This year has been extremely challenging for maintaining healthy trees across the community. There are close to 1800 trees representing over 30 species. We lost several canary palm trees at the entrance to Quail Ridge due to the palm weevil in the spring and the city lost three canary palms at the entry to the south mesa on Paseo de las Verdes. The palm weevil has wreaked havoc on this species of tree across all of southern California. The city alone lost between 50 and 60 canary palm trees.

Recently, a species of pine tree, the eldarica pine, has been seriously affected by a fungus called the ghost canker. All across southern California you will find evidence of these affected pine trees including a number of them in Encinitas Ranch. We have approximately 145 of these trees spread throughout the community and as of now, our arborists and chemical/pesticide experts have informed the Landscaping Committee that 15 trees will most likely need to be removed at some point and that number is likely to grow over time.

There is no treatment for this fungus at this time.

Below is a photo of a pine tree with the ghost canker. The most notable sign is that most of the needles at the bottom of the tree are turning brown and they do so very quickly. We want to mitigate any chances that this fungus will spread to other healthy trees.

We do not like to remove trees however, in these cases there was no alternative. We contract with Aguilar Pest Control who is arguably the best company in southern California to provide plant and tree treatments. They are constantly inspecting all of our trees for pests and disease.

Every year we lose between 10 and 20 trees due to either disease or falling over from a major storm (a serious safety issue). This is in line with historical data and below what other communities experience. In most cases the trees are replaced usually with a different species.

You may see our arborist, Enhanced Arbor Management, in the community removing the worst looking eldarica pines trees. More will likely need to be removed in 2026.

When a tree is removed the Landscaping Committee will determine if there is a need for a replacement. In some cases there is no need and in others, they will plant a different species.