Landscaping/Gardening Thread.

[BlackArcher101]

Originally Posted by DoubleK

Ratchet straps and stakes will help them so long as the roots are intact.

Did you plant the trees? Do you know if the root bag was removed before they were planted?

After 10 years a tree should be windfirm, unless it was planted improperly.

Ya ratchet straps and stakes were engaged, but even the stakes were pulling out. Didn't have rebar or anything to get too deep.

I planted all my trees, they started from #2 or #5 pot's. I'm a bit perplexed that the roots have not spread as they should have.

[DoubleK]

You are doing the right things. Keep at it and they will recover.

[MoneyGuy]

I don’t know if anyone has noticed this in southern Alberta but I’m in central Alberta and see a lot of grass kill along sidewalks. I have some dead areas and many other homes are showing the same thing. I’ve never seen it to this extent before.

[jeffporfirio]

After the recent storm/wind, some of the branches on our aspens are somewhat bent/hanging. Should I just trim them, or will the recover/straighten back up?

[redforever]

Originally Posted by MoneyGuy

I don’t know if anyone has noticed this in southern Alberta but I’m in central Alberta and see a lot of grass kill along sidewalks. I have some dead areas and many other homes are showing the same thing. I’ve never seen it to this extent before.

Not sure where you are but in Calgary, there was a LOT of ice this year and more salt was being used than normal.

Salt and grass don't mix.

[YSF Regina]

Originally Posted by jeffporfirio

After the recent storm/wind, some of the branches on our aspens are somewhat bent/hanging. Should I just trim them, or will the recover/straighten back up?

I've never had any luck with them recovering. I first try tucking them in behind other branches to see they will stay. If not, I use some tree rope to tie the branch to another. Last resort is to trim them if they are damaged.

[DoubleF]

I was supposed to do some fall sowing of seeds, but I didn't get around to it. What would be the best approach for this year?

Should I try and toss seeds in early right now and hope for enough temperatures fluctuations in the next 6 weeks for a pseudo winter stratification/summer growth? Or do it properly this fall?

The stuff I'm supposed to plant that needed winter stratification are: Mugwort, clematis, wild rose and Silverberry. I'm also wondering if I should get some hops and mix them with clematis and try to have intertwined creepers, or if they would choke each other out. I know silverberry might sucker like crazy, but I'm already dealing with columnar aspen suckers, lilacs etc. so I'm assuming it can't be that bad.

Others are things like wildflower mixes which do better if I did a winter stratification and I'm on the hunt for some crocus that will come back every year.


On a side note, I'm trying to plant the silverberry, wildrose, clematis etc. as stuff to replace spruce trees that were planted only about a foot or two from my house. They're getting bigger and potential risks to the house foundation. When I saw down these trees, anything I should consider? How much effort should I put in to get the roots out? I was planning on sawing down the tree to around 2-3 foot of a "stump" so that there could be leverage when trying to pull out the stump. I'm partially hoping I can save a few bucks by doing that pre-work before hiring an arborist. However, I'm also wondering if I can just dump some seeds in and let it grow around the stump. I'm leaning more not to for silverberry and wild rose, but for clematis and hops, I wondered if it would be nice to leave it in to mount a trellis for the vines to climb on.

[Fuzz]

Removing stumps suck, depends on how big it was. If you don't care if it is left behind, I'd just cut it as close to ground level as possible. I buried my 3 spruce stumps under a planter until i had my garage built and let the machine guys tear them out! If you want them gone, a stump grinder is a good option, so long as it isn't rocky or any chance of buried metal.

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

Removing stumps suck, depends on how big it was. If you don't care if it is left behind, I'd just cut it as close to ground level as possible. I buried my 3 spruce stumps under a planter until i had my garage built and let the machine guys tear them out! If you want them gone, a stump grinder is a good option, so long as it isn't rocky or any chance of buried metal.

Stupid question and almost better for the home improvement thread... but are there things you can screw into the ground to permanently mount things? I was wondering if I could cut to the ground and then nail or screw a pole into the wood to solidly mount a trellis.

Another concept was what might work to bore a hole into the stump as deep as possible. Something like a 3-4 inch sized hole bored/drilled all the way to dirt (2-3 fee) so that I can basically use the stump as a protective "planter" for the seeds to have a higher chance of surviving sudden drops in temp when the young plant is still getting established. I just don't know if the plant would die if the hole wasn't big enough (stump chokes out the roots after a certain size).

Any other ideas for effectively "re-using" a stump 4-5 inch diameter stump?

[Fuzz]

There are all sorts of post bases you could use to mount a trellis to.


https://www.homedepot.ca/en/home/cat...-and-caps.html


I mounted the trellis directly to the house, I really like how it turned out:




No idea on the stump for a planter, I'm sure you could google the idea. Probably many people with experience on it.

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

There are all sorts of post bases you could use to mount a trellis to.


https://www.homedepot.ca/en/home/cat...-and-caps.html


I mounted the trellis directly to the house, I really like how it turned out:




No idea on the stump for a planter, I'm sure you could google the idea. Probably many people with experience on it.

There are windows on the wall of the house so that won't work. The spruce trees were planted there to block the windows for privacy, but that's kinda what the blinds inside are for. But it might be nice longer term to have the foliage to block view when the windows are open, but I have central AC now as well. That's where I plan to put the silverberry.

