Hi, I just dug up a huge green & white hosta. I don't know the name but I can send a picture if you would like. I'm interested in your- - white gooseneck loosestrife - wooly thyme groundcover - golden-flowered sedum groundcover - variegated lemon thyme thanks, Louise

Birch trees will suck the earth dry wherever it's roots can reach out to. Suggestions then would be to concentrate on dry gardens and use plants like masses of wild flower blooms including echinacea. As for tips on bargains? Start with seeds. Bleeding hearts, ferns and solomon seal enjoy a wet garden. these are not good choices in that spot. A friend of mine has a huge birch tree in her yard and the same thing happened. In her case though, she had a bed set up several feet away from the tree and although the place was still a bit dry, it wasn't too dry that it could sustain plants like hostas, irises (and masses of irises), and yuccas (which I don't recommend as it is difficult to remove and it spreads).

I am aware of some parks departments in NE WI who, facing decline of centuries-old oak trees, did in fact mulch huge areas. I am less well-aware of the outcome of these projects. Even the city I work in-I supervised this job-did roughly the same thing in a park where the old oaks started dropping off. But then the summer of '93 came along-heavy rain nearly every day all summer! That area had been dammed up by park road paving project which raised the elevation of the road surface, such that those trees never had a chance. So what was learned? Not much. That area is now a playground, and yes, new trees were planted. But as a practical matter, unless there's something wrong, no, I wouldn't suggest someone "needs" to mulch around an old, established, and healthy tree. One more comment: We constantly here advocate mulching but not soil amending. I myself am in that camp. But.........if a sufficiently large area can be so treated, that changes the dynamics greatly. At that point, we would no longer be creating the drainage anomalies and other undesirable effects of amending backfill soil at planting. This is really a different thing and should be treated as such. True, there may not be much published data suggesting improved plant performance when large areas are amended with organic matter, but this practice does create a more forest-like environment and something about where trees originally came from strongly suggests-to me at least-that this could have merit. Finally, agree with poster above that leaf compost is extremely good for plants, although my primary usage has been as an amendment in annual and perennial display beds. To say it makes a difference would be a huge understatement. And yes, I know, some think the proper name is leaf mold. I don't and I know that's just a quaint, outdated word for compost. +oM

If rocks of any size are touching the root crown or buttress roots they may presents problems over an extended period of time, as the rocks retain excessive moisture. This excessive moisture is just the environment fungi, bacteria, and mold are looking for. The root crown flare should be exposed and not covered with rocks, wood mulch, plants, or anything else. The large rocks around the white birch look pretty good, but the city owned tree root crown is totally covered in a mound of rocks. Rocks and wood mulch incorporated together would be fine. Wood mulch by itself works too. Just expose that root flare and do what you think looks best. I personally prefer wood mulch, fallen leaves and stems, as it mimics what we see naturally. The 5-6' from the tree base is just a general guideline. The closer you get to the base of the tree, the larger and more important the root structures become. Driving a shovel near the base of the tree to create a planting hole can have consequences to the lifespan and health of the tree if large roots are cut. If you don't want to severely shorten the lifespan of the white birch, do not cut one of the four main trunks. This will do little to reduce the size of the root system and will surely kill the whole tree sooner than later.