I was thinking yesterday you could leave a good chunk of it and turn it into a feeding station or something. Get some of those hooks you screw into a wall and hang feeders
For those of you that mentioned it, I've thought about leaving the stump there. I'm really ambivalent about it. On the one hand, if I knew that it could be made a feature of the garden and wouldn't give me any more problems, I've thought about grinding out the center of it, and making it into a planter of sorts. The arborist is advising against it. In theory, it's possible to kill the tree so that it doesn't send up little shoots from the root. He says in practice it's difficult to accomplish that, especially when you have to wait till the growing season is upon us again in order to see it it's going to send up shoots. So sometimes it has to be treated more than once, putting the plants around it in danger with all those chemicals. And honestly, after having my garden in an upheaval even to just cut down the bulk of the tree, I really don't want to have it in upheaval again in a season or two. Which is what could potentially happen. I'd leave the stump, plant around it and use it as a feature, then see that it's not dead and have to get it re-treated or decide then to have it pulled, and have to disturb everything a second time. I think I just want to go ahead and get it completely taken care of first time out. Plus there's the added bonus that we also get to dig up the failed and broken series of landscaping lights that some former owner had installed. Every time I plant or move something, I find more broken pieces of plastic, more cordage, more detritus from the lights. Why didn't they just use solar lights?
Bringing this back into discussion because I now have a new set of questions....or maybe it's only actually one, just feels like a bunch because I'm starting to panic again! The tree still hasn't been removed, and it's looking like early November sometime before it is. Those hostas are still in the ground, and still looking lovely, in spite of a couple nights of unseasonably low temps..... below 30 or so degrees, which effectively killed off all my potted annuals as expected. But now I'm facing the problem of the hostas likely starting to so dormant soon if they haven't already because it's getting quite cool here now, and the tree not yet removed, and so I've left them in the ground, right where they are. By the time the Arborist gets around to moving the tree, it's going to be mid-November and even colder. I'm still not sure where I'm going to replant those hostas, because I'm still trying to figure out where I'll have enough shade once the tree is gone. Here's my question: Is there a way I can preserve those hostas, without planting them where they will ultimately go, until the spring when I have a better idea of how the garden is going to be after the tree's gone? I need to just store them temporarily somehow through the winter without killing them. Can I do that? And if so, how?
Ronni, dig around them leaving a nice "rootball" of soil and roots and set them aside, right on top of the ground. I did that several years ago and still haven't moved them to the spot I wanted them at... time just gets away from me every year. They are incredibly resilient for plants.
Carolyn, thank you! Seriously, I can just leave them like that? Wow. That would actually be SO helpful if I could. I don't have a clue, yet, where I'm going to put them next season, and I don't have near enough pots to pot each of them up till then. There are about 8 of them of differing sizes. One side of my house is shaded a good portion of the time (I think.....the more I try and find the right places for plants, the more I realize I need to be outside with a camera running during all the daylight hours in order to fully know what's sun and what's not! It's very frustrating!!) Anyway, can I just line them up there, along the side of the house, after I've dug them up according to your instructions? Or should I put them under my deck. It's about a story off the ground in back, lots of room to walk under. It's not completely waterproof because the deck isn't covered, but if I snug them up under there directly against the foundation, they won't get wet much. Which, now that I just typed that, I'm thinking should they be in a completely dry area? The more water (full on rain, even drips) falls on them the more of the soil that is protecting the root ball will wash away. And that's not good, right? See? THIS is why y'all are so valuable to me! I don't automatically and instinctively think of things like that....my thought process evolves as I type, and the more that happens, the more questions it uncovers! Just one more reason why my posts become longer and longer the more I type...I think I just have one question, but then as I try and frame it correctly, the process brings up more and more! Thanks for hanging with me.....I know I can be a pain!
Ronni, breathe deep....in.... out... in... out.... Now, you won't hurt them to set them aside where they get RAINED on. This will not wash enough of the soil away to hurt them. They NEED the damp soil. You don't want to put them under the deck. too dry, too dark or up against the house, too dry there, too. I will replace your hostas in the spring if they die. Trust me...they won't. Mine are right by the front stoop exposed to all the weather. They never took a hit. In early Summer they get way too much sunshine and look a little rough from sunburn, but they are so tough. Pile some leaf litter around them, but not too much on top of them and don't stress too much over them. You can even separate them in the spring if you want to make them go farther than what you already had. as soon as the buds start stretching upwards, before the leaf starts to unfurl, cut through them with a knife or a shovel and divide them.
