i recently built a small raised flower bed that i want to plant an
arborvitae in. the height of the flower bed is about the same size of
the rootball so i wondering if its okay to place the plant in and fill
in with topsoil. the ground below the flowerbed is very hard so it would
probably be a good idea to loosen the old soil...or am i wrong?
also, should i amend the soil and if so with what(manure, etc.)
thanks, cj

BTW is anyone aware of a landscaping newsgroup?

On Sun, 29 Aug 2010 13:28:41 -0400, cj wrote:

i recently built a small raised flower bed that i want to plant an
arborvitae in. the height of the flower bed is about the same size of
the rootball so i wondering if its okay to place the plant in and fill
in with topsoil. the ground below the flowerbed is very hard so it would
probably be a good idea to loosen the old soil...or am i wrong?
also, should i amend the soil and if so with what(manure, etc.)
thanks, cj


You're killin' me with all this detail.

How deep is the flowerbed? Where are you located (GPS)? Which variety
of tree is this (Giant vs Dwarf). What is the climate, light
conditions (sun vs shade)?

I presume you will buy the tree local. They can really help answer any
concerns if a nursery business. Store bought plants will have
directions on the label.

BTW is anyone aware of a landscaping newsgroup?

alt.home.lawn.garden

It is a slow group, regarding threads and posts.

"cj" wrote in message
...
i recently built a small raised flower bed that i want to plant an
arborvitae in. the height of the flower bed is about the same size of the
rootball so i wondering if its okay to place the plant in and fill in with
topsoil. the ground below the flowerbed is very hard so it would probably
be a good idea to loosen the old soil...or am i wrong?
also, should i amend the soil and if so with what(manure, etc.)
thanks, cj

BTW is anyone aware of a landscaping newsgroup?

No expert here but I would loosed the soil under the root ball ever so
slightly with border fork. For trees this not a good choice because you do
not want it to settle after new roots are formed. That is also why I said
slightly. The bulk of the roots will grow out, not down.

I would add nothing to backfill except natural organic matter, a couple of
bags manure would hurt nothing. No chemicals! Arborvitae are tough plants
and will grow in a wide variety of soils including poor ones. My neighbor
planted some between our 2 driveways in a strip about 2 feet wide, concrete
on two sides and they have flourished for 15 years. They do like good
drainage and your raised bed should provide plenty.

If it is a B&B plant remove the burlap from the top 3" of the root ball to
keep it from wicking away the moisture. Water well once a week for the
first year until the ground freezes and as soon as it starts to warm up next
Spring.


--
Colbyt
Please come visit http://www.househomerepair.com

cj wrote:
i recently built a small raised flower bed that i want to plant an
arborvitae in. the height of the flower bed is about the same size of
the rootball so i wondering if its okay to place the plant in and fill
in with topsoil. the ground below the flowerbed is very hard so it
would probably be a good idea to loosen the old soil...or am i wrong?
also, should i amend the soil and if so with what(manure, etc.)
thanks, cj

BTW is anyone aware of a landscaping newsgroup?

Perhaps rec.gardens.

MY guess is that doing what you propose would result in the roots quickly taking
over the topsoil part of the bed, making digging and planting other plants
difficult. In addition, the plant will not have good connection with the solid
ground. It would be better to at least give it an easy path down by digging out
a good size hole below the arborvitea before planting it.

On Sun, 29 Aug 2010 13:28:41 -0400, cj wrote Re
arborvitae:

BTW is anyone aware of a landscaping newsgroup?

Don't know how active they are but here are three:

alt.building.landscape
alt.landscape
alt.landscape.architecture

If you are serious about landscaping, you might look at some landscape
CAD software. I've been looking for CAD software that has a PREVIEW
mode that will display what everything looks like next year when it
has all died. That will put me a step ahead. Haven't found it yet.
--
Work is the curse of the drinking class.