Powerful Landscaping Offers Benefits to Your Electric Service and Creates Curb Appeal
As Arbor Day draws near, remember that time spent planning your planting will pay dividends.
Spring is just around the corner, and a popular way to welcome the season is by tending to the yard, updating landscaping, and planting trees and shrubs.
Healthy greenscaping means homeowners can enjoy many benefits, such as cleaning the air, filtering stormwater, and saving as much as 20% on their utility bills from strategically planted shade and wind-buffering vegetation.
A vibrant yard and wholesome landscape require careful planning. Here are some tips on how to plant the right vegetation in the right place.
- Trees or shrubs being planted near utility poles require a 20-foot buffer. Smaller varieties are ideal. Examples are the Venus hybrid dogwood, Lavelle’s hawthorn, or the dwarf Sargent’s crabapple. Taller varieties risk intruding into the tree-pruning zone of PenLight’s vegetation program.
- When it comes to pruning, PenLight’s contracted crews trim and remove trees of a specific height within a 10-foot radius of power lines on a three-year cycle. If a homeowner needs to remove a tree outside the 10-foot area, contact us. Our certified arborist will help create a safe removal plan.
- If you have an electrical box or a cover over an underground electrical vault in your yard, maintain a clearance of 10 feet in front and 4 feet on the other three sides of the box. This area is well suited for easygoing perennials such as Shasta daisies, dahlias, sword ferns, azaleas or rhododendrons, especially the dwarf varieties.
- Taller trees—including Douglas fir, cedar, and maple—should be planted outside a 50-foot buffer from all utility equipment.
To learn more about powerful landscaping, visit the Arbor Day Foundation website.
