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Planting new tree in established pachysandra bed

7 years ago

I have an established bed of pachysandra in the middle of which I would like to plant a new redbud tree. Is this asking for failure or can the tree be gotten established before the pachy takes back over?

I have already bought the young tree. It's probably only 5 feet tall, less than an inch in trunk diameter and potted in a 12-inch nursery pot. My plan was to dig out a circle in the bed with a diameter well in excess of the current root ball, remove all the pachy roots from the soil in that circle, fill back in and mulch the bare dirt. It is in a spot that I can provide as much drip irrigation as needed.

Based on my past experience with pachysandra, I know that mulch will not keep it at bay forever but I'm hoping that the tree will get established in time. My area was planted with pachysandra back in the day like it was going out of style, so I see established stands surrounding trees of all kinds around, but I've never tried to plant in the middle of it before. Based on what you know of redbuds, is this a sound plan?

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Comments (3)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
7 years ago
once a year.. shapren your shovel.. and just re establish the weed free zone ... come on.. you can do it .. lol ..

now.. no way in the world.. i would plant in a tree this time of year ...

i would .. in the pot its in now ... pot it into a much larger pot [no root disturbance].. and backfill the pot.. so it wont blow over in every wind .. and the bigger pot will keep the smaller pot cooler ...

i would then plant the tree in the proper planting time for your area ... in my MI.. it april BEFORE it leafs out ...

just because you buy it ... does not mean its the right time to plant it ...

also.. i would never put a tree on irrigation ... after a good soaking in.. they simply dont need that much water .. once a week.. insert finger. and find out if it needs water .. might be a month, with good mulch.. before it needs to be watered again ....

see link for planting and after care ...

or.. just wing it.. go ahead.. plant it ... live and learn ... ive done that.. win some. lose some ... especially if you have a guarantee from the store ...

ken

https://sites.google.com/site/tnarboretum/Home/planting-a-tree-or-shrub
kentrees12
7 years ago
The procedure you propose is eminently doable. The question is, is there enough sun for good growth and bloom of the redbud? All the pachysandra I've seen is pretty much used in places that are very shady, not to mention rooty. It's one of very few plants that will tolerate mature sugar maples and still look fairly presentable. Pachysandra in full sun is a rarity, it usually looks yellow and unhappy. In nature, redbud will grow in shade, even heavy shade, but its form will be rather open and ungainly and blossoms will be sparse at best. Under what conditions is your pachysandra bed?
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ajs317
Original Author
7 years ago
Thanks both. The location is partial sun--probably 4-6 hours depending on the month, maybe a bit more if you count dappled sunlight as I live on a heavily wooded lot. In the height of summer, the pachysandra in this area does look a bit unhappy but it seems to rebound in the fall and spring.

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