Woody plants have a shallow, fibrous root system that would certainly be broiled with solarization (if done properly). In other words, the working part of the root system is most definitely in the upper few inches of soil. Even 'tap-rooted' plants comply to this. Another factor is that it takes a very short time for newly planted trees and shrubs (as long as they were planted correctly) to establish a root system well into the surrounding soil area, far beyond the trunk. Since proper solarization requires an air tight fit, I don't think that laying the plastic down piece-meal would be successful. I also worry a bit about the thinness of your plastic. Don't you think that you'll have problems with it becoming brittle and/or ripping? How long are you planning on keeping the plastic on the lawn?

Thank you so much for the ideas and encouragement! This has become my de-facto exercise program for the summer, so might as well pile on the work. :-) Sounds as though I should make sure to do the prep (now I know what I will be doing the July 4 weekend - landscaping starts 7/7) in advance and try to be home when they dig out the existing shrubs so that I can get them moved over immediately. On the upside, while I am not activating the irrigation in the rear of the house this year (pipes will be run but no sprinklers installed yet in that part), I am having a freestanding faucet put in, where before there was nothing! So I can actually do the watering. No wonder the prior owners complained nothing would grow back there. Who the heck builds a rambling house on an acre and includes only a single spigot? Enjoy, that's a good point about waiting on adding anything to these...I'd rather wait until a better time, and this project alone will likely be ambitious enough. Timbu, thanks so for the suggestions - I'll be looking into those! Linda, your comments about cutting back bring a general question, too. I've been timid about pruning in general. On a yearly basis, how far back should I really be cutting all these guys? Maybe I'd have revived the spirea more quickly if I'd been more aggressive! A related question: as I think I mentioned, the daylilies, while leafier and healthier than they've ever been, really don't flower. I've been in this house 7 years and am just learning about dividing; the prior owners got too old to tend to the place, so these things are quite dated and certainly have had nothing more than water and the prior year's dead leaves pulled off of them for some time, plus a bit of fertilizer last year and this. Should I be dividing when I move them - and now or in the fall? Or are they likely just too old to be doing anything at this point? Poor things deserve better treatment going forward, not to mention medals for surviving as they have.

I grow most of my clematis through trees and shrubs. If your shrubs are against the house, I would plant your clematis about 2 feet in front of your shrubs. With an E exposure they should get plenty of morning sun. I would plant type 3 clematis with light colored flowers. They show up best against a dark green background. There are type 3 clematis that bloom at different times from May to September. You can select different varieties so you always have at least one in bloom. You can hard prune them the first couple of years. If you want your vines to grow higher, you can cut them back at 3-4 feet after a few years. You will need to give them extra water during the summer as your shrubs will take up a lot of moisture. They will have no problem climbing your shrubs. Just guide the vines into the lower branches and away they will go. Polish spirit is much too vigourous for most shrubs and small trees. Plant it on a large fence, shed, wall etc. I can get 15-20 feet and produce 50 or more vines. It is beautiful and blooms all summer for me. I love it but it needs room. Here are a couple of photos of some clematis growing up junipers and cedar shrubs to give you an idea. Huldine and Betty Corning growing up a cedar shrub. This is Viola. I love this flower, but the dark color doesn't show up well with the dark green foliage. A lighter background would have been better. This was Polish spirit last year. It got so large it smothered this 14' eldeberry and caused the branches to break. I moved the clematis this spring to a 30' cement light pole, and my eldeberry is starting to recover. Good luck with your clematis. Karen

A few years back my parents had to remove several mature burford holly bushes that had sunk their roots into their septic drain field. The bushes had large trunks and extensive root systems. In order to remove them Dad cut them down to a couple feet tall and dug a trench around each bush, cutting all the major roots that he could find. Then he wrapped ropes around the trunk and tied it to the trailor hitch on their van in order to pull each bush out of the ground. I have seen where people have trimmed them up from the ground into small trees. If you can't get them out of the ground you could try going that route. Kara