wow jim, bad morning?

Amanda, if you want advice on whether or not to remove them, post a pic so we can see them w/the house. They don't seem to be adding all that much to the landscaping.

I believe it's a juniper? not sure I'm sure the plant people can advise you further.

I needed to save money removing a shrub, and of course I removed what I could. What I confirmed is that leaving the stub/ stump, it will dry out/die, and become much easier for man, woman, child, dog to remove. ;)

its not a juniper.. its a chamaecyparis ...

it doesnt matter what you do with the plant.. if you dont get the groundhog out from under the shed ... now that he located it.. im sure the pup isnt going to ignore it ...

btw. the plant is about 3 feet too close to the shed ... it was probably a babe when planted.. with no real understanding that as a tree .. of which conifers are .. they never stop growing ..

if the shed is painted.. i would get it off the shed before it rots it ...

and since its rather heavily damaged.. why bothering trying to move it somewhere else ...

i dont understand the first answer.. why even bother signing in??? .. when you are in that kind of mood ...

depending on where you are .. how much it might grow in a season.. you might spend 3 to 5 years.. trying to grow it back into a pleasant shape ... i would not bother ...

ken

thanks ken,

so it would eventually grow up to look like this?

yeah, I think it needs to go. too close to the structure

These look like they are probably Platycladus to me (closer view needed). Anyway if it were my situation I would just cut them off and dig them out at this point. Otherwise you are going to be looking at the damage for years before they are able to fill back in. And maybe the circumstances are such that more damage is coming.

gardengal, maybe my posts are an attempt to get first time posters to use the information on the internet vs asking questions.

If this is social media, OK, but often these new users do not participate in the forum...one and done.

I am ok with your scolding/moderating.

The entire point of these forums is to ask questions!! There is no rule that requires anyone to do research on their own, especially when they know nothing about the topic. So immediately scolding a new poster because they do ask questions that take at most 30 seconds to answer is at the very least unfriendly and counterproductive.

Wow okay didnt realize asking if a shrub is savable was drama. I'm just gonna ignore all of that.

The bushes are in front of a shed, not the house. And the groundhog seems to have vacated, but he has left and come back before numerous times so I guess we will see. Not really sure how to keep him away for good but the dogs seemed to drive him away. So fingers crossed that he's gone.

The bushes were here when we moved in. I wasnt really sure how to remove them ourselves without hiring out, but it sounds like the easiest route is to just cutting them down and then shoveling out the roots?

OK, but do you want those posters on your forum, does it make you feel smart because you know the answers?

The bush question was easy to answer, and the answers were available on the internet.

Thus the question: has this become or is a social media site, a website where people want to chat...I am willing to help posters who do not how to use the internet, but it appears I am offended by one time posters who will not do their own research....

I guess, there used to be more members than users....FWIW, this is a website selling advertising, based on traffic.

You are on the right track - cut them down and then get a shovel under them to dig them out.

Yes, the easiest route is cutting them down.

I just wanted to know if its savable or not. I can figure out how to remove it on my own. I've never removed a bush before or had any problems with a shrub before. Obviously there are people who know more about shrubs here than I do who could tell me if I just prune it if it will grow back or if I should just pull it.

Sorry I offended you with my inexperience with dog injured shrubs. I'm sure that I'll be able to find that exact bush with that exact damage on the internet real easy. Lmao

Okay thanks everybody I'll remove the shrubs and start looking into something to replace it with. As someone who loves gardening maybe I'll replace them with some perennials or a flowering shrub instead. I'm in 6a if anyone has good ideas for something that will fit the space. Obviously I dont want to plant anything that will wind up becoming overgrown and once the shrub is out it will also be a lot easier to fill the hole the groundhog was living in.

"I wasnt really sure how to remove them ourselves without hiring out, but it sounds like the easiest route is to just cutting them down and then shoveling out the roots?"

Exactly!! Might involve a bit of elbow grease but not something that needs to be hired out.

