Sun City Grand Residential Design Guidelines-Landscape Plants

We've been adding to our landscaping of late and it really has been a lot of fun. We've been trying to have more variety between cactus and shrubs.

The plant above is a Pencil Cactus (Euphorbia tirucalli). I have seen a few of them in the community and we wanted to plant one ourselves. We planted it and then I got to thinking, hope it's an approved landscape plant. I couldn't find it on the list. Come to find out the Pencil Cactus is poisonous.

So I called the Standards Department at Sun City Grand and got the okay. It's in the Euphorbia family and therefore it's approved. Good thing.

Sun City Grand Residential Design Guidelines spell out the following:

-Minimum Planting Requirements (by lot type)
-Approved and Prohibited Landscape Plants

For example if you have an INTERIOR LOT, you should have the following plantings:

Front Yard & Backyard should each have the following amount of plantings:

• 6 shrubs; 1 gallon size
• 3 shrubs; 5 gallon size
• 1 tree; 24in. box size

If you have a PREMIER LOT, PREMIER PLUS LOT, ESTATE LOT, LOT WITH 75 FOOT FRONT YARD WIDTH OR LARGER you should have the following plantings:

Front yard

• 6 shrubs; 1-gallon size
• 3 shrubs; 5-gallon size
• 2 trees; 24-inch box size

(Corner Lot 3 trees, 24-inch box size)

Back yard

• 6 shrubs; 1-gallon size
• 3 shrubs; 5-gallon size
• 1 tree; 24-inch box size

Additional plants may be required by the Architectural Review Committee to cover bare areas of large lots.

For more detailed information regarding other lot types and planting requirements view the Sun City Grand Residential Design Guidelines.

The approved landscape plants list is pretty big, however the non approved is pretty darn small. This is a good thing, as you're less likely to be confused about what not to plant.

The following are Specifically Prohibited Plants:

Trees

• Olive (Olea Europacea) (fruit bearing)
• Mulberry (Morus or Moraceae)
• Eucalyptus

Shrubs

• Nerium oleander
• Full-sized oleanders are prohibited
• "Petite pink" or dwarf varieties are permitted
• Yellow,White or peach-colored oleanders are permitted as they are not "oleander" but Thevetia peruviana/nerifolia shrub or tree

Ground Covers

• Common Bermuda Grass

Vines

• Cat's claw vine (Macfadyena unguis-cati)
• Yellow Trumpet Vine, Cat's Claw-Trumpet (Doxantha unguis-cati, Bignonia tweediana, Bignonia)
• Cat-claw acacia (Acacia greggii) is permitted as a shrub or tree

There are so many options when it comes to making your yard the way you want it. Whether you're the type that likes larger trees or more cacti (Cactaceae), there are options for all of us. When it doubt it doesn't hurt to contact someone at Sun City Grand Standards for clarification. Standards did tell me that just about all cacti are approved.