Landscaping help !!

[newbiegardner6]

I am completely new to gardening. Just started doing some landscaping in the front of our house. Had a few quick ques. In the attached pic you can see that we are trying to mulch a portion of the front of the house and section it off with rocks. The shrub has been there since we bought the house and hardly requires maintenance. We just planted the Japanese maple and did the rocks by the house and the rest is mulch.

We have mulched part of the area. The area not mulched yet has grass. I'm planning on using round up to kill the grass and weeds off in that area and then lay down some newspapers and mulch on top. This is what I gathered from some forums here as the best way to go.

I also wanna put a rhododendron in that section before I mulch. Will that work after I kill all the grass off ? Just wanna make sure I can plant in that area.

Also wats the best way to lay the stones? Do I get rid of the grass and dig a little deeper to put the stones in the ground ?

Any suggestions are appreciated. Thanks so much !!!

 

[Chuck]

I am completely new to gardening. Just started doing some landscaping in the front of our house. Had a few quick ques. In the attached pic you can see that we are trying to mulch a portion of the front of the house and section it off with rocks. The shrub has been there since we bought the house and hardly requires maintenance. We just planted the Japanese maple and did the rocks by the house and the rest is mulch.

We have mulched part of the area. The area not mulched yet has grass. I'm planning on using round up to kill the grass and weeds off in that area and then lay down some newspapers and mulch on top. This is what I gathered from some forums here as the best way to go.

I also wanna put a rhododendron in that section before I mulch. Will that work after I kill all the grass off ? Just wanna make sure I can plant in that area.

Also wats the best way to lay the stones? Do I get rid of the grass and dig a little deeper to put the stones in the ground ?

Any suggestions are appreciated. Thanks so much !!!

One application of RoundUp will in all probability not kill all of the grass roots, so wait awhile before planting the rhodo. I don't know what variety of Japanese Maple you planted but it if is a standard size variety it looks to be planted too close the the house. About the stones. If they are slightly buried it will make mowing a little easier as you won't have to worry about them somehow ending up under the mower

 

[newbiegardner6]

One application of RoundUp will in all probability not kill all of the grass roots, so wait awhile before planting the rhodo. I don't know what variety of Japanese Maple you planted but it if is a standard size variety it looks to be planted too close the the house. About the stones. If they are slightly buried it will make mowing a little easier as you won't have to worry about them somehow ending up under the mower

When you say I planted too close to the house is it because of the roots or because the plant will grow too wide? How far away do you think it should be? I plan to actively prune it.

 

[Chuck]

When you say I planted too close to the house is it because of the roots or because the plant will grow too wide? How far away do you think it should be? I plan to actively prune it.

Too wide and too tall to prune safely. If you know the variety you can find out what size it will eventually be and take measures now while it will be a lot easier to transplant. Some varieties get big. As far as the roots go, the slab has been there a long time and underneath it is dry as a bone and very compacted plus very little if any oxygen. The roots will go the path of least resistance and to the most moisture and fertility.

The tree is still a baby and it is already what looks like to be over 6 feet tall. If it is one of the large varieties I would probably move it close to where that pile of rocks are. It would be far enough away from the eaves and roof of your house plus it would give nice shade to your front porch. Also it would give your Rhodo more room as it will grow into a rather large bush if you let it

 

[Becky]

Hey there welcome to the forum! What variety of Japanese Maple is it? If it were me I'd take up the turf with a spade - as you're already planning on laying newspaper and mulch on the top, it should hopefully be enough to prevent much grass coming through.

 

[newbiegardner6]

It s bloodgood variety. The guy at Home Depot said it will take 10 years to grow very tall and we dont plan to stay at this house too long. On the page that came with it, it says mature size 15-20 feet tall and 20 feet wide.

 

[Becky]

If it was me I wouldn't plant such a big tree so close to the house - you may well set yourself up with problems for the future. Is there anywhere else you could put it? Japanese Maples are really pretty and like Chuck said they come in a variety of sizes - you could plant a dwarf one in a pot and it would look beautiful and you wouldn't have problems in the future. If you do want to keep it there and just keep it under control with pruning, then make sure you only prune when the tree is dormant (over winter).

Have you picked your rhododendron yet? I'd be wary of the final size too as some can become enormous. As with the Acer, there are smaller varieties available.

