Home & Landscape APRIL AND MAY IN THE DESERT By Randy Zellers SDL, Director of Operations
It is time to replace your winter f lowers with a hardy bloomer that will last throughout the hot temperatures of our summer. Ipomoea (Potato Vine) comes in green and dark purple colors and are great for pots as they will cascade over the edges of the pots for a full look. Pentas are a good choice as well for a more traditional f lower bed. Even Lantana, which is known as more of a groundcover, will do well for a burst of color in your planter areas. Depending on how much rain we have received this winter, weeds may be a problem in the granite areas of your landscape. Applying a pre-emergent chemical will prevent weeds from germinating but you will have to supplement by spot spraying the smaller weeds and hand pulling larger weeds in your landscape. Once sprayed, giving the area a fresh raking will f luff the rock and lead to a more attractive landscape. Bermuda turf will start to emerge from dormancy once night-time temperatures stabilize at 65 degrees over-night. Start to mow your turf lower to allow more sunlight to reach the soil and warm the root system. Apply light doses of fertilizer and gradually increase water times to your turf areas and the Rye grass planted in the fall will smoothly transition to the Bermuda base during the summer. Check heads for proper coverage and adjust as needed for a green, lush lawn throughout the summer season. You’ve already cutback all frost damaged plant material by this time. Cassias will be ready for a hard prune once they have bloomed in May. The benefits of hard cutbacks are to allow the root systems to push more and vigorous new growth to each plant since there is less plant to provide nutrients to after cutting back. Rejuvenation pruning has become the norm for a sustainable and lush desert landscape. By practicing this procedure, you eliminate the dead wood that develops from repetitive shearing and allow the plant to bloom more naturally. It requires less work and allows you to spend more time on the little details within the landscape by minimizing mundane repetitive maintenance practices that do nothing for the health of the plant. With the warmer temperatures of spring in Arizona, you will notice more insect activity around your plants and trees. Simply hosing the plant down may get rid of the problem but an environmentally friendly option is to use insecticidal soap rather than harsh chemicals. You can find them at your local nursery or hardware store and ask for the best option for whatever insect may be around your landscape or garden. Spring is the best time for planting new plants and trees in your landscape. It will allow each species to gradually adapt to the warmer air and soil temperatures before 100-degree days are the norm during the summer. Think in terms of low maintenance trees and shrubs while planning your landscapes. This will allow a more natural looking landscape that requires much less work to perfect. The choices available are much more attractive than 10 to 15 years ago. New species that will handle Arizona summers are readily available at your local nursery. Enjoy the outdoors during the months of April/May because June is traditionally one of the hottest and driest months each year. Minimize your workload during the summer months in Arizona by getting them completed in the spring. 8
April/May 2021
Are You a Resident Leaving the Ranch for the Summer? It is important for the SRCA office to have your current contact information. If you would like to change your primary mailing address from your Scottsdale Ranch address to your summer address please contact Ricki Stamos at (480) 860-2022 or by email at rstamos@scottsdaleranch.org, to have your contact information updated in our property management software. By doing this, you will be able to continue to receive important letters, mailers, invoices and the SRCA bi-monthly magazines over the coming months.
Are You a Boat Owner on Lake Serena Leaving for the Summer? If you are leaving for the summer, please make sure to loosen your dock line. This helps protect your boat and dock in case of an active monsoon season. Also, we’d like to suggest that if you know a neighbor who stays in town for the summer, that SRCA can contact in the event we are unable to get a hold of you in regards to your boat, please call the SRCA office at (480) 860-2022 to give us their contact information. Please note that there is a Watercraft Tow Policy charge of $75.00 to homeowners who require their boats to be towed or rescued.
Lake Serena Boat Identification Sticker Attention Scottsdale Ranch Boat Owners: All boat owners on Lake Serena must have a SRCA boating identification sticker visibly displayed on their boat. If you do not have an identification sticker, you will need to complete a Boat Sticker Application and submit it to the SRCA office in order to obtain one. You can find the application on the SRCA website at www.scottsdaleranch.org under Local Amenities / Lake Serena / Boating Guidelines. Please complete the application and email it to Joni Shepherd at jshepherd@scottsdaleranch.org. You can also drop off the completed application in the drop box outside of the SRCA office doors. If you prefer to pick the application up at the SRCA office, please call ahead of time and we will have it available for you. We will mail you your boat identification sticker once we have processed your application. If you have any questions, please feel free to call the SRCA office at (480) 860-2022.
