampton area with Premier Tree & Shrub Health Care Services

Considering landscape plants are a substantial outdoor investment (and some mature trees are irreplaceable), we suggest implementing a tree and shrub health care program to protect your plants’ appearance, health, and vitality. Specifically, our plant and shrub health care programs take the following (and much more) into consideration:

• Many trees and shrubs are subject to environmental issues or factors such as insects, mites, and diseases that compromise their ability to thrive
• Some beautiful and much-loved specimen plants may not be native to this part of the world
• Landscapes are exposed to stressors like construction, grade changes, soil compaction, mechanical injury, over- or under-watering, road salt, and/or air pollution
• And, we have salt spray, wind, and deer issues too!

In order for plants to thrive and survive, the Dragonfly Landscape Design team offers Mother Nature a bit of assistance. Our certified applicators will identify the ornamentals on your property, and will tailor a program to protect those plants from the threats specific to them. With proper maintenance, observation, and carefully targeted application procedures, we will keep your plants healthy and pest-free. From horticultural oil in the spring to anti-desiccant in the winter, we’ll protect your plants year-round!

Our Goals

Plant health care is the proactive approach to maintaining tree, shrub, and groundcover health through horticultural management and integrated treatments. The goals of our tree and shrub health care program include the following:

• Improve plant health, making plants naturally more resistant to environmental stressors such as drought, pests, and disease
• Enhance blooms, extend bloom time, increase bloom density, and deepen bloom colors
• Provide professional monitoring for early detection of problems and issues
• Provide preventative care for stress management and diseases
• Prevent damage by insect populations
• Reduce nuisance pests by treating the places they feed and nest
• Integrate treatments that provide long-term solutions

The most critical element of a successful plant health care program is an extensive knowledge of potential threats and appropriate treatments. The Dragonfly Landscape Design team includes experts in plant material and related insects and diseases that are local to our geographic area. The controls we use for insect and disease problems, combined with our application methods, are both eco-friendly and effective. Moreover, the purpose of our monitoring visits is to limit the use of applications to those circumstances where they are truly necessary.

Over the course of a few seasons, your Dragonfly Landscape Design technician will develop a thorough knowledge of the landscape and become aware of any potential threats to it. 

Keeping Pollinators Safe

At Dragonfly Landscape Design, our plant health care team takes care to keep pollinators safe:  We avoid “drift” and runoff:

• We keep the pesticide on the pest problem
• We don’t spray when it is windy (to ensure the pesticide doesn’t drift into unintended areas)
• We don’t spray when rain is in the forecast (to ensure the pesticide doesn’t wash off your yard or driveway into streams or storm drains)
• We only spray the targeted areas, avoiding hard surfaces such as sidewalks and driveways

We avoid spraying pollinators:

• If the pesticide label contains a caution to avoid “actively visiting” bees, we apply that pesticide before dawn or near sunset

We avoid subsequent pollinator damage: 

• If the pesticide label contains a caution to avoid “visiting” bees, we do not apply the pesticide on blooming flowers 
• And, we never spray flowers or plants currently in bloom

Optional Deep Root Fertilization

Deep root fertilization is the most preferred method of fertilizing trees and shrubs. Deep root fertilization is the process of injecting a liquid, time-released fertilizer about 8-12" deep and 2-3' apart in a grid pattern around the base of a tree or shrub. The fertilizer is injected below the roots of the surface vegetation to provide maximum benefit to the slightly deeper roots of the trees and shrubs. Surface fertilization, such as typical lawn fertilization, does not provide a significant benefit to trees and shrubs as the fibrous roots of lawn and ground covers restrict the nutrients from filtering down to the deeper subsurface soil layer where the roots of the trees and shrubs reside. This process also acts as a type of aeration which allows for much-needed oxygen to reach the deeper root systems of some trees and shrubs.

There are numerous benefits to deep root fertilization including:

• Providing proper nutrients for trees placed precisely where the plant needs them
• Encouraging root growth
• Aerating soil
• Reducing soil compaction
• Improving health and appearance of trees and shrubs
• Making trees and shrubs more resistant to disease and insect infestation

Labels for the products we use to support your lawn and plant health care can be found on the resources page of this website.

For Healthy Trees in the Hamptons

We serve the residents in the greater Westhampton area (Eastport, Remsenburg, Westhampton, Westhampton Beach, Westhampton Dunes, Quiogue, Quogue, East Quogue, Hampton Bays) and neighboring communities. We are here to deliver professional service, local expertise, garden joy, and responsive customer support for your landscaping projects.

Call us at (631) 288-8158, contact us or email us at info@dragonflyltd.com to protect your landscape investment!