I am about to murder my dog. She completely dug up my japanese maple. This was a young speciman tree that I planted this spring and have babied ever since. About 30 minutes ago, I left the water on a drip in front of the tree. I just went outside to turn it off and she was covered in mud, there was a whole a foot deep and long. My poor tree was laying aside snapped in half, rootball exposed, half buried in mud. The neighbor dog was in the yard visiting so you'd think that would have kept her busy, but no, that probably just encouraged her to show off. I am so mad!!
Please stop me!
Oh my! Most of those Japanese maples are pretty expensive too and it's too hot to try and plant a new one now. Maybe if you trimmed the damaged top back and potted the root ball in potting soil with a bit of root stimulator and let it recover a bit before trying to put it back in the ground it might survive. At least it would have an easier time that putting it back in ground now in this heat. Good luck and I hope it makes it. I think I'd have a hard time not turning that dog into a rug! LOL
Oh Stacey! I am so sorry, it is so frustrating when you have your heart set on something and you work on it dilligently, and then it gets spoiled. Maybe it will recover in the pot.
Sometimes dogs can be quite destructive.
Yes, it wasn't not cheap - luckily only $40 though. It was a young 'Shindeshojo' and was originally in a 10 inch pot.
It's broke right above the graft. I don't think it has any hope. I went out and took pics after the message. Here is the poor tree. The top is buried under the mud somewhere. I did not have the heart to uncover it.
Thanks, Josephine.
And here's the culprit. She has no idea....
In my anger, I popped her on the butt, but I am sure my hand hurts much more than she does. She is built like a brick.
Don't you just hate that? You want to strangle them, and yet you know they don't have a clue. I understand there are dogs that have "burrowing" in their genes but I also associate this with anxiety. My dogs go thru digging spells. All I do is scream like a banshee "NO DIGGING" and they scram. The worst incident so far was the little dog dug out a super fancy/super pricey tropical. Like you, I found my plant laying on its side. I had the proverbial fit and afterwards I repotted the plant and surrounded it with a tomato cage. has not been disturbed since. I don't guess a cage will help in your case.
I wish I could make you feel better about the maple.
I think you should repot the little thing. Root system looks good and you might get some shooters from the side. One of my JM did this.
now that I see the plant, I bet a small tomato cage would help.
This message was edited Jul 29, 2006 12:21 PM
I will probably stick it in the ground or in a pot, because it won't hurt to try. No high hopes though - don't want the dissapointment again.
She's usually not too bad and has only dug up one plant. Usually she just digs under the fence to get out.
She gets real rambunctious when the neighbor's dog come over. She probably just started digging and just kept going when finding out how muddy it was - what fun!
I agree w/ vossner on this one, and use the cage! I use cayenne pepper to protect my plants from the dogs. They're pretty old now...Roadway is 'bout blind (cataracts) & deaf and Blackdog SOMETIMES will keep critters out of the yard. When they were younger, it seems they always wanted to undig whatever I just planted. I started sprinkling cayenne pepper (or red pepper) around my plants, and they stopped digging them up. Cheap AND effective!
well, you are not alone...here are my 2 little thugs....i love them dearly...but i have to garden around them....(baracades, fences etc) they did some landscaping for me....pulling up 2 loropetalum out of the dirt....eating my ornamental grasses, running thru the mud onto my sidewalk etc.....i so want to kill my girl as she just doesn't get it either.....i try to keep them in a certain part of my yard and where do they end up....in the part with newly seeded grass.....
LOL They are cuties. Love those ears. :) I am really lucky most of the time when it comes to my plants in the ground. I have planted several new things this year and she usually leaves them alone. She and the neighbor's dog play chase through my shade bed, so it's gets a bit trampled. And she likes to play sling the dirt with any plants still in nursery pots that she can get too, but I keep them behind some chicken wire now. Plus, the digging under the fence I spoke of before, but that's just because she wants to run free with the neighbor's dog. When let out, he runs free in the easement that is between our houses, because they have no fence.
Basically, I was really shocked that she made such a giant muddy hole digging that tree up. I stuck it back in some dirt, but I think it's a goner. It looks real chewed up and only has about an inch above the original graft. Hopefully in a few months I can find another one at such a great price.