And feel free to ignore any comments from Jim. He has established a pattern of making unfortunate comments like the above that provide zero advice or help! And this website was present and answering gardening questions long before Houzz and its sales pitch was a concern. And it still is!! We like to help :-) At least most of us do!!

I’m in zone 6a too. I’m not sure from looking at the picture how much sun you get there. I see a tree trunk in the backyard so I assume partial shade, which means less than 6 hours of sun per day. Some really tough plants that can take partial shade are iris, especially the older varieties, (maybe you know someone with some in their yard?), echinacea or coneflowers, daylilies, munstead or phenomenal lavender, (I know lavender is supposed to be full sun, but I’ve grown munsted in partial shade for years and it’s done great). If you have full sun, which means more than 6hours of sun per day, you could grow any of the above, or peonies, roses, lilacs, rose of Sharon, or hydrangeas. Actually most of those except roses will do fine with partial shade as well. Hope that helps!

After you fill in the animal hole, plant your new shrub a little further out from the shed so it won't be touching the shed when fully grown. Or consider just using grass around the shed and plant some flowering shrubs along your back fence where you can get more height.

Thanks gardengal! As a novice gardener I have found this forum a great place and it has helped me learn a lot. I've already gotten someone to agree to help me pull them both out so we will probably do that next weekend!

Now I have a reason to start shopping for new shrubs! I've never planted a shrub before so this should be exciting. Of course as a flower gardener I'm drawn to all the flowering shrubs. I'm looking through the shrub madness shrubs to see if anything might work well in that space. Although an evergreen shrub might be more fitting. I'm going to check if any of my catalogs have shrubs!

Grace, I have fought some daylilies that took over the front garden. Never again!! I feel the same with rose of sharon, I just pruned the ones in the yard to get them looking decent but wont go for such a messy shrub again. We have a lilac and a burning bush as well in the back.

For plants there are tons of possibilities but part of me feels like a bush or shrub is more fitting. Maybe once the monstrosities are pulled it will be easier to visualize. I could just the area into a small garden, but either way I feel like some sort of shrub would be appropriate.

Old days, no one mistrusted neighbors talking in their neighborhood. There was friendliness. It's a more automated world that younger people are used to.

No reason not to ask others, cause this world is much bigger than the internet.

Oh, shut up Jim Mat.

The dog ate my bush. Then some mean person barked at you. You're good Amanda. @User This is the internet. There are answers here too.

I agree that after you remove the bushes, you’ll be able to visualize something new. Try taking the pic that you listed here to your local nursery, visualize the shrubs that they sell and ask for advise on dwarf shrubs. Unfortunately, based on experience with sheds and groundhogs, you may be looking at other future issues. Planting in front of a wood shed is going to promote rot and as you can already see, the growth of many bushes will keep the doors from fully opening. Groundhogs love to live under sheds and have their families there also. And even if that family has left, chances are good that another will appear the next year because there is already a burrow dug for them. Trying to block their “door” won’t help because the “house” is still there, they just need to install a new door! I have some large planter pots (nothing fancy - lightweight & inexpensive from Ross) that replaced bushes. I planted them with perennials, annuals and a trellis or hanging pot in each for height. If the planters are too low you could still have groundhogs and rabbits stopping by for dinner unless your dog is standing guard. Find out what the neighborhood animals like to eat before you plant anything that costs you money or time. Good luck with your project and if you have clay soil, wait until it’s dry before you start digging. You body will appreciate the wait!

If the burrowing animal is still there that problem will have to be solved before it is safe to replant.

When our next door neighbor was attempting to remove a rather large and gnarly juniper bush from the front corner of his porch,no struggling with a saw,shovel and big fork thing

were any help. I told him about the Canadian redneck method: Cue the banjos.

We used the garden hose to thoroughly soak the root ball,then wove a long sturdy chain around the roots and trunk.Fastened the other end of chain to back of his truck,and drove forward. The entire mess slurped out of the hole tout suite. Of course we exercised every safety precaution,even wearing eye protection.Celebrated with a Molson Canadian beer.