 

[Chuck]

It s bloodgood variety. The guy at Home Depot said it will take 10 years to grow very tall and we dont plan to stay at this house too long. On the page that came with it, it says mature size 15-20 feet tall and 20 feet wide.

I think you will have to move the tree. From the pics the tree looks to be about 6 feet from the house. Within 3 years that tree will be 8 or 10 feet tall and on your house. If you prune it to keep it off of your house you will be defeating the purpose of the tree. A tree grows from the top up not from the bottom up. A maple tree isn't supposed to look like a telephone pole with a topknot on top and that is what you will have if you prune it to keep it off of your house. Move the tree at least 15 feet away from the wall of your house and forget about pruning it except for cosmetics.

 

[MindyT]

When I moved into my house over 14 years ago, there was a Japanese Maple near the front corner of my house. It was beautiful, but it got too big. It started to dig its roots deeper into the ground looking for moisture, and it started messing with our foundation. It was maybe 8 feet tall, nothing more. However like Chuck said, you have to think of what the roots will do. They will spread out and spread wide for the base. I would also suggest moving the tree before it is too late. As for my personal taste, I don't like mulch or rocks. I love green areas. I would have kept the grass.

 

[newbiegardner6]

Thanks everyone !!! I think I will move the tree..My hubby wont be too happy but I definietly dont wanna mess with the foundation of the house..

 

[MindyT]

Thanks everyone !!! I think I will move the tree..My hubby wont be too happy but I definietly dont wanna mess with the foundation of the house..

Sorry if it upset your husband. It is better to move it now than when the roots have finally taken hold. Send in another picture when you have it replanted.

 

[newbiegardner6]

Hi everyone !! We did end up moving the maple but I just noticed that the leaves are wilting. Do you think the move did that or that we applied too much miracle grow? I think we applied miracle grow 3 times by now every 7 days. This time when we replanted and dug up the soil we used a mix of peat moss and garden soil from Home Depot coz we think our soil has too much clay bcoz of the red color.

 

[Chuck]

Hi everyone !! We did end up moving the maple but I just noticed that the leaves are wilting. Do you think the move did that or that we applied too much miracle grow? I think we applied miracle grow 3 times by now every 7 days. This time when we replanted and dug up the soil we used a mix of peat moss and garden soil from Home Depot coz we think our soil has too much clay bcoz of the red color.

Without being there it is hard to say for sure exactly what is going on but Stop With The Miracle Grow. It is a chemical and using too much will burn the root system of your tree. Your tree was doing fine before without the added peat moss and stuff added to the soil so being clay isn't the problem. What this looks like is root damage caused either by not getting enough of the root ball dug up and transplanted or the roots damaged by chemical fertilizer burns. It could also be a watering problem. How much do you water and how often

 

[newbiegardner6]

These last 2 weeks we dint get a chance to water it much as we were out of town. Also the new spot gets more sun than the prev spot tht was v shady. There is a big tree in my neighbors yard that gives the maple some shade but mostly after 4pm. Pretty much all day the maple gets sun in the new spot. I had read tht the maple doesn't need to be watered everyday. But now looking at this I think I need to water 3-4 times a week. Also should I water just the roots or spray the leaves as well ?

I just noticed the leaves wilting yest. Not sure if it was this way before we moved it. I dint really pay a lot of attention then. We just moved this tree on Sat. So not sure if this happened over the last few days or was there before that. My husband doesn't recall either.

 

[Chuck]

These last 2 weeks we dint get a chance to water it much as we were out of town. Also the new spot gets more sun than the prev spot tht was v shady. There is a big tree in my neighbors yard that gives the maple some shade but mostly after 4pm. Pretty much all day the maple gets sun in the new spot. I had read tht the maple doesn't need to be watered everyday. But now looking at this I think I need to water 3-4 times a week. Also should I water just the roots or spray the leaves as well ?

I just noticed the leaves wilting yest. Not sure if it was this way before we moved it. I dint really pay a lot of attention then. We just moved this tree on Sat. So not sure if this happened over the last few days or was there before that. My husband doesn't recall either.

Do not fertilize the tree until it gets reestablished. Water the tree slowly, not much more than a steady drip, overnight, immediately. In a couple of days let us know of any changes.