While no plant is completely resistant to disease, some Louisville plants can ward off disease better than others.
Here in Louisville, there are more than 25 common plant diseases that we see pop up. Our hot and humid summers certainly play a role in that. Landscape diseases can be serious and need to be diagnosed by a professional.
At the very least, diseases can cause cosmetic damage that will leave plants unsightly.
For that reason, many homeowners are interested in low maintenance plants for Kentucky landscapes. This includes plants that are less prone to experiencing problems with disease.
While some of these do include native plants to Kentucky, there are many non-natives that have adapted well to our conditions.
We will cover:
Best plants to grow in Kentucky
How to maintain Louisville plants
Choosing plant health services in Louisville KY
After reading this article, we hope that you’ll have a better understanding of the types of plants that can thrive in your Louisville landscape as well as what’s involved in maintaining them.
Choosing the best Louisville plants for your landscape is a combination of personal preference and assessing what’s best for your specific property. But there are certainly some plants that are better-suited to growing in our region than others.
Often, homeowners ask us about disease-resistant trees. While people assume that these must be native plants to Kentucky, that’s not always the case. For instance, the Elm is native to Kentucky and still prone to problems.
What we’ve found is most of the disease-resistant trees are those that tend to tolerate alkaline soils, which is what we have here in Louisville. That means a pH that is 7 or slightly higher.
Any time that you plant an acid-loving plant in Kentucky soils, you’re probably going to have issues and find that it’s not thriving. This might also make it more prone to disease.
Some of the trees that we have found are relatively disease-resistant and perform well in Louisville landscapes include the following.
As far as the best plants to grow in a Kentucky landscape, the same is true of seeking choices that perform best in our soil conditions.
Some potential choices include the following.
Again, no plant is completely disease-resistant. But choosing Louisville plants that will perform well in our soils and handle our climates will help set you up for success.
The first step to ensuring a healthy landscape is installing plants that will perform well in our local climate and soils.
But even if you make wise plant choices, you still want to take steps to prevent a disease problem from popping up. While even healthy plants can be subject to problems, the healthier your plants are, the better they will fare.
Some of the maintenance services your plants need to perform optimally include plant health care services, pruning, and watering.
Let’s talk about each.
The best way to produce healthy plants that are more resistant to problems is with proper plant care. Specifically, Plant Health Care services involve a customized program with treatments that are designed for your property.
Diseases are not the only problem that your plants will face. There are also pests and environmental stressors that can take a toll. Plant Health Care services can help your plants defend themselves against these issues.
These services might include:
In many cases, Plant Health Care can PREVENT problems from occurring in the first place. That’s a big deal as problems generally cost at least twice as much (if not more) than simply investing in routine care.
In addition to helping prevent problems, some of the other benefits of investing in plant health care include:
An investment in a plant health care service is ultimately an investment in the beauty of your landscape.
Proper pruning is also critical when it comes to promoting optimal plant health.
Pruning can also play a role in disease control. If your tree is infected or decaying, it’s important to stop those problems from spreading. Making selective pruning cuts can help remove the issue before it spreads to other parts of your tree.
This is an important step in disease control.
When a tree care professional comes out to prune a tree, they’re also evaluating it for any potential problems that might be occurring and coming up with a game plan. Trees in the suburban landscape are not only subject to potential disease problems but also pests, environmental stressors, and more. Periodically having your trees evaluated is important.
After all, if a large tree were to decline, it could begin to pose a serious risk to your property. There are times when a tree is in really bad shape and we have to weigh whether tree pruning or tree removal is the best course of action.
Watering is also an essential maintenance need of Louisville plants and how you water can impact the overall performance.
Proper watering becomes particularly critical in the summer as we often experience drought conditions. Water needs to be delivered slowly and steadily for optimal success. The proper amount is key as overwatering can lead to trouble with root rot and other issues.
First and foremost, having a healthy landscape does start with making smart plant choices. Sometimes homeowners install a tree or shrub on their landscape that is not well-suited to our region and will ultimately always experience problems.
Even when you do all the “maintenance steps” the right way, a plant that is poorly suited to our region is never going to perform its best.
After you’ve installed Louisville plants that are smart choices for our region, you still want to make sure you’re maintaining them properly. That includes investing in plant health services in Louisville, KY.
When you invest in plant health care services, you can ultimately save yourself the time, aggravation, and money involved in having to replace trees and shrubs that have died. When plants are properly protected, you can save yourself from a lot of hassles and headaches of dealing with landscape problems.
You’ll also now have a plant health care expert on your side, helping make valuable recommendations in regard to the ongoing care of your landscape. This means letting go of worries associated with diseases, pests, and other problems, and knowing that your landscape is in good hands.
If you’d like to learn more about plant health care for your Louisville home, get in touch, get your quote, and get back to enjoying your yard.