The dogs have been " standing guard" so I'm not sure that the ground hog is under there anymore. There is a bird feeder by that tree now so whenever they go out they're running off birds and squirrels and sniffing out the area. In front of that tree is their main potty area. Pretty sure he got scared off a while back. I think once cover has been removed it will be easier to tell. Basically there are just holes under the shed but I haven't seen an animal in a while. But then the puppy destroyed the bush so either she just had a ball destroying it or she was sniffing out an animal, can't be sure with my pup as she seems to have fun causing chaos -- we just replaced garden edging that she ripped out this past week. Either way the bush was destroyed and it's time for something new.

As for the shed door not opening fully. I don't think anyone cares about that since we hardly use the shed and it's mainly storage. And I think we will leave the red neck method to the pros

Are they both damaged? The one on the right looks quite nice, even if close to the shed. You might consider keeping it and planting something on the other side. Not one something, but a grouping that will make the asymmetry look intentional.

Amanda, sadly, since your bushes are conifers they won’t grow back easily from that kind of damage. If they had been non conifers we might have recommended cutting right back and they’d regrow. So, unfortunately, getting rid of them is probably the best course. Don’t be frightened of doing it wrong. You’re killing the plant so it doesn’t really matter how you do it. But do make sure you have good tools or you’ll be making it more difficult than it needs to be. I’d use loppers to cut the top off, a pruning saw to cut roots, a good spade and maybe a mattock.

So my dad cut the damaged one back a bit and he "thinks it looks better this way"..... I strongly disagree.. So now I'm trying to convince him to help me remove them which was the original plan.. I would prefer to just take them both out and start fresh. I think once they're out it will be easier to envision what to do with the space.

I think your dad did a fine job whether you like it or not. Tell him that, but that you want to get rid of it anyway.

That looks pretty darn good. Let him cut the other one and leave them until you decide what you really want to do.

as to dads opinion ... go run it over with the lawn tractor.. and see if he changes his mind .. lol ...

the base problem here. .is that the prior owner planted a bigbox babe about 4 feet too close to the shed.. with no concept of its future growth potential ..

for that reason alone.. get rid of it ...

and as to replacing them.. plant something new at least 4 feet away form the shed ... to avoid this problem in your future ...take the proper name of whatever you are considering .. to the images page of a search .. and look at the future monster you are thinking about ...

and if you want to plant something further out.. just cut this to the ground .. and apply a stump killer and be done with it.. no need to dig it out.. since you wont be planting that close again ....

if the shed is wood .. having a plant rubbing on wood is not good for the shed... nor trapped moisture.. etc ...

but what you really need to do.. is get whatever is under there.. out.. before some female has her spring babies ...

cover the hole and see if you have activity ... rake the soil.. so you can look for paw prints ..

i have ground hogs ... and they dig like that ... and often move on .. then in my case.. over the years.. along came a skunk who moved in ... then momma racoon and her young ... i think rabbits were in and out .. etc ... trapper bob took care of all that ....

imo.. that is your biggest problem right now ... the wild life ... solve that issue ...

ken

What's the harm -- nice Dad :) -- let them stay pruned there.

You'll continue having the same issue if you leave them because those are planted too close to the shed, and will give animals cover to tunnel in.

I think he did a pretty decent job considering how it looked before but still feels like it needs to go. Tomorrow he's gonna do the other one to match and then we will make a final decision. Plus we're getting soil to fill in the holes. I am debating on what I'd like to plant there instead... Maybe just create a new garden with two small hydrangeas or something. I've been looking at flowering shrubs and can't decide.

Amanda, I saw your stump-logs and wonder if those couldn't add some standard, or creative look near a work shed... unless Dad builds benches also! and place one under the shade tree. :)

wow! great pruning job! keep pruning like that. youre good to go!

looks awesome pruned! great job, dad!

Look into spireas. My favorites: magic carpet and goldflame.

So the other Bush didn't turn out nearly as good as the first one. We're hoping to pull them tomorrow. I still can't decide on a shrub to replace it. I like pinks, purples and blues. I saw a really pretty azalea down the road from me but they're poisonous to dogs so I don't think that's a good idea considering what the puppy did to this bush.