Jim, I put 28 yards of dirt every spring on my yard, still trying to level it, from all the mole holes. I just finished the 2nd 14 yard truck. I have a question, what is clay?? I get sandyloam from GJ Transport in Portland, they sell it for $325 for 14 yards, do you know where I can get a better deal? I could use another 14 yards to put down on the driveway, its so much lower there than the rest of the yard, I cannot make my self pay that much money for dirt, that one day will be covered by a driveway. Barbra,

I'm wondering how it would be if you reduced the stems to near the base and then went lower using a sharp mattock or even axe. I'm thinking of it as being in the same category as removing a full-size Phormium tenax - requiring serious effort. It does help to have a manual winch to keep tension on the plant while you chop the roots through - and to pull it clear. Sharp tools and great prudence. If someone with a 'calf-dozer' could access your small yard, then taking it out with the front scoop could be an option. Or hauling it out for you. The mini-size machines used for working in ditches and tight corners. You might find that there is a local company with the skills to work in constricted areas to remove plants past their acceptable size. (I hope they don't have to cart it through your house to take it away... I remember doing a job where I had to do that.) It would be worth a trawl through the Yellow Pages, perhaps. For the roots: Personally, I'd leave it for a season to see if there was any regrowth, then put fresh soil/compost into the area and allow natural decay to work for me. The other thing I'd be looking for would be the effect of the change in light density on the other plants in the yard, You may find some of them start into enthusiastic growth as soon as they get more light and water.

Hi If you mean white bird of paradise they tend to spead rather than go deep But will still require a lot of diggin and hacking NOw if you mean Travelers palm the real GIANT I eneded up with a hole 8 feet deep and it still resprouted for several years I'd sure recommend some kind of power equipment. I hired a bobcat for the travelers . gary

Strelitzia nicholai is commonly used as a large indoor foliage plant in California, where it can do quite well long term if it is treated well. If you have the room for it, I would suggest keeping it as an indoor plant rather than trying to "dwarf" it by letting the first frosts kill the tops from leaving it outdoors in the fall. They are relatively slow to regrow from the roots if they are frozen back to the ground, and as Cagary says, they don't divide all that easily as the roots are massive. I'd avoid fertilizing them much to try and slow their growth down, and give them enough light indoors so that the foliage doesn't become too floppy. The actual trunks take some time to form, and new leaves aren't really going to increase in height significantly if kept as an indoor plant. Unless you have early spring warmth, this plant is unlikely to recover well from being completely frozen back, although they regularly do so here in northern California conditions, but then again we are USDA zone 9b climate.