By Hank
Cheshire, United Kingdom
As most of you will know, my monkey puzzle tree being 14 ft tall in the middle of my rockery in the front garden has to go. Would it be sensible to replace it with my 7ft tall bay tree which is in a large pot and not looking too happy ? ( not growing verticularly any more )
The bay is shown below but the photo was taken 2 yrs ago.
- 30 Jan, 2015
Answers
Personally I think a Bay tree has no place in a rockery - but each to their own. I'd be looking at something that had a more shrubby growth and would be in keeping with rock plants.
30 Jan, 2015
Oooh, no, don't do it please! Bay trees look fine in pots, till they've been in them too long, but once planted in the ground, they grow into 16/20 foot things with a very dense, broad and dark crown, through which no light penetrates, and give a depressing, dark appearance to even the lightest of areas.
30 Jan, 2015
No- what looks nice now will not stay like that for long. Most rock plants like sun anyway and any sort of tree will shade them in no time. Anything large would be out of proportion to the rockery you have in any case.
30 Jan, 2015
Bay tree may well be pot bound if it's been in the same pot for 2years or more. Repot - with a bit of judicious root pruning - feed well in spring and it should pick up.
I'd agree with keeping the rockery for rockery plants - there's no point in removing the monkey puzzle just to replace it with another potential problem.
Did you re-instate the pond? Or is the rockery a re-invention of the pond?
30 Jan, 2015
Thanks people, the bay tree is not going where I suggested, but I will repot it, after root pruning it, although I might need a half barrel or similar size-wise.
The original rockery, which I'd decided would contain a decent sized pond, I was talked out of after digging it out completely and carting the spoil to the tip.
So I filled it back in with a mixture of horse manure ( in the base), followed with some decent topsoil and granite setts ( about 6 x 6 x 6 each) at the top. Looks weird to me but passing neighbours like it and I can't wait to get some plants in asap.
No pics are available just now as I'm at my daughter's place in California soaking up the sun. ( tough, but someone has to do it ).
31 Jan, 2015
Now is not the time to be planting alpines wait for at least two months Hank.
1 Feb, 2015
Now that you've described it, how about some heathers?
I'm thinking this will have sunny sides and shady sides (can't recall whether you ever said which way the garden faced)
And bulbs - crocus, mini irises - planting things in keeping with the size of the stones will stop the stones from being overwhelmed.
A couple of ferns.... Pity you can't nip to Stapley Water Gardens anymore (their show gardens were always good for ideas). Don't know which bit of Cheshire you're in, but Jackson's Nursery (over the border in Stoke on Trent) is a nice little nursery and they have small laid out beds dotted about the sales area. And there's Trentham Gardens as well (for ideas, their plants - like Stapely's - have tourist attraction price tags)
There's a plant fair at Dorothy Clive Gardens 5th April and Arley Hall 12th April, if you have the patience to wait 2 months
1 Feb, 2015
Just checked out other plant fairs http://www.planthuntersfairs.co.uk/index.htm
quite a few of these are a day out for you in/around Cheshire.
1 Feb, 2015
I don't view heathers as rock garden plants... Ericaceous plants have there place in a garden just not a rock garden, but that is my view. I'd be going for Cyclamen comb and hederifolium, the dwarf iris and narcissi Urbanite mentioned and then gentians, saxifrages, aconites and snowdrops for winter colour. Drabas, Primula farinosa (and others), Androsace... the list is endless!
1 Feb, 2015
Heather and granite just go together in my mind.
3 Feb, 2015
Thanks for those suggestions. I've taken a photo of this page and will definitely be putting some of them in.
3 Feb, 2015
I would suggest Bridgmere as a big nursery to go to but I believe since we moved its been taken over by a national and isn't at all what it was.
6 Feb, 2015
Used to go to Bridgemere regularly in the past but haven't been for 8 yrs now. And I'm told it's nothing like it used to be.
7 Feb, 2015
Bridgemere is definitely not what it used to be. It lost the competition when Stapeley closed and just became bigger, without any attempt at keeping its reputation. On my last visit (dropped in last year after a Dorothy Clive trip) it was no better than any of the big chains - nothing special about the plants, being looked after by salespeople rather than plantspeople, with big price tags to make you think you were getting something extraordinary.
7 Feb, 2015
Thanks for your comment U, definitely not going there now.
7 Feb, 2015
I think it might be part of the Wyvale group now - ok for offers on tools but their plants aren't particularly special (though I've picked up a couple of end of season bargains at my local Wyvale).
There's a newish/redeveloped place - Plantation - near to Knutsford - on my list to visit next time I'm bowling down the M6.
Haven't been to Fryers Roses for a long time - now part of Blue Diamond Group which also has the garden centres at Trentham Gardens and Chatsworth House.
But I would seriously have a look at the plant fairs that are coming up in your area.
7 Feb, 2015
morning Hank, well you could put the bay in but you will need to consider if it is too tall and if it upsets the balance of the rockery. I know you have posted pictures of the rockery before but can you add it to this the question so we can see the intended plot. I think I'd go for something new especially as you say the bay isn't growing as it used too. you'd have to really feed the soil too as the mpuzzle will have depleted the soil somewhat.
30 Jan, 2015