For the past three years, our sister publication covering the golf course maintenance industry, Golfdom, has produced a popular year-end feature highlighting golf course superintendents’ favorite tools and how they help them get the job done.
And since the best ideas are often stolen ideas (and heck … when it comes from a cherished family member, it’s more borrowed than stolen, right?) we’re excited to bring that concept to the pages of LM and introduce you to the very first Pro’s Toolbox.
The concept is a simple one — we asked landscape professionals to tell us about their favorite tools and how they help them do things better, faster and more cost-effectively. There were no limits placed on how “tools” were defined. They could be big pieces of equipment such as mowers and compact loaders. Smaller, handheld tools like chainsaws and blowers. Specialty products such as herbicides, pesticides and fertilizers. Business management software packages were fair game. Even something as simple as a favorite shovel found its way into our Pro’s Toolbox.
So without further ado, we’re proud to debut LM’s first Pro’s Toolbox. We hope you’ll find some of your favorites listed here along with a few new items that you can add to your arsenal in the future. And if we missed something that we should have included? You know how to reach us so we can remedy that for the 2025 edition.
Mulch Mule
“The Mulch Mule has proved to be invaluable during fall cleanups with its leaf removal capabilities. Since receiving our Mulch Mule, we’ve seen an increase in efficiency and productivity, time savings and a reduction in labor cost and overall injuries. Overall, we have greatly benefited from investing in this piece of equipment.”
— Uzziel Tobon Garcia, Property Care Division Manager
Landscapes by Terra, Columbus, Ohio
King of Spades edging shovel
“All-steel long handle, heavy duty and much more durable than a regular shovel. Great alternative for when I don’t have a sod cutter or want to be more precise. Takes some practice to use properly, but they’re versatile and stand up very well to heavy use.”
— Ben Schroeder, project manager
Greenscape Landscaping, Bozeman, Mont.
Excavator attachments
“For construction crews, the tool I’m seeing with the biggest impact on efficiency is definitely attachments for excavators. They allow operators to do a lot more work without as much ground support. They’re much safer and much faster for moving large materials and grading.”
— Mark Bradley, founder
LeanScaper, Toronto
Vermeer mini skid steers
“They’re a great Swiss army knife, they do all kinds of things for us. It’s a tremendously powerful machine. It’s easy to get a new operator on it and working with it very efficiently, very quickly.”
— Marty Grunder, founder & CEO
Grunder Landscaping Co. and the Grow Group, Dayton, Ohio
ChatGPT
“Artificial intelligence has streamlined many of my processes. It funnels information, summarizes my notes and helps proofread documents.”
— Ross Day,
vice president
Oasis Landscapes & Irrigation, Atlanta
Quali-Pro Prodoxaben SC herbicide
“We manage a property that stays wet in a lot of places, and we constantly battle weeds throughout this property. After applying the Prodoxaben SC in March, we didn’t see anything coming through till almost October. This helped us out by cutting down costs for labor and herbicides through the growing period. We definitely got the six-month residual from this and will be using it on many more of our key properties.”
— Benjamin Anderson, spray technician
Platinum Lawn Solutions, Sanford, Fla.
ACE Peer Group
“(My favorite tool) has changed over the years. At one point, it was a skid steer. And then it was probably some landscape design tool I was using. My favorite tool now, in a leadership role? I pride myself on not reinventing the wheel. I’m in an ACE Peer Group with McFarlin Stanford. That’s one of my best weapons right now.”
— Cole Weller, CEO
Weller Brothers Landscape Professionals, Sioux Falls, S.D.
Asana
“We’re huge Asana lovers. It’s a project management tool that we use. It really helps us stay organized, stay on the same page. It’s something that we use outside of some of the other industry software that helps us with a lot of workflow and task management.”
— Taylor Milliken, owner
Milosi, Nashville, Tenn.
Stinger Superseeder 2400
“The efficiency to control seed rates is remarkable. The job it does on the lawn, everything is great about it.”
— Ryan Westhoff, vice president of operations
Ryan Lawn & Tree, Mission, Kan.
Ditch Witch SK1550
“We love our Ditch Witch SK1550 … those have been awesome. It replaces the full-size skid loader on most of our sites. It’s an all-in-one tool. It allows us to get the job done more efficiently with less equipment.”
— Sam Rankin, president
Etch Outdoor Living, Ankeny, Iowa
SiteRecon
“As an estimator, delivering accurate bids is key to my daily work. One of my favorite tools is SiteRecon mapping software and their Plato app, which allow me to efficiently manage multiple bids across branches. This provides our sales and operations team with the trust, consistency and clarity to stay on track to accomplish our goals. Moreover, it helps me ensure we meet clients’ expectations and … set out teams on the right path for every job, every time.”
