Cutting out large Yew shrubs and replacing with smaller shrubs
ranger481vs
12 years ago
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MollyDog
12 years agoRelated Discussions
What trees/shrubs best for large corner lot?
Comments (13)I would suggest that this forum could maybe suggest a couple of general principles from which you could develop your own plan, but it's true that you need to be willing to get yourself up a learning curve about both gardening and landscaping to make this work. To tell the truth though, if you don't do the learning curve pretty much all the plants you buy and even professional advice will be a bit if a waste of money, because plants need to be maintained to be of any aesthetic use. The safest thing to do if you don't want to get too involved is just to have all grass!! I think, first, I would put nothing that the dog walkers can destroy by the street. A lot of novices are inclined to cling to the perimeter of the lawn when planting, and that is usually a mistake - by the driveway, plants interfere with getting in and out, and by the street, plants are subject to dog abuse and road salt. Grass is the best plant for those areas. You don't have to have beds anywhere, not even at the house, but if you want some, then I would suggest nice deep beds at the house and maybe another bed within the lawn somewhere. If you outline the bed with a row of flat bricks, it will be easy to mow around, although the edge will always require some maintenance. A key question is always "what do you want to accomplish?" If it is just to fill those beds, ask yourself whether you really want those beds. It is no crime to just seed them over with grass. Some sample objectives might be to block or enhance sightlines, to make the house look connected to the lot, to have flowers to watch and nurture, or just to fit in with the neighbours. Let us know how some of our comments strike you, and we may have more advice. I'd definitely start with a visit to the library for some general gardening and basic landscaping books. Just to clarify, in my mind gardening is the process of caring for the living things that plants are, while landscaping is the whole process of creating the external environment in which the plants will grow - but which may or may not actually include plants! Some landscapes are just gravel and boulders, for instance, or fishponds... KarinL...See MoreCutting back large shrubs
Comments (8)i have no camellia experience as to elderberry ... run it over with the truck.. dig it up.. leave it on the driveway for a week .... probably couldnt kill it if you wanted to ... there is a lot of argument over cutting off all the food making machines.. leaves.. before transplant .... and in your case.. TWICE.. prior to moving ... and that would hold true for an evergreen type tree ... DO NOT DO THAT ... the elderberry is deciduous for me.. move it any time its nudey ... but my gut.. with no experience.. says do NOT do that with the camellia ... others can tell you i am wrong.. if i am ... ALL size estimates at a given time frame.. e.g. for conifers.. its 10 years ... and at 20 years.. they are usually twice as big ... the easy way ... is to understand that NOTHING really stops growing at some magical height... use google images.. to see the vast potential.. of any given plant .... here, you are talking shrubs.. and they dont grow up.. like trees... but they still..a s you have learned.. continue FOREVER.. in height .... you can keep them smaller.. thru REJUVENATION PRUNING OF FLOWERING SHRUBS .... google that term ... [but elderberry would fit in that system.. and i bet NOT the camellia] ken...See MorePruning to create a smaller shrub
Comments (6)I have three Little Lambs in a grouping that I cut back pretty severely every year- I have had fun experimenting with different shapes and learning how pruning directs growth. That said, I am done. I am replacing them with Bobos this fall. In fact I already have the Bobos growing them up in pots- I found them really cheaply and struck while the iron was hot so sourcing in the fall wouldn't be an issue. One of the Little Lambs is being discarded as it insists on growing deformed leaves. One is being moved to a spot where it can grow it's heart out, and one is undecided- it may end up planted in my woods where it is unlikely to flourish but will make a dandy deer buffet. Not a lot of room for it anywhere else as I already have so many varieties of paniculatas and another two larger LL's down the hill that are going to have to come out sooner or later- they're just too floppy to suit me. So anyone near me needs three or four mature Little Lambs, bring a six pack and have at it!...See MoreShrubs to replace large areas of turf grass
Comments (12)In all honesty, if it were mine, I would step back for a bit and think about goals and maintenance rather than starting with plant selection. IME southern WI is an area with enough rain so that many of your most common weeds will be woody, a combo of invasives like buckthorn and bittersweet and natives that are prolific seeders like wild cherries, red maple, and box elder. Your soil will also likely have a large seed bank of herbaceous plants that if the soil is disturbed by tilling or stripping sod, will sprout. You will need a plan to keep both woody and herbaceous weeds under control, especially the invasives, and speaking from experience, two acres is a lot of weeding. Even my large clumps of staghorn sumac and elderberry aren’t dense enough to prevent weeds. I just noticed a large buckthorn that came up in my elderberry and birds perch in my staghorn sumac and plant such lovelies as poison ivy below when they poop out seeds after eating the berries. You also want to know if there are any town ordinances that control what you can grow. Some areas have “weed” ordinances that require that you either have beds or mown turf. Do you have deer or woodchucks? Are ticks an issue in your area since they are far more of a problem in areas of tall grass and shrubs than in turf? Do you have a use for turf areas such as a play area for kids or just to set off a view? In my area there are many folks who maintain fields of herbaceous plants or woodlands, but IME shrubs won’t be as easy to maintain without hand work. I regularly use hands and pliers to remove seedlings of woody and herbaceous plants from densely planted shrub beds because if I didn’t they would be overrun by tree seedlings, and use a brush cutter a couple of times a year to to keep fields from reverting to forest. For two acres you will either need to learn how to use a scythe or buy a brush mower or hire someone who has the proper equipment to maintain fields or meadows. IME, mown lawn or unmaintained woodlands are by far the easiest maintenance there is, though two acres is too small for a true woodland and will still need weeding. I would consider starting with some beds of native shrubs and perennials with perhaps some stretches of the property where you can convert to small unmown areas. See how much maintenance you can manage and whether you enjoy it. Your choice isn’t either all meadow and shrubs or all turf grass, but can be accomplished in small steps over time to suit the amount of time, skills, and energy you have. And that will change over time. What I could maintain with my husband 20+ years ago in my forties is different from what I can now maintain as a widow in my sixties, even with hired help with some work and a tractor to pull the brush mower, so I am starting to make choices about what I can reasonably maintain both now and looking into the future. You have some great suggestions above for shrubs, and I will add additional suggestions if you can tell me something about your soils, both the texture (sandy or clay or some mix) and the pH which will strongly influence what you can grow. There is a fair range of pH in WI, so we need to know what yours is for many plants. One large shrub to consider that is tolerant of a range of soils is spicebush, Lindera benzoin. Very early, tiny flowers create a haze of chartreuse, and it has bright yellow autumn leaves and supports spice bush swallowtail as well as early pollinators....See Moreken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
12 years agoflora_uk
12 years agoken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
12 years agoranger481vs
12 years agoken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
12 years agoken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
12 years agoWendyB 5A/MA
12 years agofmart322
12 years ago
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