Pro landscapers will tell you that beautiful, healthy plants start with the best soil. At Seiler’s Landscaping, we use our favorite soil mix and fertilizers so plant life can thrive and grow.

Soil Mix Bed Preparation

Preparing the soil correctly is vital to happy plants. Whether we’re working on a newly built home or in an established landscape, one of our first steps is to amend the soil in beds. We add a 2-inch layer of horticultural soil amendment and a 12-12-12 fertilizer. Why? Here are some of the key benefits:

Soil amendment:

Adds organic materials to the soil and improves soil texture
Makes the clay soil that’s commonly found in the Cincinnati area looser
Allows water, air and helpful insects and worms to move more easily through the soil
Nurtures root growth
Encourages good microbes

Fertilizer:

Supplies the nutrients plants need
Provides the right ratio of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium
Encourages root and plant growth

The Right Stuff

Nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium are your plants’ best friends. Nitrogen promotes lush foliage and helps plants fend off diseases and pests. Too little nitrogen and plants grow slowly and may have small or deformed leaves. Too much nitrogen can be harmful, too, so that proper ratio is important.

Phosphorus is another thing every plant needs: especially young plants. This nutrient helps establish roots and develop seeds. With the right amount of phosphorus in the soil, plants will produce more flowers and a greater abundance of fruits and vegetables.

Potassium makes plants strong: giving their immune systems a boost and helping them survive pests, disease and drought. Without enough potassium, plants can look stunted and have scorched-looking leaves, especially the lower and middle leaves of the plant.

No One Needs Weeds

Once we’ve planted new beds for clients, our crews take extra steps to keep them looking beautiful for months. To keep weeds at bay, we apply a pre-emergent herbicide. Snapshot is the one we swear by. It works all season long, controlling more than 120 broadleaf and grassy weeds. And, it can be used with more than 600 types of ornamental plants. The mulch we apply also helps deter weeds and maintains soil moisture, but mulch is not a true soil amendment.

From the Start

If you have questions about our soil mix, fertilizers or garden bed preparation, we’d love to answer them. We look forward to hearing from you.