Home & Landscape

THE BENEFITS OF REJUVENATION PRUNING (SLM)

By Randy Zellers SDL, Director of Operations

Many years ago, Sustainable Landscape Management (SLM), was born out of frustration on how landscape companies were maintaining designs created by landscape architects. Newly planted landscapes were being sheared into odd shapes instead of allowing the plants to grow naturally within a given space as intended by the architect. Along with Arizona Landscape Contractors Association (ALCA), a program was developed to maintain plants that benefit not only the plant material but the environment as well. Most landscape contractors fully endorse and utilize this practice today.

SLM practices result in sustainable landscapes that are environmentally sound and beautiful by creating the following:

• Eliminate unnecessary pruning including shearing

• Reduce the amount of organic waste going into landfills

• Redirect efforts to more productive activities on site

• Improve soil health and condition

• Decrease costs for fuel, fertilizer and plant replacements

• Conserve water through better irrigation practices

• Decrease noise and air pollution created by gas-powered equipment

• Create critter-friendly habitats through appropriate plant selection

• More colorful blooms on plant material

Many people who have relocated to the Phoenix area may not be familiar with cutbacks and rejuvenation pruning since they are used to a more formal, tightly sheared landscape. Back in the day it was thought if plants were not tightly sheared, it is not being maintained.

The logic behind rejuvenating plants is simple to understand in that you are reducing the size of the plant visible above ground while the root mass stays intact. A root system that was supporting a large plant will now have that same amount of energy devoted to a smaller plant and more new growth will emerge more quickly. This provides a healthier plant with the ability to provide more blooms and color during the growing season. When shearing plants, you are basically cutting off the colorful blooms as plants bloom from the tips of their branching. Listed below are the steps to take when rejuvenating plants.

• Cut all branches back to six to twelve inches above ground

• Lightly fertilize at the beginning of growing season

• During mid-season, thin out weaker branch structure

• Only specific plants will tolerate the drastic removal of plant parts

The following plants adhere well to hard cutbacks:

• Red Bird of Paradise – November

• Baja Fairy Duster – May

• Pink Fairy Duster – May

• Bush Morning Glory – February – April

• Brittle Bush – May

• Lantana species – February

IS YOUR HOME ADDRESS CHANGING 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 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.

ATTENTION BOAT OWNERS!

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 regarding 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 to obtain one. You can find the application on the SRCA website at www.scottsdaleranch.org under Local Amenities / Lake Serena / Boating Guidelines.

If you have any questions, please feel free to call the SRCA office at (480) 860-2022.

• Oleander species - June

• Ruellia species - March

• Feathery Cassia - April

• Orange Jubilee - February

• Yellow Bells - February

• Leucophyllum species - January - February

Please contact your landscape professional on the benefits of rejuvenation pruning.

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