Subject: Re: A raised perennial bed under an old maple?
From: "Bill Robinson" <roseguy@flash.net>
Organization: Flashnet Communications, http://www.flash.net
Date: Sat, 1 Nov 1997 07:05:19 -0800
Message-ID: <MOD$971101.15891@rec.gardens.ecosystems>
References: <MOD$971031.11074@rec.gardens.ecosystems>
dhs wrote in message ...
>
>I have a beautiful sugar maple here in New England in zone 5, which is
>probably 100 years old, and in a good shape. It is a pure delight. My first
>fall looking at it in this new garden. Superb!
>There is a perennial bed underneath, just outside the drip line, in which I
>want to redo the plantings. The size of the bed is about 1/10th of the size
>under the tree. When I dug up part of it, I found a lot of nets of roots,
>which (I just realized) are the roots of the tree. (Of course...).
>I don't want to dig anymore, in order to not bother the roots. But I still
>must change the plants there. (Want to plant miniature roses, among other
>things).
>
>Can I bring in soil, and make a raised bed (8 inches or so)? I could then
>plant without disturbing the roots. Would the feeder roots of the tree go
>up into the soil I am bringing in, and would I face the same problem in a
>year or two?
>
Lisa,
Some of the books draw pictures of trees with the size and configuration
of the roots as the mirror image of the foliage. In practice, however, the
roots
mostly go out and the root mass is more flat than deep. It is just not a
good
practice to garden underneath a tree or close to a tree because of the
threat
to root damage. Think of your beautifull sugar maple as a brand new, top of
the line Mercedes, planted upright in your garden to give you an idea of the
cash value of your tree to say nothing of the joy it gives to your eye.
Tree roots also need water and air. My quess is that the raised bed around
the
perimeter of the drip line would short change the tree. What about using
something like a gravel mulch and putting your mini-roses in pots on the
mulch?
Bill