Execution

• Track progress
• Reevaluate in a timely manner and adjust plan as necessary
• Communicate and document progress

We cut the grass and crunch the numbers. For many corporate clients, the look of their property is closely aligned with their public brand image. Corporate responsibility extends into environmental safeguards, resource management and sustainable business practices, all of which come into consideration in our landscape management plans. On the business side, corporate clients benefit from our proficiency with long-term budget projections, capital needs assessment, and ROI analysis. On the ground, there can be “micro-environments” across properties or within one larger campus setting where amenities such as sport courts and fields, indoor/outdoor eating and meeting spaces, or parking structures often require specialized equipment and skills to maintain.

Just like politics, all landscaping is local, too. By definition, associations and multi-family properties have multiple constituents and are part of larger residential neighborhoods. School zones, parks, noise and day-part covenants all must be taken into consideration. We understand that our service delivery plan must integrate well with the greater community.
On a practical level, a stable supervisory team ensures continuity year to year in a sector where turnover of HOA governance is common. A detailed record of history-of-service and other information particular to the property is a kind of “institutional knowledge” that clients rely on. And we often help educate homeowners, governing boards and other stakeholders on how landscape and property management best practices can help to maximize the value of their properties.

Curb appeal is a competitive advantage. In the competitive world of commercial office leasing, a comprehensive landscape plan that is sensitive to costs as well as aesthetics is a strategic advantage. NLS creates programs that work within a property’s specific P & L and manages landscape capital investments so that your property looks good from the street and on the balance sheet. Our teams operate as the “eyes and ears” of property management, anticipating and planning for necessary repairs or enhancements. We also advocate for the property as a whole, surveying the physical structures, alerting management to issues that need to be addressed and facilitating their resolution.

A private company with public accountability. Even more than other sectors, servicing the “public square” brings with it an additional burden of professionalism. Public parks, sports fields and green space frequented by kids and pets, as well as busy public thoroughfares and sidewalks, all require that we follow detailed operational procedures that safeguard citizens and property. Contracting with local governments and public entities not only requires cooperative relationships with city maintenance departments, but it holds us to an overall higher standard of integrity. Because of our commitment to and respect for our team, all of our business and hiring practices are compliant with state and federal wage and labor regulations.

Even loading docks need a little love. Your industrial properties require solutions that go beyond duct tape, but fall short of gold plate. Heavy commercial truck traffic inflicts a toll on paved surfaces, turf, median strips and curbs. These are recurring issues that require pragmatic, cost-effective solutions.Tree limbs and hedges that encroach on sight lines around loading docks and other delivery areas need to be maintained. And surface sweeping, runoff and crack weed eradication have become sensitive issues. NLS has experience implementing pragmatic approaches to manage all of these areas.

Retail is detail. Effective maintenance of landscapes and hardscapes for retail properties requires the ability to execute across a full-spectrum of services – in a way that supports the property manager and is responsive to key anchor tenants. Service delivery strategies that minimize impact during business hours are always a key consideration. Sweeping and pressure washing hard surfaces, refuse pick up, maintaining median strip plantings, proper pruning of perimeter hedges, even lighting, are all managed with a particular eye for public safety and consumer appeal.

Regular inspection allows us to address problems before they become too serious. Crown dieback, trunk decay and reduced vigor are some signs of health problems that prompt further analysis. Our arborists thoroughly diagnose your trees and make recommendations for appropriate regimens.

Our pruning practices involve selectively removing branches within the crown and interior of the trees to reduce the risk of failure for the future while also promoting their health, integrity and a prolonged life.

Raising – means to “raise the crown” which basically means clearing some of the lower branches. To avoid leaving wounds or marks, regular raising of the canopy should occur on younger trees. The reason for raising is to accommodate more urban environments. It is generally implemented when tree limbs get in the way of structures or people. The preferable clearance for structures is 10′-15′.

Reduction – Reduction is a practice that focuses on the skillful and discriminate reduction of stems that may need to be cut back for several reasons. One of the practices we do NOT do is topping trees. When you top trees, you remove crucial branches or trunks that cause large wounds in the trees, leaving them open to decay. We want to respect the natural branching of a tree; to keep the beauty of a tree one should avoid topping.

Canopy Thinning – This is often performed on trees that are overgrown. Often, thinning is necessary for tree structural reasons. Also, increased light penetration (to help your grass or other plants grow) is often a reason for such pruning. The best practice is to not remove more than 15%-20% of the foliage on the tree and one should only be cutting branches that are 2 inches thick.

Structural Pruning for Younger Trees – This pruning practice is probably the most overlooked by clients and so-called tree care professionals. Because most site conditions in an urban environment allow for more light to your tree than if if was in the forest, your tree grows much differently than its natural setting. Proper structural growth for your tree from tree establishment is crucial for the health of your tree later in life, particularly in the context of storm damage prevention.

MTS offers the latest in Tree Health Care practices. Our most efficient method for delivering tree health care methods is with the use of Truck Injection. Trunk injections involve inserting a small needle into the bark of the tree & injecting a product that will aid in the health of the tree. The process eliminates the need to perform an aerial spray which can cause unwanted & unsightly overspray. It also gets the product into the tree where it will perform for a longer period of time than traditional aerial spray applications. A typical trunk injection will suppress and control infestation for up to 5 months vs. traditional foliar/spray methods which provide no more than 45 days of control before needing re-application.