Protecting Perennials

[pinksand]

We are having several trees removed (hopefully any day now). One of the trees is located right off of our patio and is surrounded by perennials. The company came recommended by neighbors and friends and has a good reputation, but my neighbor just told me that she lost some of her plants due to trampling or branches coming down. My parents recently had the same company come out for a quote for tree trimming and they recommended waiting until winter while the plants are dormant so nothing gets ruined. Now I'm getting nervous about how my plants will fare.

One thing I was considering is digging up my favorites and potting them for a day or 2 while the work is being done. The other option would be attempting to cover them with some sort of protection. My only concern about this is that the protection will get in the way or just end up getting trampled anyway. The site is where I've been trying to establish a garden in memory of my pet bird that passed away this spring so some of the plants are quite small and young. My favorites are several tiarella, epimedium, japanese anemone, st johns wart, fernleaf bleeding hearts, and a double yellow english primrose. Everything else is either very established or somewhat expendable. What do you think is the best method of protection? Do you think they'd do okay being dug up and replanted in the heat of July? They're all sited where I can provide sufficient water if needed after transplanting.

[applestar]

If where your pet is buried is in any danger of trampling or being disturbed, I would put something sturdy and obvious there -- like a picnic table/bench pile of pallets, etc, then delineate keep clear zone with brightly colored construction/surveyor's tape. Then speak with whoever will be in charge of the work as well as the owner to make sure they understand the importance of the location and wouldn't try to move whatever you put there.

Some plants can be protected in the same way but speak with them so you can get assurances and clear picture of where would be safe from accidental harm and where would be in possible danger and what would be nuisance for them to try to avoid -- could easily fall victim to casual carelessness. So you can make informed decision about actually moving some things that are important to you.

[pinksand]

They're taking the trees down and I'm watching them trample any plants in their path! Due to the location of the garden below the tree it didn't make sense to block off the plants because unfortunately that would have made access difficult for them. I ended up digging my favorites up last night and potted them. I'm so glad I did, but watching them I think I should have dug up the whole garden They're stepping on small shrubs and tossing branches down in garden space that I hadn't even considered needing to protect. I'm scared to see the damage when the job is done. They were going to bring the bobcat through my garden path, which would have been a nightmare but I talked them into going through the other gate that's larger anyway. My poor garden!

[Lindsaylew82]

We hard 2 very large oak trees pruned this spring. They were VERY hard on my entire front yard. Drove large trucks right into the yard and left deep depressions in the grass and beds. The whole yard was badly damaged and it's very bumpy now.

[NatureHillsNursery]

I'm so sorry to hear of this happening to your garden! One of the reasons we do almost everything ourselves here at my home is because of the damage others can cause. To be fair though, these business’ that come in probably just don't have the time to be extra careful, and also don't always know what’s delicate and what isn’t. Had I commented sooner, I would have told you to move everything, or preferably wait until dormancy. I just had a tree taken down last fall, and I removed everything of value that I had planted around it. I lost a couple plants, but most did fine with the transplant so I was lucky. My husband and son took the tree down, but even so, it would have made their job extra hard if they had been forced to watch out for my perennials. Again, sorry to hear of your situation. Hopefully you’ll be able to repair the damage.

[pinksand]

All things considered they actually did a pretty good job cleaning up! At one point I looked out and saw they'd knocked down part of a retaining wall, but they put it back together as well as they could, and I just had to rearrange a few stones. They raked my garden free of debris and used a blower to get all the sawdust off the plants. This process unfortunately ended up tearing some plants out and my bed is no longer mulched, but overall not terrible. I replanted the plants I'd tried to save, and the epimedium and foamflowers are doing well. The fernleaf bleeding hearts didn't make the transition unfortunately. The bobcat destroyed my lawn, so that will be a project for the fall! Overall, it wasn't nearly as bad as I'd anticipated If I hadn't dug up my favorites, I'm sure they wouldn't have made it though.

[applestar]

Glad to hear you saved most of your favorites.
...look at it is way, you need to redesign the landscaping there anyway including the possible replacement tree, and you have an excuse to hit the fall native plant sales.

(Bowman's Hill Wildflower Preserve near New Hope, Pa. has one. I assume there will be plant sales near you as well.)

[pinksand]

Haha that's a very good way to look at it! It also made it easier to dig up the lily of the valley that I don't want in the space. It will definitely be a fresh start for the space and I love an excuse to hit up end of season plant sales

[Lindsaylew82]

I wish I lived near you and could take all that LOTV away for you!

[pinksand]

Haha I wish you lived closer so I could give some to you! I'm giving some my to MIL and some to a co-worker, but have plenty to go around... that stuff spreads like mad!

[Lindsaylew82]

I ADORE IT!