Now is time to trim trees, improve content of soil
By MARY COLLISTER
Published August 27, 2004
Storms come and go through the Tampa Bay area - some worse than others. I've lived here 13 years now and have never lived through the magnitude of a storm like Hurricane Charley. That doesn't mean a storm mostly unnoticed by the media or even the next neighborhood over won't cause severe local damage to your house or landscape.
Tenants in a house we rent called us recently to say that a "huge" storm flooded the back yard, tore down the back fence and broke tree limbs in the front yard. Living just 8 miles from that house, with the sun shining, we found it hard to understand that they had just endured heavy rain and hail. This storm never made it into the papers. But driving through the neighborhood, we saw a few large limbs on top of cars and roof shingles in the road.
Regardless of whether you had damage from Charley, we can probably count on some other storm cutting a swath though the Tampa Bay area at some time. The best time to prepare our landscape trees is now! One chore that people tend to put off is tree work, completely ignoring that overgrown tree in their yard. Tree service is expensive, but it makes for a prettier and safer tree. I recently had a large oak tree thinned and shaped. I've seen many trees absolutely ruined with poor pruning, so I was careful about the service I hired. It seems that many services really don't know much about trees.
I used a service highly recommended, and I told them I wanted the tree "trimmed, not butchered." Luckily the technician had a sense of humor.
Check around. If your neighbor's trees have been pruned and look good, ask for the name and phone number. A poorly pruned tree can take years to recover. Of course, make sure the company you use is bonded and insured, as tree work is very dangerous.
Another chore you may be contemplating is increasing the size of your planting beds. Recently someone asked me if there is an easy way to remove sod. Of course the only "easy" way is to have someone else do it! But when I remove sod, I don't actually dig it up any longer. It's just too hard. I set the mower at its lowest setting and scalp the grass. After that I spray it with a vegetation killer such as Roundup, then I cover the area with four or five layers of newspaper (not using the colored sections).
Top the newspaper layers with a thick layer of mulch (I like eucalyptus) or a good combination of topsoil and compost. I try to do this about a month before I want to add my plants. If I see any stray blades of grass growing through the paper, I again spray with a nonselective vegetation killer. I then dig a hole through the newspaper into the ground for the plant. This kills the grass and does a pretty good job of keeping the weeds down while the plants get established. If I didn't cover the area earlier with mulch, I do so after the plants are in the ground. Keep the plants moist until the new additions are established.
I received a note recently from a reader in Carrollwood seeking advice about a backyard "swamp." Apparently the soil type is clay, which means it is imperative to add copious amounts of organic matter. At every opportunity add shredded leaves, compost, mulch, grass clippings (free of chemicals), stable waste and kitchen wastes (not bones or meat). To clay you can also add peat, sand and topsoil, all of which can be purchased at home improvement centers.
You may also want to think about raising your planting beds so you can mix the type of growing medium that you want. This will also improve the drainage tremendously. Improving soil can take literally years unless you plan on adding pick-up loads of organic material at a time, so unfortunately there is no quick fix.
The reader also asked what plants would do well in a shady location in this clay soil. After adding organic materials, you may want to plant simple sword ferns in the area for a while. The ferns are very hardy and not particular about their soil type. The roots will help break down the clay, and they require very little care. Once you feel the soil is in better shape, the ferns are very easy to pull from the ground and can be removed. After improving your soil you will have a much wider range of shade-loving plants from which to choose.
Whether you have clay soil or something else, this is a good time to improve your soil before planting fall and winter annuals or other plant materials. Spend a little time on you soil now, and your plants will reward you with beautiful blooms this fall.
