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| Hi folks,
I'm looking at redoing our little side yard this spring, which will mean among other things redoing some paving. My planned path would go around a gigantic old overgrown lilac bush. Not sure though if lilac suckers would wreak havoc with interlock pavers? How much distance around the shrub should I build into my layout? There will be a base of a few inches of crushed stone and stone dust underneath, as is par for the course for this climate, and I'll be hacking back the current forest of suckers as I dig. They don't seem to have lifted the current path (fieldstones with cement troweled into the cracks, no base to speak of underneath) but have instead snuck underneath it to pop up next to the shed. Any insight would be welcome - thanks!! |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Tue, Feb 28, 12 at 9:05
| get rid of it ... if i understand correctly.. you are going to invest.. guessing.. 500 to 1000 dollars in material.. and your blood and sweat ... and i will yell .. AND HOPE YOU DONT HAVE TO REDO IT ALL IN THE FUTURE ??? whats that all about ... do the job right.. once.. and live free and happy ... spending the next decade wondering whether that lilac will ruin the project is not in my vernacular as to relaxing on my new patio ... that would drive me insane ... if you want to save the lilac.. take 2 of the suckers.. and plant them out in the back of the yard.. and be happy you saved it ... and when you are sure one lives.. get rid of the 2nd .... but dont mess up your patio once the patio is complete.. we can think about what to plant.. as a replacement.. for whatever use/application ... and if you have heavy equipment coming in to prep the patio area.. that is the time to remove the lilac ... ken |
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| Well, I'm not putting in a patio, just a path to lead feet and wheelbarrows from carport to backyard. The existing path was poorly laid and is getting cracked and weedy and a little treacherous, hence the renovations. The lilac must have been there forever, and it blooms right outside our bedroom windows, so I hate to mess with it...although maybe that would be the best option anyway, since I think it was poorly sited (less sun that is ideal, so it only really flowers on one side). Is it possible though to dig out such a monstrous shrub without getting retaliation in the form of a million suckers springing up from roots left in the ground? I don't really have the budget to call in the pros. |
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| Probably they will come up through it here and there. So then what to do becomes a matter of how bothered you would be by this. |
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- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Thu, Mar 1, 12 at 9:16
| i hope you understand.. that the issue for me.. would be the 'wondering or worry' in the future ... regardless.. when you excavate for such.. you will see if there are many roots there ... you should be able to ID them as lilac ... by digging up a known root near the trunk .... and perhaps.. you ought to consider a gravel path .... rather than brick.. because then .. you can deal with suckers later.. good luck ken |
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