Landscape Maintenance and Management Flashcards

What is deadheading and what is its primary benefit in a landscape?

Answer: Removing spent flowers to extend blooming period

Deadheading removes spent flower heads before seed set, redirecting the plant's energy into producing more flowers and extending the blooming season.

What is the one-third rule in turf mowing?

Answer: Never remove more than one-third of the grass blade height in a single mowing

Removing more than one-third of the blade in one mowing stresses the grass, reduces photosynthetic capacity, and results in scalping, browning, and weakened turf.

What does topdressing a lawn mean in turf management?

Answer: Applying a thin layer of compost or sand over the turf surface

Topdressing involves spreading a thin layer of compost, sand, or soil mix over an existing lawn to improve soil structure, level the surface, and reduce thatch.

What is selective pruning versus shearing in shrub maintenance?

Answer: Selective pruning removes individual branches; shearing cuts the entire surface uniformly

Selective pruning removes specific branches to improve structure and maintain natural form, while shearing uniformly cuts the outer surface creating an artificial, rigid shape.

What is renewal pruning for older, overgrown deciduous shrubs?

Answer: Removing one-third of the oldest stems at ground level each year over 3 years

Renewal pruning rejuvenates overgrown shrubs by removing the oldest, most unproductive canes at the base each year, stimulating vigorous new growth over a 3-year cycle.

What pest is responsible for the distinctive serpentine tunnels visible in leaves of landscape plants?

Answer: Leafminer larvae

Leafminers are larvae of flies, moths, or beetles that tunnel between leaf surfaces, leaving characteristic winding pale trails visible from outside.