Real Estate Tips: Xeriscaping – Is It Right For You? By Joel McDonald At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

What is Xeriscaping?
Xeriscaping is the type of landscaping used in areas that are dry and do not have abundant supplies of fresh water for taking care of plants. This type of landscaping does not require expensive supplemental irrigation because it focuses on using plants that are well suited to the local climate. Great care is taken to prevent both evaporation and run-off.

Some of the most common plants used in xeriscaping include thyme, cactus, juniper, agave, and lavender. These plants are very hardy and can survive with a minimal amount of water. This type of landscaping typically requires less water, pest control, fertilizer, and maintenance than more traditional forms of landscaping. Many practitioners of the technique believe that more people would choose to improve their property with xeriscaping if they better understood what the technique entails.

There are two common ways to xeriscape your real estate. The first way is to adjust the existing landscape so that the land is more water efficient. The second is to create an entirely new landscape by using water efficient methods.

How to Utilize Xeriscaping
There are seven specific steps to create and maintain a landscape using xeriscaping.

1. The first step in xeriscaping is planning and designing, gaining an idea of what you would like the landscape to look like.
2. The next step is to create practical turf areas to contain your plants.
3. The third step is to ensure that all the plants that you have selected require a small amount of water to survive. Any plants that require a great deal of water are going to die pretty quickly.
4. The fourth step is to use any needed soil amendments, such as manure or compost.
5. The next step is to apply mulches to keep the soil cool and reduce evaporation.
6. The sixth step is to use an efficient irrigation system to manage the amount of water applied to the plants at any given time.
7. The last step is to maintain the landscape in good condition. If you do not maintain the real estate after xeriscaping, the neglect will show sooner than you think.

Advantages of Xeriscaping
There are many advantages for real estate owners who upgrade their property with xeriscaping. One major advantage is that the reduction of the water needed to keep the landscape attractive will result in lower water bills, allowing the property owner to keep more of their money in their pockets.

Land that has been xeriscaped requires little or no lawn mowing, saving the property owner time and money. Generally, little maintenance is needed for the upkeep of xeriscaping and if water restrictions are imposed in your city, your plants will survive while many others will not.

Disadvantages of Xeriscaping
One of the major disadvantages for xeriscaping is that the initial set up of the area requires a lot of time, money, energy, and requires some backbreaking physical labor. The irrigation systems used in many of the landscapes are quite expensive and can waste water if not set up properly.

Whether xeriscaping is right for you depends on your own personal preference. By having all of the information available, you will be able to make a more informed decision.

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