Homeowner Landscape Research Questionnaire

Name: / Dates visited: / Year:
Address: / City: / Zip:
Telephone: / Email:

Please take a few moments to complete this questionnaire. It will enable us to help you create a Bay-Wise landscape. Future educational programs will also be guide by your responses.

General Information
1. Who cares for your landscape (lawn, shrubs trees, groundcovers and flowers)? Please check only one answer. / 4. What size is the property or lot that you manage? Check the answer that best fits.
Yourself / Under 1/8 acre
Lawn Care Service / 1/8 acre (about 5,000 sq. ft.)
Property management or association employee / ¼ acre (about 10,000 sq. ft.)
Other (Please specify): / 1/3 to ½ acre (about 15,000 to 20,000 sq. ft.)
1 acre (about 40,000 sq. ft.)
2. For the landscape that you maintain, check the type of property that best describes it. / Over 1 acre (specify size):
5. In what year was most of your landscape
Single family house / planted?
Townhouse
Condo or Apartment unit / 19
Other (please specify): / 20
Don’t know
3. About what percent of the landscaped area is
lawn? / 6. Your sewage goes to:
A septic tank
0 to 25% 26 to 50% / Public treatment plant
51 to 75% 76 to 100%

It is the policy of the University of Maryland, Agricultural Experiment Station, and Maryland Extension, that no person shall be subjected to discrimination on the grounds of race, color, gender, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital or parental status, or disability.

