Boxwood Transplant Question - Help!
shamity
11 years ago
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sam_md
11 years agoRelated Discussions
Boxwood Hedge - Raised Bed - Questions
Comments (10)Thanks (everyone) for the feedback- very helpful. Some additional details below: So, Math was never my favorite subject. I went out back and measured the distance of the fence from corner to gate (which is where the privacy is really needed). We're at 28 feet total. To get to the young maple (which is a natural transition point) it's 20 feet. So, we're looking at the hedge being somewhere between 20-28 feet depending on how we want to taper/transition. The Boxwoods are about 1.5' wide. I'm thinking we will space them about 10" apart...that should give us coverage along the fence with a little wiggle room. It will add a bunch of immediate privacy and some room for the hedge to establish and then connect...and it sounds like a season or two should do the trick. Once we transplant the current grasses/plants and remove some pavers, we should have a width of about 6 feet to work with, reduced to about 4.5 feet at the Hydrangeas. Hoping this is enough space for the hedge and to texture some plants in front. Specific to the responses above: Steve- good thoughts on spacing and thanks for the Geranium and Hosta suggestions. We have a lot of Hosta in our front and sprinkled through the back. We will definitely use that to complement the boxwood hedge. The raised bed idea was two-fold: improve drainage for the hedge and make sure they don't compete/hurt the Hydrangeas. I was thinking a base of peastone/gravel before backfilling the bed would solve both problems (but making sure the depth of the backfill matched the current depth of the boxwood pots). We'll religiously trim the boxwoods as the current height works for us (another foot would be OK too). Beyond that, I'd need a ladder to trim and would like to avoid it...realize this may be a pipe dream after a few years, even with regular trimming? Digger- the Boxwoods are Common/European (Buxus Sempervirens). Based on the feedback here, I will space them a bit and get closer to your 18" on center suggestion. We brought the Boxwoods home last Sunday. Haven't watered them yet since we've had ample rain. It doesn't sound like watering the pots will be neccessary unless we hit a dry spell...and that seems unlikely with the New England spring forecast. I'll keep checking the root balls...I was going to build the raised bed using pressure treated 4x4 for the posts (sunk in ground). 2x4 treated cedar for the side boards. I was planning on building the box without digging down and sinking any of the cedar. We're on a light slope so I'd build the top of the box first, elevate it and level using wood blocks, then skill saw tapered pieces to ground level to run with the grade. Remove the blocks once secured. Add some aluminum spanners throughout to prevent bowing and backfill the bad boy. Final depth would be slightly above the depth of the pots in order to put drainage stone on the bottom and backfill with dirt. We run soaker hoses throughout the garden to handle watering...as far as the boxwoods themselves, we looked at nurseries, but couldn't find anything in the 6' range for under $400/piece. We found the current ones at Home Depot for $99. Still cost us a fair amount, but seemed reasonable for an instant 6-7" privacy hedge. The boxwoods themselves came from a nursery in CT. I suspect you could contact your local HD and make a request for however many you want...that's what we did (Waltham store). Thanks for the VT boxwood link too! Oracle- I didn't even consider the sunlight factor or wider bottom versus top. More reason to space them further apart. As I mentioned above, we're more like 20-28 feet in needed privacy, so the 10 boxwoods should balance better. We can certainly return some if all 10 aren't needed. Thoughts on a distance from the fence? We have 6 feet to work with for most of the hedge row, but we'd like to add some plants/shrubs in front to layer the garden. The Hydrangeas are 4.5 feet from the fence to center and we don't want to touch those...so we're tighter on space for about 8 feet of the boxwoods that will sit behind the hydrangeas. Do you think the boxwoods will hurt the well established hydrangeas given our space constraints? The berm idea is also interesting. I like the idea of less work, particularly if it provides a healthier environment. No standing water in the garden area. We're not bothered by the Boxwood smell, aside from the 'cat pee' driving our dogs wild. They'll be thrilled. Can't wait to chase them out of the gardens on a regular basis this summer... Based on the feedback so far, maybe the raised bed is overkill. Yes, it would look nice but it will take some time/money to build and there is a benefit to getting these in the ground sooner. How about Oracle's berm idea? It would add some texture to the garden and presumably help with drainage too. More than anything, I want to make sure we don't hurt the Hydrangeas. It would be a real bummer if the boxwood row doesn't take well, but I'd much prefer that over having the boxwoods thrive at the expense of the hydrangeas. Attached is a picture that gives a sense as to the current spacing between the fence and hydrangeas...you can see the fence line at the bottom left corner. Thanks again for all the suggestions. Would welcome any additional thoughts....See Moretransplanting boxwoods
