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Landscape Design

Planting over wall footing

9 years ago

Greetings,

I am getting conflicting advice from landscapers and wanted to check with the experts on this forum.

We have a block wall in our backyard. It is a good 50 feet from the house. We have 24 inches of dirt from our finish grade to the top of the wall footing. One landscape installer said because we have 24 inches we could plant our hedge plants (we're leaning towards Podocarpus gracilior) on top of the footing. The footing extends out 3 feet from the wall, but he's recommending we plant maybe 2 feet from the wall, so we're only 1 foot away from the dirt in the "yard". There's enough room for the roots to grow, and they can also grow out into the yard according to him.

Someone else said that's a bad idea and that we need to plant at least a foot away from the footing. (i.e. 5 feet from the wall) My concern is I don't want to lose the last five feet of my yard.

Does anyone have any advice on where to plant the hedge?

Many thanks!

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Comment (1)

gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
9 years ago
It is really not the footing at issue but the room laterally for the roots to spread.The majority of tree roots - even very big trees - are concentrated in the top 12-16" of the soil, so the 24" depth is adequate. Not generous, but adequate. But roots spread out laterally a good distance away from the tree, in some cases equal to several times the height of the tree.

As long as there is sufficient space for the roots to spread out easily on at least one side of the trees you should be fine.

Although the podocarpus can get large, they do not have an aggressive root system and can be grown in tight spaces. You can also shear them to maintain a specific height and to form a dense hedge.
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