Curious how other people would flesh out this space.
Morning sunlight. Mostly shaded from the oaks. Previous owners put down weed blocker that I plan to pull out. It was overrun by several types of vines that I yanked out last year. That mountain laurel can go (far left). I have an entire forest of it behind the fence.
The oaks are clearly stressed and constantly sprout babies. The soil in this area is hard packed and choked from the weed barrier.
Current thoughts are to: clear out the weed barrier. Add a layer of soil. Toss down bluebonnet seeds en masse. They’ll like the crap soil but maybe not the shade. Plant bee balm? Whatever other plants I’ll try to put here have to compete with the roots of all those oaks, so I’m not certain what would thrive.
This section isn’t very visible from the road, so it can be experimental, but I do live within an HOA that prohibits raised beds. I would love some suggestions about what to do/plant in this area, because it currently wants to be 9,000 oaks and I don’t need that many!
by Friendly-Special6957
5 Comments
Your HOA is against raised beds? Geez.
A whole bunch of Turk’s Cap would be nice there.
My father-in-law has a similar bed. He’s got:
* [Turk’s cap](https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=MAARD) toward the back
* [Giant Leopard plant](https://smgrowers.com/products/plants/plantdisplay.asp?plant_id=2707)
* a couple of kinds of salvia, my favorite is the [Hot Lips](https://www.highcountrygardens.com/product/perennial-plants/salvia-hot-lips-sage?srsltid=AfmBOop8_lnJHmde3Hdz8dmUoq4WbgSY2dd3DVhtHxE-DlBvFzjKfHjQ)
* some spiky grasses that I can’t remember the name of
* and along the front edge some [Chocolate Chip ajuga](https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/ajuga-reptans-chocolate-chip/), but he complains that it keeps spreading into his yard
I would add an edge, a nice layer of mulch and leave those texan petunias already there (I think that is what they are). Be sure if you like sea oats before planting them, they take over the whole area very fast.
Just make sure you don’t bury the root crown on those oaks. The mulch/dirt level already looks a bit high.
I do not think that anything desiring more sunlight (like bluebonnets) is going to live there.
Yes, weed barrier sucks and you may be right about dry, compacted soil and stressed trees but weed barrier is not likely to be the sole reason.
First of all, despite what this sub thinks, suckers are genetically pre-dispositioned in some trees and when not misfortunes in acorn spread can also cause excessive sucker growth.
Tree stress certainly impacts suckers but more than likely it’s the lack of enough root flare combined with drought, and exacerbated by compacted soil primarily related to the drought. From the pic it looks like your soil is way too high. If so, removing the weed barrier is a step but adding more soil will make it worse.
If it was me, I would apply a soaker hose as much as I could through mid sept or until we show signs of cooling down.
Then I would call an arborist who I would guess would suggest an airspade, removing the excess and compacted soil which is probably hydrophobic at this point. If the airspade makes a big enough dent then you can likely replace some x inches of looser, improved soil but consult with the arborist on the depth and make sure the tree roots are safe.
The arborist can advise on removing suckers (which I would personally do) and THEN later fall or next spring you should then be in a place to plant true shade-tolerant natives such as have been suggested, and which also frequently have limited root depth because they are evolved to be happy under trees and amongst tangled roots.
I do not think your existing plan is going to lead to anything except more frustration. But I’m not an arborist so anytime you suspect stressed trees I would find one instead of listening to this internet warrior.
Wishing you and your trees the best!