Planting in Shade Under Cedar Trees
Kiki Hiott
Hi,
We have two places in our yard where nothing grows. Both are shady; one is
under a big cedar tree and the other under a pine and a maple. The soil is
alkaline and pretty rich, so it is not a soil problem. The area is on the
west side of the house and any sun would be afternoon sun (But mostly shady).
We live in Zone 7 in Central Oklahoma. HELP PLEASE!
Thanks! Kiki
Lisa Moore
Well, what exactly do you want to grow? If you're upset because you can't
get grass to grow there then try a groundcover like Hedera Helix (English
Ivy) or Vinca Minor (Common Periwinkle) or Pachysandra terminalis
(Spurge). Vinca Minor might be the best since you'll get pretty little
bluish purplish flowers in the spring.
Or if you're more interested in herbaceous ornamentals there are a lot of
different kinds of impatiens and hostas you might like. Or you could have
a little combination of a groundcover and some impatiens and hostas. You
actually have a lot of options. You might want to go to your local
library and get a book about gardening in the shade.
Lisa
Lisa Moore
Wendy Woods
Epimedium works pretty well in shade under trees as do ferns.
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Kay Cangemi
> khi...@obsnsrv1.bio.uoknor.edu (Kiki Hiott) wrote:
> >Hi,
> >
> >We have two places in our yard where nothing grows. Both are shady; one is
> >under a big cedar tree and the other under a pine and a maple. The soil is
> >alkaline and pretty rich, so it is not a soil problem. The area is on the
> >west side of the house and any sun would be afternoon sun (But mostly
shady).
> >We live in Zone 7 in Central Oklahoma. HELP PLEASE!
> >
> >Thanks! Kiki
> >
>
> Well, what exactly do you want to grow? If you're upset because you can't
> get grass to grow there then try a groundcover like Hedera Helix (English
> Ivy) or Vinca Minor (Common Periwinkle) or Pachysandra terminalis
> (Spurge). Vinca Minor might be the best since you'll get pretty little
> bluish purplish flowers in the spring.
>
I don't think the problem is that simple. Here pines and maples are two
trees that are notorious for not letting anything grow underneath them.
Mostly it's a water problem, the trees take it all leaving none for the
other plants. Very few plants grow in dry shade. There is also the problem
of trying to plant anything among all those tree roots.
Supposedly hostas will grow underneath maples. I'll be able to personally
report next year - I planted a couple of small ones in teeny holes between
the roots of a red maple this fall. I haven't found anything that will grow
under white pines. Not even weeds will grow there.
Kay Cangemi
New York, USDA Zone 5
vroom...@aol.com
In article <56a3bd$q...@frazier.backbone.ou.edu>,
khi...@obsnsrv1.bio.uoknor.edu (Kiki Hiott) writes:
>Hi,
>
>We have two places in our yard where nothing grows. Both are shady; one
is
>under a big cedar tree and the other under a pine and a maple. The soil
is
>alkaline and pretty rich, so it is not a soil problem. The area is on
the
>west side of the house and any sun would be afternoon sun (But mostly
shady).
>
>We live in Zone 7 in Central Oklahoma. HELP PLEASE!
>
>Thanks! Kiki
>
>
I have seen ivy used as a very effective ground cover under mature cedar.
Vinca minor makes an good ground cover under maple -- I've seen it used
quite effectively under a mature sugar maple.
John A. Keslick, Jr.
PLANTING UNDER TREES
It has come to my attention that some people do not understand the value
of avoiding digging near ornamental trees. Recently in Radnor, PA, I
visited an educational demonstration where good hearted people had
properly planted a group of trees in memory of those lives lost in the
Oklahoma City Bombing. What I observed was a great deal of damage done
by other good hearted people who simply did not understand tree
biology. The damage was to a birch tree. It's very sad in many ways.
One is on Earth Day the person who planted the tree two years ago
explained to me how pleased and happy he was that the tree had lived for
one year. He went on to explain how everything else he planted died.
Recently flowers were planted in a tree planting site in the non-woody
root area and the birch tree had both woody and non-woody roots
disrupted when a good-hearted person thought it would look pretty to dig
around the tree to edge the mulch. Birch trees do not tolerate this
treatment. I am sad for the person who planted the tree properly. I am
sad for the ones who did not understand that the rhizosphere is very
sensitive. And last I am sad for myself and for my friends who planted
the demonstration because in a sense I have failed to communicate with
parties involved. A question one might ask is "How is it possible that
we can cause pest and fungus problems and kill a tree by planting
flowers at the base and digging up roots (woody and non-woody) of our
trees, now known as flowers disease worldwide? This is a very very good
question. I will try to give you one of many explanations or
concepts. First let me define some terms. Non-woody roots and woody
roots. Non-woody roots have different basic functions then woody
roots. Here are some of the features and functions. Non-woody roots
facilitate the absorptions of water and elements from the rhizosphere.
Woody roots support the tree, store energy (starch and oils) and
transport elements and water from the non-woody roots toward the
leaves. Food from the stem is transported toward the non-woody roots
by way of the woody roots. And the list goes on. On most trees most of
the time the non-woody roots can be found in the rhizosphere in the
upper four inches of the soil.
The way a non-woody root dies naturally is much different from how it
dies by wounding when planting flowers and bulbs at the base of the
tree. Naturally a boundary will form (abscission layer) first where
the non-woody root meets the woody root (which will resist entrance of
pathogens). After the boundary (abscission layer) is formed, the
non-woody root will then die and be digested by microorganisms.
Now on the other hand when we dig (one way we as people intervene) we
often wound and kill non-woody roots before a boundary is formed and now
the pathogens which infect woody roots have an open door. I call this
predisposition. In a sense the tree is in a receiving mode for pest and
fungus. Then we find many other factors to blame the decline and death
of the tree, e.g., borers, twig dieback, mites, insects, fungus, weather
and the list goes on. Then when we see these problems we tend to dose
the tree with nitrogen which in a sense can turn beneficial
microorganisms into pathogens when the tree is in a predisposition state
or condition. I will not go into detail about all the chemical
pesticides used to fight the pest and fungus. This works much the same
as the death of mycorrhizae during flooding, soil grade change, soil
compaction and the list goes on.
Now the leaf works somewhat the opposite. What happens with the leaf is
the leaf will die first and then the abscission layer is formed and then
the leaf is shed. That's also why the leaves on young beech and oak do
not drop their dead leaves some times in the fall. One reason being
that the abscission layer did not form. I hope someone will learn from
this article and not believe it because I said it but because they see
it for themselves.
--
John A. Keslick Jr. If you are not OUTRAGED you're not
Tree Anatomist & Tree Biologist paying attention.
Phone: 610-696-5353 Support ORGANIC FARMERS.
organic tree treatment web site:
http://www.ccil.org/~treeman/ OR http://www.ccil.org/~kenm/env/