Plants severely pruned in my front yard in the mid-October 2005 during the unanounced raid by a contractor hired by the City of Oakland, California:

Agave (Agave sp.): leaves chopped off.

Bottlebrushes (Callistemon citrinus) pruned from seven feet high down to four feet high. More "blight?"

Beschorneria (Beschorneria tubiflora), damaged by weed whackers.

Tulip tree (Magnolia x soulangeana), pruned of virtually all its smaller branches and leaves.

Jade Plant (Crassula ovata), severely pruned.

Pyracantha shrub (Pyracantha koidzumii),

Pride of Madeira (Echium candicans), weed whackers peeled off bark on main stem.

Ferns,

Golden Dewdrop shrubs (Durantia repens), pruned from six feet high down to four feet high. Is this Oakland's war on "blight?"

Abraham Lincoln red Rose bushes (Rosa rubiginosa), pruned from seven feet high down to three feet high. Is it illegal to have seven foot high Roses?

Sweet Broom shrubs (Nandina domestica),

Salvia perennials (Salvia mexicana), cut down to the ground.

Pink Pussy Willow shrubs (Salix caprea),

Sago Palm (Cycas revoluta), this magnificant specimen had about a dozen long arching fronds that were about eight feet long and arched to about ten feet high. Too spectacular for the neighbors to bear?

Cabbage Palm (Cordyline australis), this magnificant plant was pruned to remove all of its flowering stalks and its lower hanging brown leaves. Natural growth must be altered (or reformed...).

Double Pink Hawthorn tree (Crataegus oxycantha). About half of the total mass of foliage of this street tree was removed. Supposedly, Oakland requires that street trees be trimmed to only fifteen feet high, but this requirement is only enforced extremely selectively. Just a quick glance on my street and a couple of neighboring streets reveals many many thirty and forty foot trees growing right through the power lines. No problemo...

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Web page last updated on 17 November 2005.