One of the most common topics the Community Life team receives questions about is in regards to landscaping guidelines. Keeping up with community standards is a group effort between the residents and landscaping team. To assist, we added a list of the most common questions to help give clarification and guidance.
The community’s dedicated team of landscapers is responsible for meticulously maintaining the lush 43 acres of Alamar common areas. Each acre equates to the size of approximately 48 front yards. To translate this into a perspective that may resonate more personally, the 43 acres is akin to overseeing nearly 2,064 front yards.
As the community grows, its important to address a range of common landscaping questions that have been brought up by residents. Topics range from weed management to design review procedures, ensuring transparency and proactive engagement on all matters of communal space and personal property upkeep. This initiative is part of our ongoing commitment to ensuring Alamar remains a beautiful place to call home.
Weeds
Managing excessive weeds is usually a multistep process that includes having the right products and strategy.
The most common types of weeds are crabgrass and nutsedge. They can often look like out of place grass at first glance. Pre-emergent herbicides can be used to prevent the emergence of them, and post-emergent herbicide can be used if they’re already present.
Recommendations
A proactive approach
During weed season some yards may require spraying every 2 – 4 weeks. However, once weeds emerge spray as soon as the weeds are visible. Apply a second treatment on four days after the first application to erase all existing weeds.
Product recommendations
It’s crucial to identify the types of weeds that are present to determine what herbicide to use. Pre-emergent herbicides applied in early spring can prevent annual weeds, like crabgrass. Post-emergent herbicides, combined with manual removal, help with weeds that are actively growing along with broadleaf, grassy, and perennial weeds.
Alternative eco-friendly options
- Vinegar can be used to dry weeds out.
- Pouring boiling water or pulling weeds by hand can help too. Pulling weeds can spread seed, but ecofriendly pre-emergent can prevent the weeds from sprouting.
- Landscaping fabric can be used to suppress weeds for a couple of years. However, over time it may do more harm than good to other plants in your yard
What are Stillwaters landscaping responsibilities
Stillwater has the following roles present at alamar
- Maintenance crew
- Mow crew
- Spray Technician
- Irrigation Technician
- Tree Division
- Supervisors
Landscaping rotation
Because of Alamar’s size, Stillwater has an entire crew dedicated to upholding Alamar’s standards. On any given weekday you’ll see supervisors, spray and irrigation technicians, and crew members from Stillwater. The crews rotate through the neighborhood in a four-week cycle. Each week, they focus on an area as shown in this map.
Common areas landscaping duties and schedule
Plant, shrub, and bed management
- Prune to maintain natural form based on schedule.
- Always trim off sidewalks and curbs based on the 4-week schedule.
- Pre-emergent herbicide is applied semiannually and post emergent are sprayed as needed.
- Trash is removed from the common area plant beds every 4 weeks.
- Irrigation in the bed area is checked for proper water frequency based on the species.
Trash removal and common area maintenance
This includes refilling doggy bags, emptying trash cans, plant bed trash removal, cleaning grills, raking sand, and general trash removal. These tasks are done weekly and as needed.
Weeds
Pre-emergent is applied to all common areas in February. During weed season, seasonal weather determines the frequency Stillwater sprays weeds. The community is sprayed twice a week. Weed pulling is done on sight if seen in plants and for any large clusters of fast growing weeds. For stubborn weeds, weed killer is applied 72 hours prior to removal.
Turf management
- Turf is mowed on a weekly basis. Aeration is performed once a year.
- Fertilizer is applied every eight weeks.
- Post emergent is applied to grass areas as needed.
- Irrigation is inspected on a weekly basis.
Compliance for Community standards
As the Community Life team reviews residential and common areas, communication is key.
Contracted vendors
During peek weed season, we understand there may be times when maintaining the proper standards can be challenging. If residents or landscapers are experiencing unforeseen setbacks, the Community Life team can assist with appropriate accommodations when communication is given. However, if standards continue to not be met, disciplinary actions will take place for the party involved. For landscaping, if they do not follow their contract, the board puts them on a 30-day notice. After 30 days, if no improvement is made, the board will decide if they want to put the opportunity out for potential new vendors to bid on.
Residents
For residents, uncorrected violations will be escalated according to the noncompliance guidelines. We use SmartWebs for our compliance notices, which has a limit of one photo per compliance letter. We always aim to capture the main issue in the snapshot we send. If we ever miss the mark, or if you’d like to see more, don’t hesitate to get in touch with the Community Life team. We’re here to assist and are happy to provide additional photos by email or arrange a time to walk you through your concerns in person.
Plant quantities and identification
At Alamar, homes can have any approved plants in the community guidelines. When deciding what to plant, check the minimum requirements to ensure they meet community standards.
If you need help identifying what plants are in your yard you can compare them the approved plant list or use a plant identifier app. Your neighbors have recommended apps like Plant Net Plant Identification, Plantin: Plant Scanner, PictureThis – Plant Identifier, and even ChatGPT. Some smart phones include a a visual look up feature in your camera phone to assist in searching for a variety of things, including plants.