Well, the landscaper showed up this morning and took out the stump of the viburnum.
I was at the salon, and my mother called to say that the landscapers had arrived and were busy taking out the stump. They were originally supposed to have done it last Tuesday. It was rescheduled to Friday. No one showed up.
I talked with the landscaper's wife and told her that I didn't want them to work on the stump unless I was around. So much for communication.
So, when I got home, they were about two-thirds of the way done. I watched as they took out the rest. Unfortunately, I had to point out an arm of it they had missed, and you know that if I was able to see that one arm, there are others just below the surface that I missed.
I plan to add LOT of compost to the area, working it into the soil. Once the area has been cleared, I'll plant new perennials and then mulch everything. Can you envision Bluebeard, Russian Sage, Sunrise Coneflower, and Homestead Purple Verbena leading from the brick walls out to the edge of the garden?
The last thing the landscaper did before he and his crew left was to plant the new redbud. We agreed on how far forward of the house the tree should go. We have the species that has just one trunk, rather than the kind that grows multiple trunks. It's just a baby tree. It will be a long time before it fills out and shades the area again.
I've wanted a redbud for a very long time. Cop Car tried to help me out by transplanting several of the seedlings from her lawn, but we lost them over the winter. We'll have to hope that this one lasts.
Comments (16)
Humpf! That's a new one on me. I didn't know that there were special redbuds that clump. I just put two or three seedlings into the same hole when I want multiple trunks, and keep all of the side branches cut off--higher and higher as the tree matures--to keep it a single trunk, when that's what I want. We keep learning, don't we? I guess my way works--for me! *g*
Glad that you'll have your redbud and hope that it is in a good position. My "usual" has been to plant redbuds so close to our house that the branches rub the roof and the seeds clog the eave troughs. (Picture me sitting on the roof, leaning out to cut off offending branches!)
Posted by Cop Car | May 14, 2006 9:15 AM
Posted on May 14, 2006 09:15
Cop Car, I am SO ignorant about trees and shrubs! It's very possible that the way you plant to get multiple trunks may be how others do it, but it seemed to me that the landscaper was implying that there are two different species. When we first moved to this house, DH bought a "red bud" that came from Tennessee....and wasn't the plant that I expected at all. We got to calling it "that tulip tree" because it was rather tulip shaped, and definitely not the red bud that you and I know. I guess I'll have to go research. (sigh)
Posted by buffy | May 14, 2006 11:13 AM
Posted on May 14, 2006 11:13
The American Redbud is a tree-type (single trunk), the Chinese Redbud is a shrub-type (multi-trunk).
CarrollGardens has several of each type.
Posted by bogie | May 14, 2006 2:54 PM
Posted on May 14, 2006 14:54
Bogie--I didn't doubt that the nursery person knew something that I did not. Now that you mention it, I guess I knew that some redbuds (if not all?) were from China, but never gave thought beyond that. Thanks for the reference.
Posted by Cop Car | May 14, 2006 4:44 PM
Posted on May 14, 2006 16:44
Bogie, thanks for the information. I was short on time when I replied to Cop Car. I appreciate you doing the research for me.
Posted by buffy | May 14, 2006 8:34 PM
Posted on May 14, 2006 20:34
Collusion! Co;lusion! You kids always did gang up against me! (I shoulda thought of that before voting you into the family, eh, Buffy?)
Posted by Cop Car | May 14, 2006 10:19 PM
Posted on May 14, 2006 22:19
Too late now!! (snickering) And you can expect MORE of this in the future! lol
Posted by buffy | May 15, 2006 2:40 PM
Posted on May 15, 2006 14:40
Buffy - no extra research on my part. I have been researching trees and bushes that will replace the fruit trees when they are cut down. I had come across Carrollgardens, which had many of the items that I was looking at (another one that seems good is greenwoodnursery. When I saw this post about redbuds, I figured I had quick access to the info.
cop Car - Yes, we have native redbuds.
Posted by bogie | May 19, 2006 8:33 AM
Posted on May 19, 2006 08:33
There are a dozen or more shrubs I'd LOVE to have but can't decide where to plant them. I think I'm going to give up lawn and just start planting ever taller banks of shrubs....arcs anc crescents and serpentines and any other curving shape I can create! *G*
Thanks for the links to the nurseries, Bogie!
Posted by buffy | May 19, 2006 1:15 PM
Posted on May 19, 2006 13:15
I have a red bud clump that has never had buds on it. Anyone know why and whay should I do if anything? It is only about 4 feet tall...still young.
Jill
Posted by Jill | May 20, 2006 3:41 PM
Posted on May 20, 2006 15:41
Jill--If yours is a "clump type" redbud, I probably know nothing about it. If yours is a clump of redbuds such as I am familiar with, it may just need another year or two to develop enough to bloom. If your clump is 4' high AND at least 6 years old, I should expect it to have bloomed, a little, this spring. Never have I done anything special with redbuds--mine have just bloomed when they got ready. Bogie?
Posted by Cop Car | May 20, 2006 4:24 PM
Posted on May 20, 2006 16:24
I defer to Cop Car and Bogie, Jill....they seem to be the redbud experts around here. I hope things work out and you find a way to get the tree to bloom. You might consider sending a soil sample to your local land grant university. Perhaps you need to ammend the soil to encourage the blooms. In Illinois, the land grant university is the University of Illinois and each county has an extension where you can have soil tested, and ask horticultural questions.
Posted by buffy | May 20, 2006 5:08 PM
Posted on May 20, 2006 17:08
I'm with Cop Car - it's probably too young yet to bloom (some trees need to be up to 10 years old before they bloom).
There are other, more remote possibilities; too much fertilizer (which promotes green growth at the expense of flowers) or too much shade.
I'm guessing that plain old patience will win out in the long run.
Posted by bogie | May 21, 2006 7:04 AM
Posted on May 21, 2006 07:04
Thanks for all your great advice!! I will wait out another year and see what next spring will bring and go from there!!
Jill
Posted by Jill | May 21, 2006 10:27 AM
Posted on May 21, 2006 10:27
Jill--It just occurred to me that I don't know where you live; thus, your climate may be "at fault". Although we only lived in Seattle for 15 months (and I did plant one redbud), I was told that redbuds would not bloom very often in that region because the winters didn't get cold enough. Since things tilted heavily toward the Oriental, up there, they may have been talking about the clump (Chinese) type (ours was a single-trunk type and it didn't have time to bloom before we left). Years later, when I saw the house, the redbud wasn't there; but, of course, I don't know why.
Posted by Cop Car | May 21, 2006 10:52 AM
Posted on May 21, 2006 10:52
Ladies, thanks for helping Jill. This is what I MOST appreciate about being able to blog......there's always someone willing to help you find an answer!
Good luck, Jill!
Posted by buffy | May 21, 2006 3:13 PM
Posted on May 21, 2006 15:13