How much does a landscaper cost in Pennsylvania?
National price ranges from three cost surveys for mowing, clean-ups, sod, patios, retaining walls and yard drainage, and how to line up two quotes.
Landscapers guides
25 guides for Pennsylvania homeowners. Every guide lists its sources.
Pennsylvania guides
How to choose a landscaper or lawn care company in Pennsylvania
Lawn treatment, planting and hardscape each call for a different check. Which state records to look up, what voluntary certifications mean, and what a good proposal contains.
Questions to ask a landscaper or lawn care company before you hire
Separate question lists for lawn treatments, planting, patios and walls, and any digging, built from Penn State, the Department of Agriculture, the Attorney General and PA One Call.
Signs your yard needs a landscaper, and signs it just needs time
What standing water, bare patches, spongy turf, digging animals, invasive shrubs and sooty trunks tell you, and when the honest answer is to wait or do less.
Which yard work can you do yourself, and when should you hire a landscaper?
Mowing, leaves, soil sampling, overseeding, mulch and small rain gardens are within reach. Spraying for others, tall walls, big regrades and stream banks bring rules that favor hiring.
When to seed, feed, aerate and clean up: a Pennsylvania lawn and garden calendar
A season-by-season schedule for lawn and landscape work in southeastern Pennsylvania, drawn from Penn State Extension, with the tasks that need doing only sometimes.
What happens during a landscaping job, from the 811 call to the first watering
How a well-run landscaping job unfolds: the soil test and utility marking before work, grading and planting or hardscape on the day, watering after, and the checks before final payment.
Do landscapers need a license in Pennsylvania?
No single landscaping licence exists. The registration, pesticide, nursery, digging, permit and erosion rules that apply depend on the job, and each can be checked.
Landscaping and lawn care scams to avoid in Pennsylvania
What the FTC, Pennsylvania's Attorney General and Penn State Extension say to watch for, from secret formulas and phone diagnoses to unregistered patio crews and volcano mulch.
Landscaping and lawn care questions and answers for Pennsylvania homeowners
Quick answers to the questions Pennsylvania homeowners ask most about landscapers and lawn care, each drawn from a state agency or Penn State Extension.
Building a patio or retaining wall in Pennsylvania: permits, contractors and cost
The state's permit exemptions for walls, Philadelphia's stricter rule, home improvement registration, trade certifications for paver and wall installers, and price ranges from three surveys.
Fixing a wet yard: grading, drains and the erosion rules in Pennsylvania
Why water pools or runs toward the house, the grade Penn State recommends, the drainage options and their published costs, and when moving soil needs an erosion plan, a permit or a registered contractor.
How much to water a lawn and garden, and when a sprinkler system makes sense
About an inch a week, rain included, not at midday and not too often. How to test a sprinkler, water a new lawn, and judge an irrigation proposal.
Mulch and fall leaves: what a good yard clean-up should and should not do
Why Penn State would rather you keep your leaves, how deep mulch should be and why it must stay off tree trunks, and what to put in a spring or fall clean-up contract.
Native plants and banned invasives: what a Pennsylvania landscaper should plant
Japanese barberry, burning bush, Callery pear and others are now noxious weeds in Pennsylvania. What that means for a planting plan, what DCNR says about natives, and the state's swap program.
Pennsylvania's lawn fertilizer law: what it asks of you and your lawn company
The fertilizer law now covers everyone who feeds a lawn. Its location and weather rules, the phosphate restriction, the licence question for weed and feed, and how to complain.
Rain gardens in Pennsylvania: where they work, how big, and who helps pay
A rain garden turns roof or driveway runoff into a planted bed that soaks it up. Where to put one, how to size it, what to plant, and what Philadelphia's program does and does not offer.
Seed, sod or overseeding: which is right for a Pennsylvania lawn?
Penn State's guidance on when each method works, which grasses suit sun and shade, how to read a seed label, why sod fails, and what the cost surveys say each costs.
Should you test your soil before lawn or garden work, and how?
The soil test is the step Penn State and the Department of Agriculture put before fertilizer, lime or a new lawn. What it costs, how to sample, and when to ask for a lead test too.
Spotted lanternfly and your landscaper: quarantine permits, yard waste and plants
Why landscapers working in the quarantine need a state permit, which yard materials the rules cover, what the insect does to beds and patios, and what Penn State says is and is not worth doing.
County guides
Landscaping in Bucks County, PA: erosion plans, soil tests and complaints
When a Bucks County yard project needs an erosion plan, where to get a $10 soil test kit, what slab houses mean for grading, and the county office that mediates disputes.
Landscaping in Chester County, PA: new-home yards, stormwater rules and deer
Why yards around Chester County's newer homes often need soil work, how the countywide stormwater ordinance reaches small projects, where to get local advice, and what helps against deer.
Landscaping in Delaware County, PA: older yards, stream banks and local help
What older Delaware County homes mean for digging and planting, when work near a creek needs a state permit, and the county offices for advice, permits and complaints.
Landscaping in Montgomery County, PA: earth moving, runoff and soil tests
The conservation district's table for when a yard project needs an erosion plan or permit, its homeowner material on runoff and rain gardens, and how to test soil through the county extension office.
Landscaping in Philadelphia: city permits, Rain Check and old-city soil
The city's own retaining wall permit and contractor rules, the Rain Check stormwater program, why soil in old neighborhoods deserves a test, and how leaves are collected.