Rotted in the Roots: Phytophthora 101

TreePeople’s gorgeous nursery is pristine. Its manager, Jack Smith, runs a tight ship in order to keep the plants inside safe and protected.  Those who enter must pass through a massive enclosure and wash their shoes in order to even go near the plants. This keeps deer, many herbivorous insects, and plant pathogens like Phytophthora from causing harm to our saplings.

Phytophthora (pronounced Fie-TOF-ther-uh) literally translates from Greek to “plant destroyer,” so we have good reason to do what we can to keep it out of the nursery.… Read more >>

Tips to Share with Your Gardener

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As your garden evolves from a typical lawn-centered landscape to one that is more sustainable and appropriate to our southern California climate, it is important that the maintenance of your yard shifts to accommodate the new landscape.  Sometimes this involves working with your gardener to better understand the needs of your garden.

Some helpful tips to consider:

1) Adjust Your Maintenance Schedule

The shift toward a more climate-appropriate garden encourages a shift in how to schedule gardener maintenance visits. Water-saving gardens don’t require quick, weekly maintenance, but rather more intensive maintenance on a monthly basis.… Read more >>

Getting Inspired by our Development Team!

We call TreePeople headquarters “Yurt Village” because it’s comprised of 7 yurts nestled together in a little corner of Coldwater Canyon Park at the very top of Beverly Hills.

Each yurt contains one or two different teams – a massive yurt at the front of the village houses the Forestry team; another holds the Environmental Education team, another Policy, another Park Operations and Grants, and one more large yurt contains Marketing/ Communications and Development.

The entire village works together like a machine to support the daily operations of TreePeople.… Read more >>

Weeds of the Garden

Love ‘em or hate ‘em they are hard to ignore – whether they are producing lovely flowers or taking over the garden!

What really is a weed?

Basically, it is a plant growing where you don’t want it to grow.  When caring for your low-water use, climate-appropriate garden, weeds can overtake a garden (especially after a good season of rain) competing with your plants for water, nutrients, light and dominating the space.  

At first, they seem harmless. However, left to grow, they continue to spread their seeds each year and can take over your sustainable landscape.… Read more >>

Celebrating our Urban Foresters

LA Times (Kathryn Welch Howe)

In cities throughout Los Angeles, where extreme heat marks the summer seasons, trees are a key component in creating safer, more comfortable neighborhoods. That’s why we’re so happy to see citizens taking the initiative to fill in the gaps in spaces that need these trees.

Take Holmby- Westwood, for example, where citizen foresters took it upon themselves to organize with us and create the beautiful green spaces they deserve. Their incredible project will include 300 trees and will take up to 10 years to complete.… Read more >>

Deadheading and More!

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…and we are not talking about Grateful Dead fans!

As we have learned, maintenance of well-planned, sustainable landscapes not only helps decrease your water use and the amount of green waste you create, but also decreases the time it takes to maintain your yard.

Here are some general plant maintenance tasks that don’t take that much time, and can really boost the look of your garden.

General Plant Maintenance

  1. Deadheading

Deadheading is the removal of dead flowers or flower stalks.  Doing this typically creates a longer season of bloom by encouraging more flower production.… Read more >>

Addressing Equity with TreePeople

TreePeople got its name because its founder, Andy Lipkis, recognized the interconnectedness between trees and people. We need each other to thrive in Los Angeles and we’ve made it our mission to care and fight for both.

That’s why a major factor of the work we do is improving equity in LA. We believe that people of all socioeconomic backgrounds have a right to beautiful green spaces, which have been proven to improve both mental and physical health.

Los Angeles is facing an Urban Tree Crisis due to climate change, droughts, extreme heat, emerging pests and diseases, and development, which can significantly impact Angelenos’ everyday lives as well as health and well-being.… Read more >>

The Wars of the Roses!

To keep or not to keep? That is the question!

As more and more people convert their yards into a sustainable landscape, some are torn by their love of their favorites – such as hybrid roses – that are not “low” water- use plants. This doesn’t have to be a war of the roses!

The answer is to hydrozone your plants.

Hydrozoning is the practice of grouping plants by their similar water and sun needs.  By grouping plants into zones, it helps in your overall maintenance—watering appropriately, ensuring healthy plants, and allowing you to keep your more “moderate” or “high” water-use plants.… Read more >>

Heather Morris on her TreePeople Experience!

It was such a pleasant surprise to volunteer for Tree People. I’ve always been passionate in caring for our Earth and sustainability, and after Tree People reached out to see if I’d get involved, there was no hesitation to lend a hand.

Everything was provided for us when we got there; the only hard thing you have to do is decide on what you want to name your little sapling (ours varied between Some Disney characters and our own family member names).… Read more >>

Going Above, Recycling, and Beyond!

I am excited to share a quick brag about this past weekend’s GE Recycling & Beyond workshop. On February 2, 2019, despite the pouring rain and the recent LAUSD strike, we welcomed 13 teachers and students onto the campus of Parras Middle School in Redondo Beach to learn about campus waste reduction projects. Participants were led through a series of waste reduction activities, presentations, and a demonstration of the Parras MS campus waste system, given by the school’s very own Green Team.… Read more >>