Hosta's are very hardy. I had some sitting out while the walkway was getting put in at work... Had them all in a cluster, sitting above the ground with only some leaves raked over them for protection. Every single plant survived our zone 5 winter this way!
I am late to your post here Ronni, Tree still up? I have seen a lot of Pear trees here that split when they get to a certain age, and need to be removed, so I say good call by the pros you have hired... I have Hostas that grow in pots and I stick em in my garage over winter so the don't totally freeze. Or you can pot em up and sink the pot into the ground for a temporary winter home. They will be fine. I had a big pine removed a couple years ago, It totally changed the area, and I did have to relocate a lot of shade lovers. But- it gives you an entirely new perspective on the beds. Some of those plants will really love having more sun!
Ronni, Sometimes even way up here in the cold North, I can't decide where to put the newly purchased plant so I keep them potted line them up along the foundation of my house and mulch them with pine needles or leaves. It works every year. Hosta and most plants have a great ability to survive. We have let unwanted Azalias with whole roots sit on top of the ground out in the open thinking we would get rid of them in Spring. They began to grow in the Spring....So much that we couldn't get rid of them, we just had to planted them. They actually are doing beautifully....Glad I didn't get rid of them. What ever you do, don't wait to long. Get it done....
Ronni, this is slightly off-topic, and I apologize. But, I was mowing the back yard and thinking of your post. Girl, you are NEVER a "pain". Your enthusiasm, willingness to listen, and general good-naturedness is so appreciated. As a "new" gardener, you remind us older (but not necessarily wiser) gardeners of the thrill of our first rose, first tomato, first time we transplanted something and it lived. Think of the other people your posts and questions help! We have folks that just come here to browse, and perhaps see something that grabs their interest. You are showing them that posting a question gets a kind and sometimes humorous response, but always a helpful answer. You are encouraging them to become members and join in the discussion. So, please, no more talk of being a "pain." we're all very happy to hang in there with you anytime!
Marlingardener, what a wonderful, sweet thing to say! Thank you so much for you kind words, I very much appreciate them. Sometimes I HAVE felt like I was just asking way too many questions, and I know they must occasionally come across as idiotic because sometimes they're SO basic, or as has happened on several occasions, I get the answer and I'm all "Well DUH!! THAT is SO obvious, I'm a dufus!" But I can relate your reassurances to similar situations as a dancer. I'm a competent, knowledgable dancer, so when new or recent dancers arrive at the studio or wherever I happen to be dancing and they don't have a clue or are uncertain about a step or a dance, it gives me GREAT pleasure to help them out and show them the step or teach them the basics of the dance they're trying to learn. I love to share the knowledge. So many folks helped me endlessly (just like you all do here) when I was first starting out as a fumbling, uncertain dancer with two left feet, and it feels really good to be able to pay it forward now. So thank you. I appreciate you, all of you here, more than I can say and am grateful you're all so very willing and happy to share your knowledge!
Thanks all for your advice about the hostas! You'll be happy to know I'm no longer freaking out thanks to the direction you've given me here. They're supposed to come next week, so this weekend I'll dig everything up that I'm trying to save, cross my fingers, know that I've done all I can, and wait till next season for the rest of the story!
I think that relocating or temporarily potting the plants will be just fine for them, a long as it's not for a long period of time. You just have to be careful that you don't accidentally hurt the roots. I would suggest going to a local nursery or other store and ask a more local expert for advice for moving and saving the plants.
Avarose, advice from gardeners who "have been there, done that" is much more valuable than suggestions from nurseries or other stores, even if they are local. These people sell plants, they don't necessarily garden. Stew members have dirt under their nails! I volunteered at a local college where a local nurseryman with vast knowledge of plants was the part-time horticulturist. He could plan a garden, identify many plants, but had no idea how to maintain a garden. He'd never gardened and caring for the plants was beyond him.
I know a guy who does basement wall repairs.80% of his business is from damage from tree roots-even after taken down. and another man carpenter-lot of repairs trees just rubbing on gutters and roof. Or worse when wind take them down on house. Been through straight line storm. Lost 10 trees.
