Hiring Landscape Contractor Is Important Decision Finding the right landscape professional is a major part of your decision when you're looking for someone to do work on your home grounds, says LSU Agricultural Center Horticulturist Dr. Allen Owings. But finding the right landscape professional for your needs is essential. Owings explains there are two types of professionals licensed by the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry to do such work. They are landscape contractors and horticulturists.
Landscape contractors are qualified to install a landscape.
They also can maintain landscape until it is considered established. A horticulturist is qualified to maintain landscape plants, including fertilization, pruning and other cultural practices needed for plant health and aesthetics. Your landscape is a major investment in your real estate and can add up to 15 percent to a home's value. The LSU Ag Center horticulturist says it is important to ask a number of questions when hiring a landscape contractor or horticulturist. Among the items to consider are how long the company has been in business, whether the company or individual has insurance, if they are certified or licensed and whether they have jobs in progress that can be visited.