About decision processes, empty spaces and seeing what’s underground.
Last week’s post was about shrub transplanting. This week, I found myself thinking about the opposite movement.
Earlier this week, or rather last week, there was a large scale lavender removal. The lavenders had been left to overgrow and the inner portions of the shrubs had become woody. Looking at them, we found it easier to remove the shrubs and start fresh instead of trying to fix a situation that had become a little dire.
That raised a question.
When should a shrub be removed?
When you remove a shrub, unlike transplanting, you are not concerned about ensuring that the shrub is alive at the end of the process. However, that does not mean there are not steps to consider for a successful shrub removal.
One example that comes to mind right now in Niagara is boxwood.
The boxwood moth has established itself in the area and changed many gardens. What was once a lower maintenance shrub is now, in some places, a high maintenance shrub requiring multiple sprays a year to maintain its health.
There are many reasons someone might remove a boxwood.
The shrub may be damaged. Boxwood moth damages and severely defoliates boxwoods. Some shrubs are in the early stages and losing only a few leaves. Some are severely damaged and barely alive. Some are already dead.
These are all reasons to remove a shrub.
But there is another category that I find interesting.
Some people have kept their boxwoods healthy by spraying them and maintaining them carefully. The shrubs are alive. Yet maintenance has become too high. The shrubs are, in a sense, on life support and without human intervention they would no longer be alive.
That too is a valid reason to remove a shrub.
Sometimes a shrub no longer fits the maintenance needs of the garden.
Before removing a shrub, I think there are two pauses worth taking.
First, why is the shrub being removed?
Second, what happens to the space afterwards?
If the shrub is healthy but simply in the wrong place, sometimes it is acting as a placeholder while you ponder your next garden move.
Before removing it, consider what you want to do with that space.
You may already have another plant in mind.
Or you may be comfortable leaving the space empty for a little while.
I sometimes do that. I remove a shrub first and then have a look at the space and see what calls out to me or what resonates.
Empty space is also an option.
Once you have decided to proceed, preparation helps.
Like transplanting, it is useful to gather your tools before beginning. It saves time and allows you to work more fluidly in the moment.
My basic set would be a shovel, necessary, and a fork, optional.
I also like having pruners and a large pair of loppers available for larger stems and roots. Since this is shrub removal, it is fine to use an older pair for soil work.
For tougher situations, I sometimes bring a Sawzall or reciprocating saw to help cut through severe root systems.
And if the space will be reused afterwards, a hard rake is useful for tidying the area.
Before starting, there is one final thing to consider.
What are you doing with the shrub afterwards?
Will it go to home compost?
Onto a log pile to create habitat?
Is it heavily diseased and destined for a burn pile?
Or are you breaking it down into yard waste bags for city pickup?
Once you begin removing the shrub, size and location matter.
If I am not sure what I am dealing with, especially in a difficult location, I sometimes start with the fork.
I shuffle it around a little, lever gently, and see whether the shrub pops out readily or does not move at all.
This step is optional, but it gives a sense of how much work needs to be done.
Then I take a shovel and dig around the shrub.
Since the shrub is being removed, it does not matter too much whether some roots are sliced. Depending on the shrub, I might give it six inches, a foot, or a foot and a half of breath and dig around once.
On the second pass I start levering.
Sometimes the shrub comes out.
If it does, great.
If it does not, this is where it becomes useful to actually look at the root system.
Now that the soil is open, you can often see some of the points of attachment.
This is where smaller tools become useful.
A hand hoe or hori hori can help clear soil and expose what you are actually looking at.
I want a clear visual of the roots I am considering cutting.
If I find one very large root, I dig along it from the centre of the shrub until I reach a point where I feel comfortable cutting, where I feel I have removed enough of the root to clear the area for future planting.
At that point I simply prune the root as though I were pruning a branch.
Because roots are underground, it can be difficult to see where the shrub is still attached.
So after each cut, I push and pull the shrub.
I see where it still holds strongest and where it has loosened and gained free range of motion.
That tells me where the next attachment point is.
For larger shrubs and small trees, this is where the Sawzall becomes useful.
Eventually the shrub comes free.
At that point, you are left with the root ball and a hole.
You can break the shrub down beforehand or afterwards. I often keep some branches while digging because they act as holds or levers while lifting and wiggling the shrub free.
Once the shrub is removed, it is time to break it down and send it where it needs to go.
Then you are left with empty space.
If you already know what comes next, you can prepare the hole and place the next plant.
If not, rake the area out, tidy the edges, fill the hole if needed, and leave it for a while.
There is one final opportunity here.
Now that the shrub is gone, this is also a chance to reconsider the soil.
If future planting is coming, adding compost, loosening compacted soil, and rehabilitating the area can refresh the space for whatever comes next.
Removing a shrub is not the opposite of gardening.
Sometimes it is simply making room for the next garden.