Louisiana is one of a small handful of states that licenses landscaping as a profession rather than leaving it unregulated. Planting, sodding, pruning, mulching and fertilising all require a state licence with an exam behind it. In a city where the wrong mulch against a house feeds a termite species capable of destroying it, that credential is worth more than usual. This page lists landscapers serving New Orleans.
What New Orleans landscapers handle
Termite-conscious design — a genuine local specialism covering mulch selection, wood contact and plant placement near structures.
Live oak and mature tree care, the defining feature of the city’s best streets and a protected asset.
Drainage and grading on ground that sits low, drains poorly and continues to subside.
Maintenance across a year-round growing season with no true dormancy.
Courtyard and historic-district garden work, where preservation review may apply.
Licensing: Louisiana actually regulates this trade
The Louisiana Horticulture Commission, under the Department of Agriculture and Forestry, licenses horticulture professionals — and the scope is broad.
A Landscape Horticulturist licence is required for plant installation, grass sodding, pruning, mulching and fertilising. Applicants must pass an examination. The exam fee is around $114, with a licence fee of roughly $100 on issuance. The licence covers landscape design, planting, tree surgery, and ornamental and turf pest control.
The Commission issues separate licences for distinct specialties, including:
- Landscape Horticulturist
- Landscape Architect
- Landscape Irrigation Contractor
- Arborist
- Nursery Stock Dealer, Sod Producer and others
That separation matters. If your project includes irrigation, the contractor needs the Landscape Irrigation Contractor licence specifically. If it includes serious tree work, an Arborist licence applies. Holding one does not confer the others.
Commercial Pesticide Applicator certification through the LDAF Pesticide Section is separately required for anyone applying chemicals for compensation.
LDAF actively encourages residents to hire only licensed horticulture professionals, and licences can be verified with the department. Ask for the number and the specific licence type that matches your work. Verify liability insurance and workers’ compensation directly as well.
What’s specific to New Orleans
Formosan termites change landscaping decisions. New Orleans has a severe Formosan subterranean termite problem, and landscaping choices either help or hurt:
- Mulch against the foundation is a risk. Deep organic mulch piled against the house holds moisture and provides cover. Keeping mulch pulled back from the foundation and shallower near the structure is standard local practice
- Wood-to-soil contact — timber edging, landscape ties, untreated posts — creates a direct pathway. Non-wood alternatives are preferable near structures
- Irrigation aimed at the foundation keeps soil damp, which termites favour. Directing water away serves both the foundation and termite prevention
- Dead and declining trees near a structure can host colonies
A landscaper who raises mulch depth near the house before you ask understands this city.
Subsidence and drainage. Much of New Orleans sits at or below sea level, drained by pumping, and the ground continues to settle. Practical implications: water does not drain away by gravity in much of the city, standing water after heavy rain is normal rather than a fault, and raised beds keep root zones out of saturated soil. On any project, ask where water is expected to go — the answer is more complicated here than almost anywhere.
Live oaks are the civic asset. New Orleans’s live oaks define its streets and are protected. Root zones extend far past the canopy, and these trees are sensitive to grade changes, trenching and soil compaction. Confirm what permission is needed before pruning or removing anything substantial, and ask how a contractor routes work around established roots.
Hurricanes and salt inundation. Storm surge brings salt water into soil that is normally fresh. Salt-tolerant species recover; sensitive ornamentals do not. Structural pruning builds wind resistance in trees over years, while topping and “hurricane cuts” weaken them permanently.
Zone 9b–10a, subtropical. Effectively frost-free most years with occasional damaging freezes. Growth is fast and year-round, so maintenance intervals are shorter than most of the country and weeds never stop.
Heavy alluvial clay and a high water table. Roots stay shallow because there’s nowhere deeper to go, which makes trees more vulnerable in high wind and makes drainage design central to plant survival.
Pricing expectations
Typical US ranges for 2026 are listed on the homepage.
New Orleans sits at or below national averages, though historic-district access constraints raise costs on courtyard work where everything moves by hand.
Maintenance frequency runs higher than the national average because growth doesn’t pause — compare monthly cost against visits included rather than per-visit price.
Neighborhoods served
Landscapers listed here work across New Orleans, including the Garden District, Uptown, the Marigny, Bywater, Mid-City, Lakeview, Algiers Point, Broadmoor, Gentilly and the French Quarter.
Most also serve surrounding communities — Metairie, Kenner, Harahan, River Ridge, Chalmette, Slidell and Mandeville.
How this directory helps
Every landscaper here is listed with business name, address and phone so you can verify them yourself, with Horticulture Commission licence numbers where available.
Three questions sort New Orleans contractors. Ask for the Landscape Horticulturist licence number — and the Landscape Irrigation Contractor licence separately if irrigation is involved, since they’re different credentials. And ask how deep they’d mulch against your foundation; anyone who understands Formosan termites answers “not deep, and not against it.”