Careful cuts

Spring pruning can be tricky because trees and shrubs are putting out new leaves, and pruning can weaken plants that are putting forth energy to grow, says Kent Honl, arborologist at Rainbow Treecare in eastern Minnesota.

Honl says his company will start spring pruning in a few weeks, but he doesn’t get bogged down in the minutiae of timing too much. He cites a saying from his time studying horticulture at University of California Santa Cruz.

“They told me the best time to prune is when your blade is sharp,” he says.

And if you need to remove dead wood, any time is a good time, Honl says.

Without the proper pruning, trees can become unruly and unstable.

For the full story, on the Lawn & Landscape website, check out bit.ly/springshrubs.

New name, same great content

We’ve rebranded our podcast network as the Lawn & Landscape Radio Network, and it’ll be sponsored by Syngenta. Here, you’ll find great content on the technical aspects of the industry, as well as lessons to help you manage the business aspects of your company. You can subscribe to the network through iTunes. Just search for the Lawn & Landscape Radio Network.

First up, Lawn & Landscape Editor Chuck Bowen sat down with Jason Cupp to discuss how to make the right kinds of New Year’s resolutions for your business, what questions you should be asking yourself and the benefits of a thesaurus.

As we head into the 2016 season, these are important points to remember. Visit bit.ly/LLRNetwork to make sure you’re on the right track for the year.

It’s that time of year

In this issue, we’ve revealed our 2016 Lawn & Landscape Top 100 list on pg 53. It’s an opportunity for you to check out the competition and see how landscape companies are doing in different parts of the country. Who’s increased in revenue? Who’s decreased in revenue? What companies made the list for the first time ever?

While you’re at it, head on over to bit.ly/LawnTop100 to check out last year’s list, as well as the articles featured in the section. We also have links to the Top 100 lists dating back to 2005, so be sure to check those out too!

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