NY Horticulture Group provides commercial landscape maintenance in NYC for office buildings, co-ops, condos, retail properties, campuses, and mixed-use developments. Year-round grounds care, designed around the realities of a city block — not a suburban lawn.
Building managers and facilities directors across Manhattan, Brooklyn, and the surrounding boroughs trust NY Horticulture Group to keep their tree pits clean, their entrances welcoming, and their landscapes compliant with NYC Parks and Department of Transportation requirements. We handle every outdoor square foot of your property as one integrated program — so you have one call to make, not seven.
What Commercial Landscape Maintenance Actually Covers in NYC
Outside of New York, "commercial landscape maintenance" usually means a mowing crew rolling through an office park. Here, it's a different job. A typical NYC commercial landscape maintenance program from us includes:
Tree pit care — weeding, mulching, soil amendment, seasonal underplantings, and tree guard installation or repair (we pull NYC Parks permits when required)
Entrance and lobby plantings — exterior planters, sidewalk containers, and interior atrium greenery rotated for season and event
Sidewalk-edge landscaping — bed maintenance along the building footprint, including pruning back overgrowth that triggers DOT or DOB violations
Seasonal color rotations — spring bulbs, summer annuals, fall mums, winter evergreens and cut greens
Irrigation management — drip system checks, seasonal startup and winterization, and water-use monitoring for sustainability reporting
Lawn and turf care — for properties with green space, including aeration, overseeding, and fertilization
Pruning and tree care — shrub shaping, ornamental tree pruning, and coordination with certified arborists for larger work
Pest and rodent mitigation — landscape-based rat control strategies developed in partnership with NYC building management groups
Storm response and snow considerations — debris cleanup, downed limb removal, and protection of plantings during salt-heavy winters
If you don't see your scope here, ask. Most of our commercial maintenance programs are built bespoke to the property.
Why Commercial Landscape Maintenance in NYC Is Different
Maintaining a commercial property in New York means working around realities that don't exist in suburban landscaping:
Permits and compliance. NYC Parks permits for tree work, DOT clearances for sidewalk operations, DOB sign-offs where applicable. We handle the paperwork.
Tight access windows. Tenant traffic, loading dock schedules, and noise restrictions mean crews work efficiently and often outside standard hours.
Soil and root constraints. Tree pits and planter beds in NYC have compacted soil, limited drainage, and salt exposure. We use amendments and plant selections that actually survive here.
Pest pressure. Rats are a landscape issue in NYC, not just a sanitation issue. Plant choices, mulch type, and bed maintenance frequency all affect pressure on your building.
Visibility. Your property is on display 24/7 to thousands of pedestrians. A neglected tree pit or a dead planter at the entrance is a brand problem, not just a maintenance problem.
We've spent years building relationships with NYC Parks, building management associations, and the trade groups that set how this work gets done in the city. That institutional knowledge is built into every site visit.
How Our Commercial Maintenance Programs Work
Site walkthrough. A senior member of our team meets you on-site, walks every outdoor area, and documents existing conditions, plant health, irrigation status, and immediate needs.
Customized scope and schedule. We send a proposal that lays out exactly what's covered, how often crews will be on-site, who your primary point of contact is, and what reporting you'll receive.
Onboarding and baseline work. Many properties start with a one-time enhancement — bed cleanup, pruning, plant replacements — to get the landscape to a maintainable baseline.
Ongoing service. Regular visits on your agreed schedule, with seasonal adjustments built in. You get the same crew when possible, so they know your property.
Reporting and communication. Photo documentation, service logs, and a single point of contact who returns calls. No mystery invoices.
Who We Maintain Properties For
We work with the people who are accountable for what the property looks like every single day:
Property management firms with portfolios across NYC
Co-op and condo boards
Commercial office buildings and mixed-use towers
Hotels and hospitality properties
Educational and institutional campuses
Retail centers and ground-floor commercial
Business Improvement Districts (BIDs)
Our clients range from single landmark buildings to multi-property portfolios. Whether you need one site visited weekly or twenty, we structure the program around your access windows, tenant considerations, and reporting requirements.
Commercial Properties We Commonly Maintain
We've built and maintained commercial landscape maintenance programs for properties across the full spectrum of NYC commercial real estate:
Class A office towers — entrance plantings, plaza maintenance, and lobby greenery for tenant-facing first impressions
Landmark co-ops — tree pit care, sidewalk-edge beds, and seasonal color that respects the building's character
Luxury condominium buildings — amenity-level grounds care, terrace plantings, and concierge-coordinated service
Hospitality properties — hotels, restaurants, and venues where landscape is part of the guest experience
Institutional and educational campuses — multi-building grounds programs with safety, access, and academic-calendar considerations
Retail centers and ground-floor commercial — storefront-adjacent plantings and BID-coordinated streetscape work
Mixed-use developments — integrated programs that coordinate residential and commercial outdoor spaces
We're members of and have worked with the New York Building Managers' Association, the Scandinavian-American Building Managers Guild, and we hold active permitting relationships with NYC Parks for tree work across the five boroughs.
Why Property Managers Choose NY Horticulture Group
Horticulturists, not just landscapers. Our team is led by trained horticulturists who understand plant health, soil science, and urban microclimates. That means fewer plant replacements, fewer warranty claims, and a landscape that actually improves year over year.
NYC-specific expertise. We've worked with the New York Building Managers' Association, the Scandinavian-American Building Managers Guild, and dozens of property managers across the city. We know the codes, the permits, and the players.
Single point of contact. You won't be passed between five departments. One account manager owns your property.
Integrated commercial landscaping services. Hardscape repair, drip irrigation, seasonal decor, holiday lighting, and tree pit work all under one roof. Fewer vendors, fewer coordination headaches.
Responsive communication. When something happens — a downed limb, an irrigation issue, a tenant complaint, or a damaged planter — our team responds quickly with clear communication and documented follow-through.
Ready to Talk About Your Property?
Tell us about your building or portfolio, and we'll schedule a no-obligation walkthrough. We'll come prepared with observations, and you'll leave the meeting with a clear sense of what a commercial landscape maintenance program would cost and cover.
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Residential landscaping is typically focused on design, installation, or homeowner lawn care. Commercial landscape maintenance is an ongoing, contracted program for commercial and institutional properties — covering everything from tree pits and entrance plantings to irrigation, seasonal rotations, and compliance with NYC permitting requirements. It's structured around tenant access, reporting, and the operational realities of running a building, not just aesthetics.
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Yes. Most tree-related work in NYC — including tree guard installation, pruning of street trees, and underplantings — requires permits from the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation. We pull and manage those permits as part of our commercial landscape maintenance service. Property managers don't need to navigate the Parks system themselves.
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Yes. We service single buildings and multi-property portfolios, and we structure contracts to match. Portfolio clients get a single account manager, consolidated reporting across sites, and coordinated scheduling so we're not creating logistical overhead for your team.
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It depends on the property and the program, but most commercial landscape maintenance clients are on a weekly or bi-weekly visit cycle during the active growing season (roughly March through November), with reduced frequency in winter and dedicated visits for seasonal rotations, holiday decor installation, and snow-related cleanup. We'll recommend a cadence after the site walkthrough.
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Yes. Seasonal rotations are one of the most common requests from commercial clients. We typically rotate four times a year — spring bulbs and cool-season annuals, summer annuals, fall mums and ornamental grasses, and winter evergreens with cut greens or holiday decor. Containers, in-ground beds, and lobby planters are all included.
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A scope of work itemizing every service area (tree pits, entrance plantings, lawn, irrigation, etc.), visit frequency, seasonal additions, plant warranty terms, account manager contact, and pricing — broken out so you can see exactly what you're paying for and adjust scope if needed.
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Yes. A significant portion of our portfolio consists of union buildings, doorman buildings, and properties with strict access protocols. We coordinate with building staff, follow check-in procedures, and align our crews with whatever access windows the property requires — including overnight or early-morning work when needed.
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Yes. Early-morning and pre-tenant scheduling is common for commercial properties, particularly in Class A office towers, hotels, and retail centers where daytime crew presence isn't workable. We can schedule recurring visits, seasonal rotations, and one-time enhancements outside of business hours at your request.
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Yes. Every commercial client receives service documentation: visit logs, photo records of work performed, condition notes on plantings and irrigation, and seasonal summaries. For portfolio clients and larger properties, we provide consolidated reporting and can format documentation to fit your internal property management systems.