Site Analysis, Planting and
Landscape Design / 9. Are grass clippings removed (bagged or raked)?
Yes, all the time No
7. Please check all of the practices listed / Yes, sometimes
below that you currently use.
If “Yes”, do you throw the clippings away?
Test drainage of water in the soil. / Yes No
Test the pH of the soil.
Test soluble salts & pH of well water. / Fertilizer Use
Identify sun and shade patterns.
Select plants adapted to the soil and light.
conditions where they will be planted. / 10. How often do you fertilize the lawn?
Select plants with moderate growth rates to
reduce pruning. / Four or more times a year
Group plants into beds. / Three times a year
Group plants by maintenance needs. / Twice a year
Group plants by water needs. / Once a year
Avoid pest-prone plants. / Never
Plant trees and shrubs in holes at least twice
as wide as the root-ball. / 11. How often do you fertilize other areas of
Plant trees and shrubs at the proper planting / the landscape (excluding the lawn)?
depth with the top of the root-ball even or
slightly higher than the soil surface. / Four or more times a year
Shade southern and western walls of your / Three times a year
home. / Twice a year
Shade air conditioner compressor. / Once a year
Design low maintenance areas into the / Never
landscape (natural areas, groundcovers and
mulch areas). / 12. Please check all of the practices listed below
that you currently follow
Pruning and Mowing
Use fertilizers with slow release components.
Apply at rates of 1 pound of less of actual
8. Check all of the practices listed below that you / nitrogen per 1,000 square feet.
currently follow when you prune or mow. / Use iron sulfate to “green-up” the lawn in the
summer.
Prune braches from trees just in front of the / Avoid fertilizing established trees.
branch collar. / Fertilize sparingly to slow excessive plant
Avoid using hedge clippers to prune shrubs. / growth and reduce the need for frequent
Cut no more than 1/3 of the blade of grass per / pruning or mowing.
mowing.
Sharpen mower blade when grass shows ragged / Wildlife
cut.
Set your mower at the appropriate height:
13. Please check all of the practices listed
tall fescue: 2 ½ to 3 ½ inches / below that you currently follow
perennial ryegrass 2 ½ to 3 inches
kentucky bluegrass 2 ½ to 3 inches / Use plants in the landscape which provide
fine fescue 2 ½ to 3 ½ inches / food for wildlife.
Bermudagrass ½ to 1 inch / Provide brush piles for cover.
zoysiagrass ½ to 1 inch / Provide sources of water for wildlife.
Select plants which provide cover or nesting
sites for birds.
Reduce use of pesticides to avoid harm to
insect-eating birds.
Stormwater Runoff / Pest Management
14. Please check all of the practices listed below that you currently use to reduce runoff. / 17. Please check all of the practices listed
below that you currently follow.
Direct downspouts to drain onto lawn and landscape plants or containment areas where / Follow pesticide container label instructions and warnings.
rain can soak into the soil. / Routinely check the lawn and landscape
Decrease erosion by planting thinly vegetated / plants for pest problem.
areas with groundcover or shrubs. / Identify the problem before using chemical
Use mulch, bricks or flagstone on sand, gravel or / controls.
other porous surfaces on walkways, patios / Spot-treat only the infested area of the lawn or
and driveways. / landscape.
Have swales or terracing to catch and filter / Tolerate slight plant damage.
stormwater. / Change cultural practices which affect the
problem (i.e. mowing height, water time,
Irrigation / fertilization.
Avoid preventative or regularly scheduled
pesticide sprays.
15. Do you have a permanent irrigation system? / Check for beneficial insects before using
pesticides.
Yes No / If a pesticide is needed, choose the product
with the least harmful impact on the
If “yes”, check all the items below that are true for / environment (horticultural soaps & oils,
your system. / beneficial insects, birds, etc.
I made no attempt to control pests.
Has sprinkler leads which spray water to fall like
rain. / 18. Which of the following beneficial insects can
Is a water- conserving drip, trickle, micro or / you identify?
other system that applies water directly to the
plant root system. / Assassin bug Lady beetle/lag bug
System has a rain shut-off device. / Big-eyed bug Lady beetle larvae
System has separate zones for plants and lawn. / Earwig Predaceous stinkbug
You calibrate the irrigation system to apply / Lacewing larvae Syrphid fly larvae
the appropriate amount of water.
You check the system frequently for clogged / Mulching & Recycling
heads, broken pipes or misdirected water.
You use an automatic timer to turn on the
irrigation system. / 19. Please check all of the practices listed below
that you currently follow.
16. Please check all of the practices listed below
that you currently follow, whether you have a / Apply mulch, 2 to 3 inches deep, in beds
permanent system or hoses and movable / around trees and shrubs.
sprinklers. / Use recycled materials from your city, county
or private supplier for mulching.
Water plant beds separately from lawn. / Increase the size of mulched areas around trees
Water plants early in the morning. / and shrubs as they grow.
Apply about ½ to ¼ inch of water per irrigation. / Avoid placing mulch directly in contact with
Water lawn only when the grass shows signs / the bark of trees and shrubs.
of stress (blades don’t bounce back when / Replenish mulch to maintain a 2 to 3 inch
walked across). / depth.
Irrigate according to season. / Use a compost pile.
Do not irrigate. / Use yard trimmings (leaves, prunings,
clippings, grass clippings, etc.) on site.
20. What kind of mulch do you use? / Home & GardenInformationCenter Hotline
CountyExtension Educator
Shredded pine bark / Master Gardener
Pine nuggets / Other public agencies (libraries, water
Shredded hardwood / Management districts, utility companies etc.)
Pine needles / Other (specify):
Oak or other leaves
Compost / Comments
Recycled (municipal yard waste)
Grass clippings
Gravel, rock, stone / What issues or concerns do you have with your
property that you would like to address during
On The Waterfront / your site consultation?
21. If you live on a body of water, please check the
statements below that apply.
What body of water adjoins your property?
Atlantic ocean
Chesapeake Bay
River or creek (please name)
Lake or pond (please name)
Other (specify):
22. What type of shoreline do you have?
Lawn (grass) bank
Naturally vegetated bank
Beach
Other (specify) :
23. Check all that apply.
A border of low maintenance plants has been
established (or retained) between my lawn and
the shoreline/seawall.
Native vegetation has been planted (or retained)
in front or the seawall or along the shoreline.
Native limestone rock has been placed in front
of my seawall.
Information Sources / Thank you!
24. When you need information about your
landscape, where or whom do you get / For Office Use Only:
that information from?
County:
Neighbor or friend
Lawn care or landscape service / Community:
Pest control company
Retail nursery or garden center / Number:
Cooperative Extension publications
Date: