Plant Health Care & Corrective Landscape Services

Most reoccurring landscape problems can be eliminated during the planning stages long before a shovel breaks ground. If your landscape (new or established) is struggling, Richard A. McCoy Horticultural Services Inc. offers advanced Plant Health Care techniques to revitalize trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants that may be languishing in your landscape.

Services We Offer:

Property Assessment & Diagnostic Services
Remediation of Problem Areas
Invasive Species I.D.
Root Collar Excavation & Root Revitalization
Bamboo Removal
– Revolutionary New Process
– Fast and Cost Effective – Guaranteed to work
– No dangerous synthetic chemical herbicides
– No heavy equipment damage to your landscape
– No costly removal of yards and yards of contaminated soil

Remediation of Over Mulched and Improperly Planted Trees and Shrubs

The most common causes of tree failure are improper planting and over mulching. Over mulching (“mulch volcanoes”) leads to the premature death of thousands of trees and shrubs every year.

Problems Caused by Over Mulching:

Root rot caused by increased moisture and lack of sunlight
Girdling roots that cut off nutrient and water uptake
Adventitious roots growing in mulch instead of soil
Reduced nutrient uptake
Compromised root support system

Root collar excavation, or the removal of excess soil and mulch from the root collar/root flare, performed manually or with Air Spade technology can save your trees and shrubs. Even trees and shrubs that appear healthy may require root collar excavation.

Our remediation process starts with removal of ground covers and turf grasses from the center of the plant. Then, using highly compressed air with our Air Spade tool, we’ll determine the exact excavation area, examine the soil profile, and expose the root collar without damaging fine feeder roots.

After the root collar is exposed, we thoroughly inspect the area to identify and remove girdling and adventitious roots. Finally, we’ll turn over the soil within the drip zone of the tree or shrub (the most vital feeder roots reside in this area) to loosen soil compaction and incorporate organic matter that will aid the plant’s root system in water/nutrient uptake and disease resistance.

This process would be completed by a hand-spaded edge, a three-inch layer of mulch and grass seed over the balance of the excavated area.

Air Spade Excavation

We highly recommend our Air Spade Excavation Service to general contractors, electricians, plumbers, excavators, etc. who are excavating for service trenches and do not want to compromise the integrity of the root systems of their client’s trees or other sensitive areas such as under poured concrete walkways.

Other means such as backhoes and track excavators show no regard for the existing environment and cut through the roots, thus weakening the root system and compromising stability and nutrient uptake. This leads to the decline and death of the tree years later. The air spade accomplishes the same task as the heavy equipment with minimum disturbance to the existing flora.

Air Spade Services:

Root collar excavation for improperly planted and over mulched trees and shrubs
Air Spade Excavation Service for General Contractors
Minimally invasive way to excavate underground utilities
Root Rejuvenation and Soil biological improvement
Transplanting of trees and shrubs