The other I'm still trying to figure out how to do it. It's in a weird corner at an angle facing my walkway so I don't know if I want to go relatively straight up, along a pillar or against the house and I don't know whether to hope that it only goes around 3-4 feet at most, or if it could actually go 8-15 feet up as warned by the seed seller.

Both are not truly required at all for privacy purposes after the trees are gone, but part of the hope is that they have a nice smell that I'd be willing to open my window for on occasion. Having the plants there longer term would also feel a less weird since the rest of the house has a lot of landscaping.

I guess I'll keep poking around for ideas over the next few weeks. Thanks!

[topfiverecords]

If the stump is solid and no rot then I don't see why you couldn't lag screw into it and put a post mount bracket on it. I'd cut the stump above grade a bit and pitch cut it so it deflected water away from the lag screw. Worst case is it loses some stability over time and you do something else.

Removing stumps sucks and close to the house I'd be digging it out and cutting off roots before pulling it just to be sure I'm not damaging foundation/footing/utilities.

[PepsiFree]

Anyone know (roughly) how much it would cost to dig out a 20x4 ish area of extreme overgrowth and put a concrete pad in? Or even just the removal part?

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

Anyone know (roughly) how much it would cost to dig out a 20x4 ish area of extreme overgrowth and put a concrete pad in? Or even just the removal part?

Are you opposed to agent orange?

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

Are you opposed to agent orange?

I fear I’ve created a species immune to all forms of chemical warfare

[BlackArcher101]

Originally Posted by DoubleF

Stupid question and almost better for the home improvement thread... but are there things you can screw into the ground to permanently mount things? I was wondering if I could cut to the ground and then nail or screw a pole into the wood to solidly mount a trellis.

Another concept was what might work to bore a hole into the stump as deep as possible. Something like a 3-4 inch sized hole bored/drilled all the way to dirt (2-3 fee) so that I can basically use the stump as a protective "planter" for the seeds to have a higher chance of surviving sudden drops in temp when the young plant is still getting established. I just don't know if the plant would die if the hole wasn't big enough (stump chokes out the roots after a certain size).

Any other ideas for effectively "re-using" a stump 4-5 inch diameter stump?

I'm not sure putting plants into the stump would actually protect it from cold temperatures. The ground itself is where most of the heat will come from and removing it from that may actually make it more vulnerable. I can't think of much use for the stump, but if you were going to drill that big of holes in it, you may as well go further and remove it.

As for putting a post or something on it, as Fuzz provided in the link it's doable, but if you did a two post lattice you'll need a bracket with decent height since the structure will still be tippy in one direction. As well, if the stump is fresh/wet, you may have issues with lag screws into the stump loosening as the wood dries.

Does the silverberry require support or is it free standing? I would also recommend planning around the expected mature growth size, so many people don't and it creates problems down the line.

Not sure if you need ideas, but here's a structure I made last year for some vines. They are expected to go higher, so I'm going to run some stainless cable from the top to the garage eaves to let it fan out once it gets to that stage.

[Doctorfever]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

Anyone know (roughly) how much it would cost to dig out a 20x4 ish area of extreme overgrowth and put a concrete pad in? Or even just the removal part?

It all depends on access. Is the pad easy to get at with equipment? Like a mini hoe? You can rent them and operate yourself, although I’m not sure what they cost.

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by BlackArcher101

I'm not sure putting plants into the stump would actually protect it from cold temperatures. The ground itself is where most of the heat will come from and removing it from that may actually make it more vulnerable. I can't think of much use for the stump, but if you were going to drill that big of holes in it, you may as well go further and remove it.

As for putting a post or something on it, as Fuzz provided in the link it's doable, but if you did a two post lattice you'll need a bracket with decent height since the structure will still be tippy in one direction. As well, if the stump is fresh/wet, you may have issues with lag screws into the stump loosening as the wood dries.

Does the silverberry require support or is it free standing? I would also recommend planning around the expected mature growth size, so many people don't and it creates problems down the line.

Not sure if you need ideas, but here's a structure I made last year for some vines. They are expected to go higher, so I'm going to run some stainless cable from the top to the garage eaves to let it fan out once it gets to that stage.

I was thinking something similar to this. Just narrower. I was thinking whether to do single panel or two at a 60 degree to 90 degree angle.

Good suggestion. I was thinking to be lazy with the stump, now I guess it's worth doing right and digging it out. I think I have a DIY plan insane enough that should work well and be reasonably cheap. Involves ratchet straps, drill, reciprocating saw and strategically cutting at the roots when there is a light tension on it (to avoid the tree or root vibrating back and forth ineffectively when trying to saw it). Fingers crossed it works with minimal injury.

Silverberry is a type of bush in the same usefulness as lilacs as a privacy bush. However, it is supposed to be faster and larger growing and much more aggressive than lilacs. Lilacs max out as a tall bush, Silverberries keep growing into small trees and are supposedly aggressive suckering plants. I might be making a mistake, but I think it will be 10+ years before it is identified as a mistake.

http://plants.spruceitupgardencentre...8/Silverberry/

[Fuzz]

I can guarantee you will have a miserable time removing those stumps.

[Brendone]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

I can guarantee you will have a miserable time removing those stumps.

You’ll never find a better HIIT workout though. Also, a floor jack can really help with the final stages once you’ve got the primary roots cut.