planting redwoods in between stumps without removing root systems

10 years ago

I want to replace the three (horrible) little shrubs in front of our house. IÃ¢ÂÂd like to plant two red twig dogwood shrubs in their place- weÃ¢ÂÂre going to be repainting the house a cream color and I thought they would look nice against that.

I donÃ¢ÂÂt know how difficult the current shrubs will be to remove, so one of my questions is if I could just cut all three to the ground, paint some Round Up (or Round Up Tree Stump and Root Killer) on the exposed stumps, and then plant the two dogwoods in between?

In a year or two IÃ¢ÂÂd like to extend the front garden bed to be more of a conifer garden, and I thought the redwood shrubs would be a nice background to that.

Do you think the redwood shrubs would do alright without removing the root systems of the current shrubs, and then just letting them rot? Will putting Round Up on the stumps damage the roots of the redwoods IÃ¢ÂÂm planning to plant?

Finally, IÃ¢ÂÂve read some very informative posts on here about why not to amend the soil when planting trees or shrubs. On some other sites I saw they were recommending amending the soil when planting red twig redwoods, so I wasnÃ¢ÂÂt sure if redwoods were different in this regard or if it was just people who didnÃ¢ÂÂt know what they were talking about.

Thank you in advance, IÃ¢ÂÂd appreciate any advice!

Comments (4)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
10 years ago
crikey ... lol.. you interchanged redwood and red twig thru the whole note... just to be sure.. we are talking red twig.. right ...

i planted a small red twig .. one gallon plant... and 5 or 6 years later.. it was near on 10 feet tall and almost the same wide ...

they will not fit in your spot ... period

being a conifer fiend.. i like that idea .. but forget about the redtwig ...

cut the conifers to the ground.. they will not resprout ... [pretty sure anyway ... ]

cut the shrub in the middle.. and treat it with killer.. and keep in mind.. RUp as a stump killer is 100% [41%] .. .not the prediluted ...

paint the house this year... and increase the depth of that bed 6 to 8 feet ...

anything you plant.. you should predict its relative size.. and plant it far enough from the foundation.. so that when it grows up.. you still have 2 to 3 feet of space .. at the foundation.. for house maintenance ...

never forget.. foundation plantings are planted to hide the foundation.. NOT ON THE FOUNDATION... as these previous ones were ...

if you insist on the red twigs.. they are run them over with the truck plants... i would not waste a single penny on amending the soil for such indestructible plants... the ONLY place that recommends amending.. is a place that sells amendments ... and never forget that ... in regard to conifers.. trees.. and shrubs ...

conifers and trees.. to make the whole process nearer to bulletproof.. have very specific planting times.. depending on where you are ... usually early spring.. and early fall ...in yoru chi-town area ...

so.. considering the house painting.. shoot for fall planting ...

there is a superb conifer seller in your area.. see link ...

sooo.. kill.. paint.. develop bed/design.. and plan for fall planting ...

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: link
wannabegardnr
10 years ago
Look for cultivers Baileyi or Arctic Fire (shorter) for minimal spreading.
From the title I thought you were talking about planting redwood trees, which are giant sized. Red twig dogwood, on the other hand, something quite different.
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gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
10 years ago
And red twig dogwoods can - and even should - be pruned back hard periodically to renew vibrant stem coloring. Plus, there's an even longer list of compact or dwarf growing forms than wannabe alluded to. Look also for C. sericea 'Isanti' or 'Kelseyi', among others.

As to amending, skip it! With only one or two exceptions, I can't think of any tree or shrub that would benefit from an amended planting hole. For the most part, these are native plants (or very closely related) and will grow under a range of even quite challenging conditions
arylkin
Original Author
10 years ago
Thank you! I clearly have no idea what I'm talking about as to redwoods. I meant red twig dogwood, I guess I was thinking about how they had red wood lol.

I've enlisted some family members to see if we can dig out some of the shrubs, we'll see.