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| We have a small "pond" in front of our house that usually is no more than 12" deep and mostly dries up during a hot summer. Now, the water is the highest I've seen it in the 10 years we've had the property.
Last fall I planted a fothergilla major "Blue Shadow", and 2 viburnum plicatum f tormentosum--"Shasta" and "Shoshoni", about 5' from the edge of the water. The land rises at about a 30 degree slope up from the pond. Today, the fothergilla has water up to the center of the plant, and the Shasta and Shoshoni have water about 3' away. The soil is several inches of topsoil plus decomposing oak leaves, with sandy loam and sand under that for several feet. Dirr says the fothergilla should have moist, well-drained soil. Would a couple of weeks of water soaking its roots where it is now kill this plant? On the plicatum f tormentosum Doublefile Viburnum, Dirr says ("Hardy Trees & Shrubs"), "In my experience, this variety resents dry soil and heat stress more than any other viburnum. Provide ample moisture. Surprisingly, plants flower as well in shade as in sun. Use as an understory shrub . . ." In his "Viburnum" book he says about this same viburnum, "Extremely shade tolerant . . . Found at its best in moderately moist sites along streams." I'm not sure exactly how to interpret these comments, so I hope that some of you who have long term experience with these plants can make an educated guess as to whether I need to move them. As the Shasta and Shoshoni grow and their roots search for water on the downhill side, will a super-wet spring like this year's, with the water rising, contribute to their demise, or will they be happy with all the water? Will I get good blooms under the less-than-partial shade of the oak trees? Thanks!
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Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Thu, Apr 28, 11 at 13:58
| hey temporary water is unimportant ... especially this time of year in MI .... i would suggest you will do more harm than good trying to remedy it ... if you can somehow dig a ditch/culvert.. to simply allow the water to escape .. without disturbing the plants.. all the better ... we dont really change our methods .. for a once a decade problem .. other than to consider a french drain .... i dont know what this means: less-than-partial shade less the part shade .. in my book is darkness ... a grotto ken |
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- Posted by jimandanne_mi SE MI z5 (My Page) on Fri, Apr 29, 11 at 18:58
| Thanks for your helpful comments. I think I'll move the fothergilla, since it's surrounded by water and probably won't get enough sun where it is anyway when the trees have fully leafed. I'll leave the viburnums and keep an eye on them. Less than part shade = less than 4 hours of direct sunlight, so it gets filtered light part of the day. Anne |
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| I don't know about the fothergilla (I'm getting Blue Shadows in a couple of weeks to try), but I have Viburnum tomentosum and Viburnum rhytidophylloides 'Alleghany' and my yard floods every spring and neither viburnum seem to mind. The ground has been saturated for several weeks with standing water around where these plants are growing and they're leafing out and showing lots of flower buds (on the tomentosum, anyway). In the summer, when we dry out and don't have rain for weeks is when the viburnum tend to look stressed, so I give them all a good soaking and they perk up. The viburnum love the water. And so do the gazillion mosquitoes we get every year. Karen |
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- Posted by jimandanne_mi SE MI z5 (My Page) on Sat, Apr 30, 11 at 10:29
| Karen, thanks for the comforting comments! I agree about too much dryness--I'd moved the Shoshoni from a well drained, not moist area in part shade and only morning sunlight where its drooping foliage (along with the cornus florida) during the drought last summer was my first signal to water everything again. I was afraid that maybe I'd gone too far in putting it so close to the rising water in the pond. I had to chuckle when reading that "the plants are leafing out and showing lots of flower buds" after being in standing water for several weeks, because we cut down some 6" to 12" in diameter oak trees a month ago, and their branches are still putting out buds and leaves as they lie on the ground waiting to be burned--not dead yet! I'm always concerned about the long term effects of something, because I'd like to avoid having to remove and replant when I'm older. I've got enough aches and pains doing it now! Anne |
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