Tips For Planting A Garden After Tree Removal
Removing an old dead or damaged tree can really open up your yard, resulting in a better view and more sunlight to your property. This can give you the opportunity to put in a new flower garden where the tree used to stand. The following tips can help you ensure the site is ready for planting as soon as possible.
Tip #1: Pay for stump grinding
Tree removal is often just down to the stump, and then it is up to you to decide upon stump removal. While a stump may seem like an attractive centerpiece for the garden, it can harbor insect pests or the stump's roots may continue to send up shoots in an effort to regrow. Another option is to kill the stump yourself using chemical means, but this is a slow process that prevents you from planting. Instead, have the removal company grind the stump down several inches below the soil surface. This will allow you to plant the area without any worries about the stump.
Tip #2: Keep the wood chips
Put in a request to the tree removal company to keep the wood chips from your tree. Most companies will feed the tree through a wood chipper or mulcher on site, simply because this makes transport and disposal easier. You can ask to keep your wood chips and then use them to mulch your new garden beds. In some cases, this may even save you money, as the landscape company may give you a discount if they aren't paying a dump fee to dispose of the chips.
Tip #3: Bring in outside soil
There will be a lot of sawdust and wood chips remaining in the site after tree removal, which can throw off the nutritional balance of the soil. Bring in compost and topsoil to improve the soil quality. You may also want to work in a nitrogen containing fertilizer, which will help offset the higher carbon levels present from the wood chips. Make sure the good soil is worked into the top 6 inches or so of the ground so it provides benefits directly to plant roots.
Tip #4: Opt for annuals
There will be a lot of settling on the site for the first few years after the tree is removed. This is because the remainder of the stump and root system that is underground will be slowly decomposing, causing the soil to sink. Plant annual flowers these first few years so that you can add new soil to account for the sinking before you replant the bed each spring. You can begin bringing in perennials once the ground has finished settling.
For more help, talk to a landscaping or tree removal company in your area, such as Jonny's Tree & Landscaping Co., LLC.
