FAQ

A landscape architect or designer will work with you to create a grand plan that encompasses your entire property.  Our landscape designers will help visualize your property and create a plan in a way that makes sense and has lasting value.

Anything we sell! We will deliver trees, shrubs, stone, mulch, topsoil, or even a fountain. Just ask our cashiers for delivery pricing.

We offer delivery and planting of trees and shrubs that you purchase at HLC for an additional cost. If you decide to plant your purchases yourself, here are a couple of tips:

1. Dig the hole for your tree or shrub twice as big as the width of the root ball.
2. When placing your tree or shrub in the hole, you want the root flare to be slightly higher than ground level. The root flare is a transitional point where the tree or shrub’s bark tissue transitions into root tissue. It is important this point does not get buried, because this is where your plant will access the oxygen it needs for the roots. You will be able to find this point by looking for a broadening of the trunk.
3. Leave the burlap on your plant’s root ball. This helps keep the root ball stable and will deteriorate over time. Cut and remove any nylon twine around the trunk of the tree.
4. Prepare the backfill: the soil that was dug out while digging the hole for the plant should be mixed with compost or fertilizer. We have a lovely blend available for purchase at one of registers.
5. Add the mixed backfill back into the hole around your plant, checking as you go that plant remains straight.
6. We recommend a 5 foot diameter mulch circle around any trees or shrubs not in a landscaping bed. You will want to avoid what is referred to as a “mulch volcano”. This is when the mulch is piled high around the trunk and declines toward the level of the lawn creating a volcano look. Once again, this covers up the root flare and can cause issues as the tree gets older. Keep the mulch away from the root flare.

A locate must be completed before any plantings are done to verify that there isn’t any electric, cable, telephone, water, or gas lines near where we will be planting. This will prevent us from hitting any lines and causing damage. The locate must be done by Hubinger Landscaping Corp. Any communication with the locate companies will be done by HLC, the homeowner should not contact the locate companies. A locate needs to be completed even if one was done recently. Dog fences, irrigation systems, and gas lines for something like an outdoor grill are not marked during a locate. It is the homeowner’s responsibility to mark such lines before the planting.

After you have bought your tree, you will need to schedule a time for our employees to come and plant your new purchase. We will call in a locate for the planting, so we will need some information from you.

1. Address
2. County
3. Township
4. A near cross street
5. We will also give you a white flag for each plant purchased. You will place the flags where you want each plant planted.

Please let our cashier know if you have an old tree in the location of where the new tree will be planted. It is the customer’s responsibility to have the old plant material removed before HLC comes to install your new tree or shrub. Tree stumps and larger roots must be ground down 24-36” below ground level

The white flag marks where you want your new tree or shrub to be planted. This helps you decide where you want the trees or shrubs planted and guides our employees. The flag is also marker for the locate company. There will be one white flag per item that is to be planted.

It isn’t necessary for you to be home. The white flags mark for us where you want everything to be planted. Just be sure that any gates are unlocked so that our employees can get to the area the tree needs to be planted.

We generally conduct the plantings in the order that they are received. We are not able to give you an exact date and time for a planting. The plantings are heavily dependent on weather, success of the locate, crew and equipment availability, and the complexity of your planting. For the health of your plant, we avoid planting in extreme heat to minimize the shock to the plant. We avoid plantings after heavy rains, because the ground will be soft and easily damaged by our equipment.

We generally avoid staking trees. Often, trees that are staked are forgotten and the stakes can harm the overall growth and health of the tree if not removed after the tree is established. Smaller trees do not usually need any extra support and do not require staking. Larger trees may not have a sufficient root system to support the top of the tree. Staking is available upon request with an additional fee.

The rule of thumb for any plant is 1” of water per week. This can be from irrigation or rainfall. Each shrub and tree should be individually monitored until they become established. The best way to water is to set your hose at a slow trickle and place the hose by the base of the plant. The water should be at a slow enough rate that water is being absorbed into the soil and not running off. The goal is to slowly and deeply soak the plant.

Overwatering can be just as much of a problem as under watering! A plant shows the same symptoms when it is being overwatered and under watered. The symptoms are usually yellowing and overall drooping of the leaves. So it is important to be checking whether your plant actually needs water. The way to do this is to physically check the soil about 4” deep near the root ball of the plant. If the soil feels to wet, do NOT water. But if it is dry, be sure to water.

We encourage you to use a root stimulator with the initial watering to help encourage new root growth and lessen transplant shock to your plant.

Tree Watering Table

Since you are watering deeply, you should only need to water 1-2 times per week until established. If it is exceptionally hot or windy, you may need to water more frequently. Shrubs will need about 10 minutes at a slow trickle, also only 1-2 times per week until established.

Of course! Please bring a picture of the tree or shrub in question as well as any details that you noticed. i.e. when it flowers, color of flowers, fall color… Even a leaf sample would be helpful (if appropriate).