Hiring A Landscape Maintenance Company In Missoula, Montana

Hiring A Landscape Maintenance Company In Missoula, Montana

Are you looking to hire a landscaping company to take care of your residential or commercial property care needs?  There are many things to consider when choosing the right company and if you’re looking for the highest level of service and attention to detail you don’t want to choose the cheapest estimate you can find.  Your property will stand out for all of the wrong reasons if you choose a company that doesn’t truly care.

Here are a few things to consider before you choose a landscaping company to maintain your properties landscape.

Why Are You Looking For A Landscaping Company?

It’s obvious you need someone to care for your property but what is the specific reason you’re on our website looking today?

• Are you unhappy with your existing landscape company?
• Is your existing maintenance contract up and you want a change?
• Have you just installed a new landscape and want it to look great?
• Do you have a property that has been neglected for some time and needs restoring?
• Are you looking to list and sell your property in the near future?

Determining “why” you need a landscape maintenance company can help guide your decision as to which service provider might be best for you.  Your property is unique and whether you have an intricate landscape or something fairly basic you need a company that can come up with an effective plan to always keep your property looking it’s best.

Make Sure They Have Proper Insurance

There are literally hundreds of “landscapers” that are driving around in a pickup truck with a few tools who are willing to “care” for your property.  This doesn’t make them a professional and it certainly doesn’t protect your property (or your residents) if the landscaper is uninsured.  Always ask for proof of insurance from your landscape maintenance contractor and you’ll also want to make sure the policy has adequate coverage for your specific type of property.

• What if they back up a trailer into your building or another car?
• What if their trimmer sends a rock through one of your windows?
• What if they have an accident that hurts someone on-site?

It’s just not worth the risk to have an uninsured landscaper caring for your property.

Professional Equipment

If you want a nice looking landscape it’s going to take professional grade equipment and knowledgeable, experienced, people to operate it.  Commercial grade lawn mowers, trimmers, and blowers are designed for the rigorous use of professional landscape maintenance crews.  If your landscaper is using homeowner grade equipment not only will the end product look less professional but they have a greater chance of having equipment break down.  When equipment breaks down it can lead to gaps in service and your properties appearance suffers.

Professional grade maintenance equipment is also usually much more efficient so your landscape maintenance company ends up spending less time (for a better looking job) then those who are using home owner grade equipment.

What type of equipment should your landscaper have?

• Commercial grade lawn mowers (either ride-on or push).
• Commercial grade lawn trimmers.
• Blowers to blow debris off hard surfaces and out of mulch beds.
• Commercial grade hedge trimmers to keep trees and hedges nicely shaped.
• A dumping trailer so they can handle lots of organic debris in single trips.
• Enclosed trailers that house all of their equipment so they have everything they need on-site.

Detailed Monthly Service Plan

Your property care requirements aren’t the same each and every month, they can change with the seasons, and also due to the weather.  If you have a large property with an intricate landscape it’s important that your landscape maintenance company provide a detailed monthly plan for the work they feel your property is going to need on a monthly basis.

• What is included during the spring season?
• What is included during the summer?
• What is included during the winter months?

Tree, Hedge & Shrub Care

Trees, hedges, and shrubs are often an integral part of any large landscape and if not maintained properly they can become unhealthy and are generally just an eye-sore for the property.  Having unkept bushes and shrubs right next to your building also reduce security as they provide places for trespassers or other nefarious individuals to hide.

Different species of trees, hedges, and shrubs require different levels of care.  A large privacy hedge might need to be trimmed once or twice per year, while faster growing small shrubs and decorative bushes might need to be reshaped every month depending on how vigorously they are growing.

Look for tree care in your landscape proposal and make sure the services being provided will be adequate for your property.

• How often are they trimmed?
• Do they provide shaping services?
• Do they remove/handle all the trimmings?

Mulch Bed Care

Your mulch beds will require regular care if you want them always looking their best.  This could include establishing the edges, weeding (either using chemicals or hand-pulling), dead heading blooms, annual replanting of perennials, transplanting plants, soil spreading, and mulch installation to give the beds a nice uniform appearance.  You may wish to change their seasonal appearance too with different seasonal plantings.  Great looking and well-cared for mulch beds really improve your curb appeal and the well being of all your residents.

Lawn Care & Lawn Mowing

Most HOA’s and condo or townhome properties have extensive lawn areas.  Lawn care encompasses much more than just regular mowing.  While your lawn needs to be mowed regularly (preferably weekly) in order to maintain it’s healthy appearance, it also needs to be fertilized, aerated, and to have the weeds removed.  While every properties lawn requirements are going to be different, look for your landscape company to provide a detailed monthly plan on how they’re going to care for your lawn.

• Do they provide seasonal fertilizing?
• Do they aerate the lawn at least once per year?
• Do they maintain the irrigation or sprinkler system?
• Do they mow with professional equipment?
• Do they include trimming and blowing off of hard surfaces?
• What is their policy when it rains?

These are all good questions to ask your landscape maintenance contractor so you can be sure you’re getting the right care that your lawn needs to stay healthy, vibrant, and looking great.

Landscape Restoration

If your property has been neglected or was receiving sub-par care over a long period of time there might be some restoration work that is required to get your property back into it’s best state.  Restoration services could include lawn remediation, grading of soil, establishing new edges around garden beds or tree wells, repairing or maintaining irrigation and sprinkler systems, installing new soil or mulch into garden beds, and more.

What Happens After A Storm?

Wind storms can make a real mess of a beautiful landscape and without a plan in place your property might look like a disaster for several days if not weeks after a big storm rolls through.  Ask your landscaping contractor what their standard protocol is for dealing with storm debris.

• Do they come out right away?
• Do they have so many customers it might take days before they get to you?
• Do they have the manpower to get your property taken care of quickly?
• Do they anticipate a few of these events in your pricing or will it be additional billed time?

Winter Services Like Snow & Ice Control

During the winter your landscaping is dormant but that doesn’t mean your property doesn’t still need maintenance.  In our area many landscaping companies shift to winter services which can include snow plowing, snow removal, and ice control services.

If your landscape maintenance includes the need for snow and ice control here are a few questions you should ask.

• What type of equipment do you they use?
• Are they insured for snow removal?
• What is their accumulation trigger?  Do they come out when it’s 1 inch deep?  2 inches deep?  Or when the snow has stopped falling?
• Do they shovel sidewalks and entrance ways?

Big Sky Lawn And Land Provides Professional Landscape Maintenance Throughout The Missoula, Montana

Big Sky Lawn And Land is a full service landscape maintenance company serving properties within the Missoula County, Montana.  We provide our landscape maintenance services for residential properties, residential estates, HOA’s, condos, townhomes, and commercial properties.  We provide detailed seasonal maintenance plans that are custom tailored to our clients individual properties to keep them looking their best.

If you’d like to request an on-site consultation for your landscape maintenance please give us a call 406-239-3449 or fill out our online form and we’ll get right back to you.