Last March I shared a tough choice I was about to make, to do away with a Magnolia laevifolia that was healthy, but just planted in the wrong place. It was a hard one carry out, but I did it and honestly never regretted it. New year, same choice...
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My awesome (a word I rarely use, but seemed appropriate) Grevillea australis has had a tough go of it the last couple of years. Wet, heavy snow and equally heavy ice, have piled up and caused it to flop onto the containers at its side. Once the snow and ice melts it somewhat rights itself, but always with a slightly worse tilt. That's it, in the center, below. This is the most flattering angle to see it from.
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Moving in closer you can see it definitely has a lean to it (which I notice is mirrored in the bare branches of the oak above it, hmmm....).
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The poor suffering Nolina 'La Siberica' I planted too close would love a little more sun.
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It's grown thick stems during its 4 years in the ground. I wish they were just stronger. I have repeatedly staked it up with rebar, and trimmed several branches off the plant in an attempt to lighten it's lopsided load.
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Poor deformed thing.
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I should back up and name the strangely hacked tall trunk to the left, in case you'd noticed it. That's my Paulownia tomentosa, an incredibly fast growing tree that I'm using to block an unwanted view, until the Loquat planted behind it can take over, which it's almost ready to do. The Paulownia is pollarded each year to keep it in check. Eventually it will be cut to the ground and a single trunk with huge leaves will shoot upward each summer.
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Back to the Grevillea. Its "lean" means that I have about 5" to maneuver between the Agave ovatifolia spikes and the Grevillea's somewhat poky foliage. And this is a working pathway that I use to get to other areas of the garden, and the stock tank pond.
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So what do I have hiding behind the Grevillea which will suddenly be exposed should I (oh the horror!) remove it? Well this Pittosporum illicioides.
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And a currently dormant cut back) Melianthus villosus under-planted with Ajuga reptans 'Black Scallop'— to the right of that, a variegated Ginkgo.
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Then there's the Quercus dentata 'Pinnatifida’, but it's lower section is clear of branches.
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And a lovely Podocarpus matudae.
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And even further back a Lardizabala biternata.
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Which has yet to bloom, but when it does!
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So what would I put in its place, should I remove the flopping Gevillea? Well of course there are any number of sexy plants that will thrive in that full sun exposure. I'm also thinking of this hunk-a-metal trellis (Passion Flower!) the Mardi Gras Gardener gave me last summer.
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And honestly I will simply appreciate being able to walk through here again, easily.
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Of course in an ideal world I would be able to cut the Grevillea back to rejuvenate it, and keep it. But I don't think that's gonna work.
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What are your thoughts?
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Weather Diary, March 19: Hi 58, Low 35/ Precip 0
All material © 2009-2018 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.
My awesome (a word I rarely use, but seemed appropriate) Grevillea australis has had a tough go of it the last couple of years. Wet, heavy snow and equally heavy ice, have piled up and caused it to flop onto the containers at its side. Once the snow and ice melts it somewhat rights itself, but always with a slightly worse tilt. That's it, in the center, below. This is the most flattering angle to see it from.
Moving in closer you can see it definitely has a lean to it (which I notice is mirrored in the bare branches of the oak above it, hmmm....).
The poor suffering Nolina 'La Siberica' I planted too close would love a little more sun.
It's grown thick stems during its 4 years in the ground. I wish they were just stronger. I have repeatedly staked it up with rebar, and trimmed several branches off the plant in an attempt to lighten it's lopsided load.
Poor deformed thing.
Back to the Grevillea. Its "lean" means that I have about 5" to maneuver between the Agave ovatifolia spikes and the Grevillea's somewhat poky foliage. And this is a working pathway that I use to get to other areas of the garden, and the stock tank pond.
So what do I have hiding behind the Grevillea which will suddenly be exposed should I (oh the horror!) remove it? Well this Pittosporum illicioides.
And a currently dormant cut back) Melianthus villosus under-planted with Ajuga reptans 'Black Scallop'— to the right of that, a variegated Ginkgo.
Then there's the Quercus dentata 'Pinnatifida’, but it's lower section is clear of branches.
And even further back a Lardizabala biternata.
Which has yet to bloom, but when it does!
So what would I put in its place, should I remove the flopping Gevillea? Well of course there are any number of sexy plants that will thrive in that full sun exposure. I'm also thinking of this hunk-a-metal trellis (Passion Flower!) the Mardi Gras Gardener gave me last summer.
And honestly I will simply appreciate being able to walk through here again, easily.
Of course in an ideal world I would be able to cut the Grevillea back to rejuvenate it, and keep it. But I don't think that's gonna work.
What are your thoughts?
Weather Diary, March 19: Hi 58, Low 35/ Precip 0
All material © 2009-2018 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.