Sometimes those shrubs around the house - the ones that had so much "curb appeal" two decades ago - just don't seem quite as appealing any more. Perhaps they've grown wild and straggly. Maybe you've repainted or remodeled and those "old" plants just don't seem to be quite right. For most of us, spring is the season when we take a look at our landscaping and think about what we could do to spruce it up. But the thought of tackling the job of removing those entrenched and well-established shrubs can be quite a deterrent! For example, take this question from a reader who would like to bring a new look to the front of her house. QUESTION: "My hubby and I live in a one story ranch style home which is about 20 years old. There are bushes in front of our home to the left of the porch (original plantings) which we would like to replace because they are basically overgrown and not very attractive. We have pruned them regularly, but would like to do something different in the front. Is this a job for a professional? Or do you think novices can take on a project like this? 1. The removal process: The bushes are evergreens (some type of arborvitae?) and about six feet tall - there are four of them planted about 2 feet from the house's foundation. Can we just cut them down to ground level and leave the roots? Or does something need to be done with the roots? 2. The replacement process: I love the look of a burning bush, but am open to other suggestions you may have. Thanks so very much for your assistance!" - Pat Aitken ANSWER: From the size of the plants you describe it should not be too large a chore. It is just whether or not you feel you are up to it! Yes, the roots need to be removed but this can be done with a tree spade. You can dig down at an angle about 8 to 10 inches form the main trunk in a circle around the tree. Wedge your spade down underneath the roots and lift the roots and tree at the same time. If the trunk diameter is over three inches you may want or need to get some help.
The only thing about burning bush, although beautiful in the fall, is that they are deciduous and lose their leaves for winter. For foundation plants you may still want to go with a holly of some sort but a low growing one. Helleri holly comes to mind. If an evergreen is not desired, you may want to mix it up with the burning bush and hydrangeas or even a blue berry bush or two. You might even go wild and put herbs and other fruiting plants like strawberries underneath. The sky's the limit! All you need is well drained soil. Let me know if I can be of further help. It seems water-logged soil is a major headache for a lot of readers. Here's another e-mail I received on the subject: QUESTION: "I have a flower bed that has drainage problem. My soil looks like clay and it never gets dry. When it rains it just spills over and now the water is just sitting there. The size of the flower bed is 24in x 120in. What I want to do is to dig out all of the old soil and replace it with rocks on the bottom , then add sand over top of that and final add top soil? Please help me! My front yard is a swimming pool!" - Nicole Thomas ANSWER: That's a good idea. However; the water will still have to go away from your flower bed. You may have to put some kind of drainage out of the area. Here is a link from a recentcolumn that you should find useful: http://www.gardenadvice.co.uk/howto/lawns/drainage/ If you prefer, you can go to my web site www,landsteward.org and click on a direct link to that information when you find this column under "The Plant Man" heading. In fact, there are a number of helpful links and related articles about soil quality and drainage at the landsteward web site if this is a problem that you're dealing with, too. The Plant Man is here to help. Send you questions about trees, shrubs and landscaping to steve@landsteward.org and for resources and additional information, including archived Plant Man columns, visit www.landsteward.org where you can also subscribe to Steve's free e-mailed newsletter.
