ground which has had leylandii in it recently

[gardendoll]

hello all, I wonder if anyone can answer this...

recently I removed six very tall leylandi from my garden and I am planning to plant a japanese maple and a silk tree in the part of the garden where the leylandi used to be. I plan to do this next spring. do you think the earth there will be nutritious enough though? I am very new to gardening so I would very much appreciate the advice of someone more experienced. I have read that some species of tree are actually used to improve the quality of the ground but the leylandi were not in this list.

thanks

[bullthistle]

Generally speaking most woody plants remove what nutrients are in the soil unless they were fertilized annually, including compost and manure. When planting new plants anytime existing soil should be amended with either compost or manure when backfilled along with a handful of bonemeal, no fertilizer until the second year. when you backfill tamp the soil down with the end of your shovel to remove any air pockets, the heal of your shoe will not do that and then water when newly planted and do it twice a week at leats for the first year and if planted in a windy location three times a week.

[gardendoll]

thanks bullthistle, I have laid weed membrane and gravel over the area at the moment and my plan was to cut into it when the time comes and plant the trees in. so is it ok to apply the compost into this hole I cut along with the new tree? or do I need to treat it for a period of time before I plant the tree? my questions might seem silly but I am total novice at gardening! what size are would I have to apply this fertilizer to? a few feet around the tree I plant (or more? or less?)

[bullthistle]

Rule of thumb when I went to school, not like today where they shoe horn in plants, dig the hole twice the depth and twice the width of the ball or container and then backfill, tamp down the bottom before setting the plant and if you dig up grass in making a hole throw that is as well. Gravel will not hurt anything. I never lost a plant doing it the way I was taught.

[gardendoll]

thats great, thank you! another question if you don't mind? the lawn is a mess, very uneven ground, a root from (I think) a nearby sycamore (about 20 something feet away) bald patches, but thankfully no weeds, just many different species of grass living together, so I want to make a new lawn. some of this lawn falls across the area which is bald because the leylandii were living close by though.

so.. I am not gonna attempt to start sowing any grass seed now (in northern Britain the autumn seems to be arriving fast now) but do you think it might be worth preparing the ground now and feed it with compost and fertilizer now and a couple more times before I sow the grass or will it be sufficient and better to just wait and do it all at the same time?