Do any of you masterful gardners know if there is any way to control the nasty little secondary roots of a Norway maple?
I have rented a little house with a back yard that has been unattended since the Boer war..
Clay mud or dust..and only weeds of course.
I have, hard to believe, dug out as many roots as I could get at , some as large as anacondas,added as much compost as was humanly possible, planted clover, then grass seed and it is beginning to look like a yard and not a city dump.
(Did the same with the raging privet which I was able to barrier with aluminum flashing.)
But the maples create a soil eating underground monster octopus.
I can't out the trees as this is a rental..
If they cannot be controlled, how long do I have before the yard reverts back to it's previous dreadful state?
Any other masterful advice?
Thank you from the bottom of my garden!!!!!
Me, or the tree....
Can you just sort of, you know, surreptitiously kill the trees & express wonderment at their demise? There are several good ways that can be done without causing obvious damage.
That is funny..
No, they are ten stories high...
I would need a tank...
If you trying to grow sun loving plants like grass under a Norway Maple you are going to be fighting those roots forever. How about a lot of mulch and some container plants?
Jsorens
Please tell me how to kill a tree without causing obvious damage. I have several trees and an HOA filled with tree huggers to deal with.
Thanks
Yehudith
Yeah, I guess I'm unclear what you're trying to accomplish. Around here, something that looked like the city dump would have old appliances, broken glass, a dead horse, etc. If we had a big old tree, we would be proud to say it looked like a city greenbelt.
If the shade is a problem, can you limb it up a little? But yeah, even for native maples, grass doesn't really grow under them.
Otherwise, I'd agree, go with containers. Choose native understory shrubs/small trees. (That also has the advantage that you can take them with you when the lease is up.) There are several nice rhododendron, and all kinds of berries, if you'd like to eat your landscaping.
Pachysandra on the ground, mulch with leaves in the fall. Use low concrete pavers to hold your pots of coleus and impatiens and other shade lovers for color.