— Ivan Vargas, commercial maintenance estimator
The Greenery Inc., Palmetto Bluffs, S.C.
Exmark Lazer Z 60-inch
“The combination of outstanding dealer support, durable machines and a consistent product line makes Exmark our go-to choice.
Our fleet manager especially appreciates the ease of maintaining and servicing these mowers, knowing that every piece of equipment in our fleet is up to the same high standard. With Exmark, we can count on efficiency, reliability and the peace of mind that comes with a top-tier product and support team behind it.”
— Sam Gembel, founder/CEO
Atlas Outdoor, Flint, Mich.
Wright Stander mower
“The Wright 48-inch stand-on mowers … are built extremely sturdy. And they’re simple, they don’t have a lot of bells and whistles. They’re utilitarian. They are extremely reliable; we’ve had really good luck with them. It’s a workhorse, it’s a bulldog, it’s going to get the job done and not give you any problems.”
— Kyle Narsavage, president
GreenSweep and Garden Gate Landscaping, Silver Springs, Md.
Canycom SC75 concrete buggy
“It serves as a key to unlock job site accessibility. The Canycom guarantees that productivity can continue in the face of limited space.”
— Cory Egan, production superintendent
LandscapeCreations, Cranston, R.I.
FMC Dismiss herbicide
“Dismiss from FMC is absolutely the Swiss army knife of herbicides. You can use it on tall fescue, Bermuda and zoysia turf as a standalone, or even better, as a kicker in combination with three-way products to have better broad-spectrum control of broadleaf weeds. It is also great in early season as a nutsedge product and plays well with the sulfonylureas used in the summer on nutsedge and kyllinga.”
— Jay Wyrick, agronomist
FineTurf, Matthews, N.C.
Leaf Burrito
“The Leaf Burrito bags have been a great success with our bed maintenance. It gives our team the ability to handle the bags independently … and close the bag to walk around our commercial properties without leaving a mess. Our commercial property managers love the bags because it helps keep the community clean, and they see how easy it is to handle, either by yourself or with a team member.”
— David Bolanos, landscape supervisor
McInstosh Grounds Maintenance, Milan, Mich.
Ditch Witch SK1050
“The Ditch Witch SK1050 … go with almost every crew. It’s the variability of uses and attachments on that bucket. You can have a rototiller, a trencher, an auger, forklift, a bucket … pretty much anything you think of, they have an attachment for it. And it’s narrow enough to get through a lot of backyard gates, and it’s strong enough to pick up 2,000 pounds.”
— Justin White, CEO
K&D Landscaping, Watsonville, Calif.
GoPro Hero12
“This has allowed us to show clients and potential clients projects that we’re proposing quickly and efficiently. It’s a great way to get people on the same page even if they aren’t located in the same place. It has an excellent microphone and a built-in extra light for low-light areas. It shoots in 4.3K HD and 5.3K Ultra and you can upload to the GoPro cloud and send a private link to clients. The cost is $50 a year for unlimited storage, and these videos are helping us sell an extra $20,000 a month.”
— Mike McCarron, owner
ImageWorks Landscaping, Fairfax Station, Va.
Design/build equipment
“I love equipment. I’ve got four excavators, a bunch of skid-steers, mini skid-steers, a bulldozer. We use Takeuchi … and Ditch Witch is another partner of ours. I like incorporating equipment into the job site because it’s better on the backs, and it helps get the job done quicker. When you show up with big equipment, it makes a pretty big splash. It allows you to control the job sites a little bit differently. I think that using equipment on the jobs or specialty subcontractors, all those things combined help get the projects done and give us a leg up on the other guys in our local industry.”
— Garret Hergert, CEO
GRO, Vancouver, Wash.
Apple iPhone
“The old iPhone. It’s inexpensive, and from an execution perspective, what you can do with these things is wild. I have 20 crews out there today, and I’m able to communicate with all of them individually or collectively. I write a lot of my marketing on my phone because it’s so accessible. I do tons of voice notes to myself. I listen to a lot of books on it. There’s just not an ROI that’s better than the iPhone.”
— Nolan Gore, owner/general manager
Top Choice Lawn Care, Austin, Texas
Boss Snowplows XT blades
“These plows are built to last and deliver the performance we need to tackle even the harshest winter conditions. Our fleet maintenance team values the superior construction and durability of these blades, ensuring that they stand up to the demands of our busy snow season. With top-notch dealer support and easy maintenance, Boss keeps our operations running smoothly and efficiently, season after season.”
— Sam Gembel, founder/CEO
Atlas Outdoor, Flint, Mich.
Coastal Source outdoor speakers
“Coastal Source … puts out concert-quality sound and clarity. All my guys love it.”
— Jason Dill, design-build director
Angelo’s Landscape Group, Baton Rouge, La.
