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| THE COLONY NEWS | NOVEMBER 2024 | 11 Hopefully, the weather has cooled down by now and fall planting is underway. Trimming of tall trees on the east side of The Colony is either completed or nearly so. And Area-walk replacement plantings should be in and verified this month. Olive trees: The "fruitless" olive trees (Olea europaea 'Wilsonii') we use here are also treated with a fruit-suppressant in early spring, right after blossoming and right before fruit-set. It's a tricky window to hit. The method is by drenching the soil around the tree with a special growth regulator. However, despite this, a couple of our olive trees produced a bumper crop this year. If you have an olive tree in your front yard that has lots of olives, it's happened despite our best efforts. Front lawns: Reseeding also takes place during the cool fall. Our observation is that between the rabbit abatement and the application of more water than usual, our front lawns fared fairly well during this past hot summer. Since holiday decorations will be going up soon in front yards, please be especially mindful of electric cords. If any cross your lawn, you must remove them on your mow day. (Note: Mow days are now every OTHER week for winter.) And when the pruners come, please be mindful of lights and their cords on the bushes. Though landscapers try their best to avoid your decorations, they aren't responsible for damage done to your items. Shrub Pruning: The last maintenance cycle was during the heat, so pruning was light to keep the remaining foliage from scorching as much as possible. But it is during the Fall when heavy pruning of shrubs will take place. Mulch: Most of us know we have a budget for mulch. Some of it goes to replenish the mulch in greenbelt areas which has been there for several years and is getting thin. And some of it goes to replenish front yard mulch. There is a system for distributing front yard mulch: whenever we get a new load, we begin with the yards where we left off when the last load ran out. It just keeps going like that. When the mulch pile is full, mulch will be distributed. Sometimes, at the end of the year when the budget is nearly depleted, we have decided to replenish just front yard tree wells so what little mulch we have will make more front yards look better. The next time around, we go back and fill in those planter areas before moving on. Back yards: In conclusion, please take this time to go into your back yards and continue pruning there. What can folks see from the street? Are there any dead shrubs/trees or untrimmed palms in your yard? Any bushy plants climbing over your walls and into greenbelt shrubs or trees, or over to your neighbor's yard? It is your responsibility to keep these all trimmed back to your fence line. And please remember it's your responsibility to remove any clippings from your shrubs that have fallen over onto greenbelts. By your being diligent with back yards and the HOA maintaining your front yards, we can continue to have a lovely community wherever we look. LANDSCAPE ADVISORY By Jan Foster, Chair, 951-698-0170

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