Comments (6)Greenman, After you remove the boxwoods, you can plant whatever you want there. You might want to add some new organic material like compost and pine bark fines to the soil at that point. No stupid questions! In southern Oklahoma the nurseries are mostly open year-round except for a couple of very small mom-and-pop operations that are home-based and only open spring though fall. All the major nurseries and big box stores usually have plants up to a point. Down here, they start clearing out the plants at the big box stores in Sept./Oct. to make room for Christmas trees and stuff. I would think it would be about the same all over OK. The nurseries usually have stock here deep into fall, but often it is older stuff (which can be an advantage) and new plants are not arriving regularly like they do during the main gardening season. The reason older stuff can be an advantage is that, if they have been held in containers and watered adequately all spring and summer, then they often have better-developed root systems than that on nursery stock fresh from the wholesaler in early spring. Right now, many nurseries in zone 8 (Dallas-Fort Worth area) south of us are already having clearance sales (some offering up to 70% off) and trying to clear out unsold merchandise. I'll buy plants at this time of year at the sales, hold them in dappled shade, water them as needed (usually daily in July-August) and plant them in October. Dawn...See MoreMeyer Lemon pot transplant help and watering question
Comments (1)Your tree looks nice. It is best to give it a though watering and let it dry out before watering again. Watering every day will cause eventual root root and the tree will decline or die. You might want to lift the tree out of its container to see if it is root bound/wrapped. If so you will need to trim off the wrapping roots and up the container size by about a 2 inch radius and 2 inch deeper. Water in well and place in shade for about a half week and slowly increase the amount of sunlight it gets each day. Morning and evening sun is best. Avoid mid day sun at first. Wait at least 2 weeks before fertilizing. Steve...See MoreRecently transplanted boxwoods - hard freeze expected Saturday
Comments (5)if you watered them in properly at transplant .. deep and thoroughly .... then one might argue that that is good enough.. and all watering hours before the cold.. would is chill the soil in advance of the cold ... [dont go thinking your some orange farm in FL... ] cold air temps.. this time of year.. does not necessarily mean that the cold will be long enough to get deep into the soil .. where you want a little root growth/pumping right now ... the mulch would also prolong soil cooling at depth ... does your version of z5 have soil freeze??? the key usually is moving things in dormancy .. and that occurs as sunlight wanes.. and cold temps come along ... dont go all skinny momma on them now.. after doing it basically at the proper time.. and now thinking your poor babies are going to get cold ... could you have done it a few weeks earlier ... probly ... but you're probably within the proper time anyway ... you are just going to have faith .... now.. if it were dipping to minus 28 this weekend.. i would also worry .... but then... i would have a multitude of other non plant related problems.. lol .. and keep in mind.. with no day heat ... if you watered deeply at planting .. odds are.. they will stay moist thru next spring .. there simply wont be enough heat in the day.. to suck out water from depth .... so dont go drowning them for the next few weeks.. insert finger and FIND OUT if they will be needing any further water .... in other words.. dont kill them with too much love ... see link on watering... if nothing else ... ken https://sites.google.com/site/tnarboretum/Home/planting-a-tree-or-shrub...See Moreshamity
11 years agosam_md
11 years agogardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
11 years agoken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
11 years agomrgpag SW OH Z5/6
11 years ago
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