Which angle to plant tree? Please give your opinion

Discussion in 'Garden Design' started by garden_newbie, Aug 20, 2011.

  1. garden_newbie

    garden_newbie Seedling

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    Hello, there are two different ways to do this so I would like your opinion please. I just took a pic of my house. As you can see my house is up on a little slope. I want to add a tree in the grass area a little off of the picture so that it is in the middle of my front yard almost.

    Here is my question, I hope that it makes sense. I think it would look better if I dig the hole and level it out with mulch so that it looks flat/level on the slope. So the little ring I create may have to be sunken into the dirt since it is on a hill, make sense? Or should I do the easy way and make the circle ring angle downward like the ground?

    I did that once in my backyard and I don't like how it looks as much. If I want to make it level, do I add more dirt to prop up the front of the ring and add grass seeds, or should I dig into the back and let the ring go into the ground and stick out near the front? I hope that makes sense. Thanks a lot :)

    *edit*

    I suck at photoshop but I drew a little pic to demonstrate what I mean. One has it level and dug into the back while the other is at the same direction as the ground. But when I think about it if you look at my drawing, the grass is going into the mulch if I make it flat and I do not want that.

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  3. cherylad

    cherylad Countess of Cute-ification Plants Contributor

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    Hello GN...

    If it were me, I'd go with your first idea... "dig the hole and level it out so that it looks flat/level on the slope".
    But I would take it one step further. Instead of just a ring of mulch... I'd add a border made of some of those preformed concrete blocks (they make them curved and it's very easy to make a ring out of it). Or use brick, rocks, or stone.
    It would be lower in the back and built up in the front, and would be level on top (hope that makes sense).
    This would help keep your mulch from washing away and hopefully help with some water retention.
    And I'd make it big enough to add some flowers at the base.
    By the way... what kind of tree are you thinking of planting?
     
  4. marlingardener

    marlingardener Happy

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    I agree with Cheryl in that the mulch would stay put better with a leveled bed. You could even plant something trailing to drape over the front of the retaining wall. Prostrate rosemary, creeping thyme, there are lots of options!
    I hope you aren't planning on putting the tree in immediately. Trees do much better when planted in a dormant state--late fall or early spring. Check with a locally owned, good nursery. They not only want to sell you a tree, they want it to thrive so you will come back and buy more plants from them.
    A small to medium size tree would look really great in your front yard. Perhaps something that blooms like dogwood or a redbud?
     
  5. Jerry Sullivan

    Jerry Sullivan Garden Experimenter Plants Contributor

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    Level sounds good. Soil retention with some sort of planting or barrier. Perhaps an evergreen ground cover.


    Jerry
     



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  6. garden_newbie

    garden_newbie Seedling

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    Thanks a lot for the replies everyone :) I haven't been able to respond as I was outside digging and shopping for trees at my local nursery. Yes I went with the first option and it turned out like I had hoped. I do plan on adding a small to med size tree.

    *edit*

    Ah so a redbud is actually pink, yes I like those trees and the nusery guy said that he had some.
     
  7. Cayuga Morning

    Cayuga Morning Strong Ash Plants Contributor

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    Garden_newbie---sounds like you have it figured out well. I would just be sure to find out the eventual size of the tree: height & width and actually eyeball it on your yard. Good luck!
     
  8. eileen

    eileen Resident Taxonomist Staff Member Moderator Plants Contributor

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    You've made exactly the right choice garden_newbie as it's exactly what we would all do too. Well done!! :-D You must let us see the tree you pick once it's in situ.
     
  9. garden_newbie

    garden_newbie Seedling

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    Thanks a lot :) In fact I just came back from outside again. I bought some rich soil that I was going to only use for the tree dirt mixture. I removed the grass that I dug up from the surrounding ring and took my time to use the rich soil to easily create a smooth looking mound around the front of the ring. When I placed the grass back over it, it is like an illusion since you cannot tell that the grass is actually in a mini mound. It looks like the ground is flat around the ring now when it really isn't!

    I will post a pic after the tree is planted and the rain washes away all of the little mud balls that are scattered around the dig site :) Plus I am not sure when I can get the tree as it is heavy and I need someone's help and you know how people are unreliable even if you pay them lol.
     
  10. designshare

    designshare New Seed

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    You should plant some bulbs and shrubs and flowers to soft the straight.
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    moderator's note: removed double posting see point 3.6 of usage rules
     
  11. Cayuga Morning

    Cayuga Morning Strong Ash Plants Contributor

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    I agreed with Designshare about using a bit more plant material to soften the lines of the house and the long straight lines of the driveway.

    How is your tree doing Garden_newbie? How did it fair during the winter?
     
  12. garden_newbie

    garden_newbie Seedling

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    Wow thanks designshare that is really cool! Hi Cayuga, actually my whole life has changed since I created this topic. I am now a new truck driver so I only get to see my house once every 60 days so I cannot enjoy all of the work I have put into it heh. I love trucking but coming home now is like a quick pitstop before I have to run out the door again. My tree has survived and I forgot about this topic otherwise I would have taken a pic while it had its white flowers which are already gone. Oddly now all of the branches on the tree have leaves though, some are bare should I cut them off or something?
     
  13. Cayuga Morning

    Cayuga Morning Strong Ash Plants Contributor

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    Only cut them off if you know they are dead. It is still early in the season, Buffalo is a cold climate. If the branches are dead, they will be dried out & you can snap off a tip. That will tell you. Sometimes though it is only the tips that get winter killed, sometimes closer into the trunk the branch is still alive.

    Good luck with your trucking exploits!
     

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