I am a landscape architect

Creating resilient landscapes: Insights from landscape architects

Are you remodelling a street? Or designing a new public or commercial open space? Maybe a private or multi-family residential garden?

Ready to ensure the long-term success of your landscaping projects?

With a simple gesture at the time of planting, you give plants the extra help to start off the right foot instead of struggling to germinate or survive transplant shock.

Similar issues. Different scenarios.

Chances are high that soil quality and water availability will cause you concern. The same applies to rooftop and vertical gardens and patios. And definitely when rehabilitating a brownfield site.

Are the “buts” getting in the way of creating a great project?

You specified a lightweight or structural soil but need to increase the water and nutrient holding capacity? Or maybe you are considering a bold design with an out of the ordinary range of plants for a roof garden but are concerned the plants might not survive?

Or on the contrary, you work with native plants but wonder how they will cope with extended drought periods and unpredictable rainfalls. Perhaps, your client wants a lush lawn in a public space. Yet it will get heavily trampled. And it won’t have and irrigation system.

An insurance policy for plants

You got the design under control. You also know who will build the project to your specification. But are you concerned about its maintenance and what it will look like in a couple of years if it is not properly maintained?

Do you just want to ensure the plants will settle well, grow and not die? Especially when big trees need to be transplanted. Even in ideal conditions it is stressful for trees to adapt to the move. They can do with all the help.

A unique soil conditioning solution

So, how about a soil conditioner that increases the water and nutrient holding capacity of the soil or substrate?

That contains growth precursors to kick start essential root growth and a mixture of fertilisers to sustain that growth?
And water saving polymers that release the stored water to the plant’s root system on the plant’s demand? Thus reducing drought stress and the watering frequency by 50%.

All these elements in one easy-to-use granular soil conditioner. To get stronger and healthier plants and to increase their survival rate. Additionally, it saves you costs in watering and replacement of dead plants.

Landscape architects explain how they got the “buts” out of their projects:

"Not knowing what the future maintenance would be, we specified TerraCottem"

Ian Innes from Sydney’s Royal Botanic on the use of TerraCottem at Darling Park, Sydney: “The garden is essentially a large planter box, sitting over a car park and Sydney’s Western Distributor elevated freeway. Our first task was to ensure good drainage, not only to reduce the potential load on the slab but also to avoid anaerobic soil conditions. We then spent some time getting a specialised planting mixture concocted – light-weight, free draining, without too much organic matter that may produce subsidence later. The final recipe included a high inert quotient (volcanic ash), pine bark nuggets for their ability to break down slowly, ground dolerite for good cation exchange – and TerraCottem. Not knowing what the future maintenance would be, we specified TerraCottem, not only because of the hydrogel content and additional boost to cation exchange, but because of the slow-release fertilisers".

"To guarantee the success of our planting projects we have created a cocktail…"

This is how Luis Gonzalo Moscoso Higuita, director of the restoration company Forestpa S.A.S, Medellín, Colombia achieves a high plant survival rate: “To guarantee the success of our planting projects we have created a cocktail based on organic compost, Agrimins, fertiliser, mycorrhiza, calcium and phosphorus amendment and TerraCottem. The composition of this mixture varies from project to project as we base it on the results of the soil analysis. TerraCottem plays an important role in this composition as it helps to keep moisture, crucial in a sandy soil such as in Cuturú. It also acts as a nutritional guarantee due to its macro and micronutrients and, above all, it activates root growth, essential for plant establishment and survival."

"The basis of a beautiful garden is living, high-quality soil"

Roeland Vranckx, award-winning landscape architect (Belgium): "I always explain to my clients the importance of soil structure and its nutritional value and moisture content. The soil is the foundation of every garden. Lawns, but also large and small plantings need care and respect. For our company, TerraCottem is therefore the "white-black gold". By adding it to the soil, trees and shrubs will continue to have sufficient water reserves during droughts thanks to the sponge effect of the gel granules. The roots will also grow faster and deeper, the tree will establish well and survive droughts. Adding TerraCottem to the soil is indispensable and an absolute must."

Ana Sylvia Da Glória Soares & landscaper Luiz Carlos Orsini (Brésil) - https://www.lcorsini.com.br

Yet you and your clients want thriving planting schemes without the worrying.

What if with a simple gesture at the time of planting, you give plants the extra help to start off the right foot instead of struggling to germinate or survive transplant shock?

TerraCottem universal is the original soil conditioner and is still the TerraCottem to use in most applications.
TerraCottem turf is the soil conditioner for all types of grass.
TerraCottem arbor is the soil conditioner for woody plants.

Just mix the TerraCottem soil conditioner with the soil or substrate. Easy.

When? Just once, at the time of planting or prior to seeding.
Why? To get better plant growth. To protect plants against drought and irregular irrigation. To ensure they will survive. To make your work stand out.