Cedar (Thuja) with aggressive roots

I have a small garden under 3 large Thuja plicatas - largest about 50+'. Last 2 years I built the soil up but I noticed the roots aggressively fill this soil. Should I take all the soil out and replace with groundcloth? To make matters worse, the garden is facing north and the trees produce alot of shade and prevent rain from reaching the soil. I'd really like to get a nice shade garden going but the roots suck all the moisture out. I've dug about 3/4 of this large bed yesterday.

I, for one, despise landscape fabric! Hate the vile, evil stuff with a passion. Roots and weeds get in and through it no matter what and then you've got an impossible situation.
You might resign yourself, instead, to doing a good root-pruning every year with a sharp spade to cut off invading roots, or take the time, effort, and money to install a proper steel, concrete, or plastic root barrier.

Scott

Try gardening in pots. What I don't know is whether the tree roots would grow up the drain holes the way Bermuda grass does. I use large pavers under my pots now.

The roots do grow up and they are thin surface roots. I've dug out the entire front bed the last 2 days and I'm debating. The roots grow quite fast and dry out the soil during the summer no matter how much watering I do. I'm still debating a thick landscape cloth.

I think I'd be more inclined to live with the roots or remove the tree.

Once, a long, long time ago, I found a landscape fabric that had small capsules of herbicide adhered to one side of the fabric. I used it at the base of a Maple and grew roses quite well there for 3 years. The maple still lives (remarkably) but the roses have long gone and the fabric has been pretty well torn up.

Since you'd like a shade garden and hostas do okay w/root competition, maybe a couple hostas and astilbes (cliche, I realize) and a lot less concern about the roots will be your best bet.

There was a good thread around here somewhere last year about what landscape fabric does to the soil underneath--I don't have time now but tonight when I get home from work I'll see if I can dig it up for you. I won't consider using it on garden beds anymore--under walkways and things it's fine, but not where you want to grow things.

Even those that allow water and air to get through?

Ok, I think I'm getting the idea that landscape fabric is bad. Thanks! I wasn't aware, and also thanks for letting me know Hosta & Astilbe are ok with root competition.

This garden has many challenges including the gardener. I'm not that familiar with perennials, annuals and the like but great with trees & shrubs so it's a challenge for me. The cedars shed quite a bit in the fall which turns the soil very acidic and the soil that is there is nutrient poor and very low in organics which I'm amending today. To make it worse, there was a fire in the apartment building next door in 1927 that killed 9 people and all the fire debris was thrown off the top floor onto part of my front yard. At first I couldn't figure out why plants didn't grow to the west side until I started finding fire debris.

Some more decent dry shade perennials: Brunnera macrophylla (awesome plant; I especially like the plain, old, straight green form), Astilbe chinensis pumila (some nice cultivars coming on the market), Autumn Fern, Japanese Painted Fern, Hellebores, Asarum, Saruma, Epimediums, Dicentra, Sweet Woodruff, Jack in the Pulpits. All of these can duke it out with tree roots once established.

I hope Ecrane can find that thread. I know as a part-time landscaper, I have developed a real hatred for landscape fabric. But all of my loathing is based on anecdotal evidence, hunches, and bad experiences. I've never really read any science on the stuff.

Scott

I think this is the thread:
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/597904/

Ok, read it...but read it after I finished the project. Ended up not using any - 3 solid days of digging. Got in trouble from the co-op management - "not supposed to garden in the front yards of these heritage houses". My foot. Everything was dead including the lawn when I moved in.