If you are talking about Chinese privet, yes by all means burn it out, dig it out, destroy it, it is more invasive than bamboo and not nearly as pretty, it is a noxious weed. As for the wild dogwoods and cedars that you find in the wood, unless you can mimic the shade canopy when you transplant them, they probably will not do well, they have had years to adapt to the shade of a mature canopy, and it would be rare that they would take to full sun in a season. Also you will have a hard time duplicating the forest floor for nutrients, and friability. Cedars do not travel by runners, but they will self-seed in a new york minute, but if you mow regularly that is not a problem,.
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From: DoIt_Yourself@yahoogroups.com [mailto:DoIt_Yourself@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Donna Brantley
Sent: Sunday, August 12, 2012 4:39 PM
To: DoIt_Yourself@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [DIY] Landscaping Plants
This has gotten me to thinking about other plants on our place. Cedars spring up everywhere, & dogwoods, & holly trees, but HOW am I to know what these will look like when mature?? Well, of course, the dogwoods are always "keepers", but someone told me they transplanted a holly from the woods, & although they like them out in the woods, they said the one they transplanted did not turn out to be a desirable specimen that you'd want in the landscape near your house. (??) Sometimes we've found TINY flowers growing close to the ground that are just beautiful, but they get mowed down, I'm sure. I have no idea what they are. Others have told me that cedars are invasive. (??) We have privet & I KNOW it's VERY invasive; I've read somewhere that it should be controlled or killed. WHEW.......this raises lots of questions!
From: Kathryn Berck <ksrberck@prodigy.net>
To: DoIt_Yourself@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Sunday, August 12, 2012 8:04 AM
Subject: Re: [DIY] Landscaping Plants
Glad to help! I just found this, apparently the PowerPoint for a live presentation on native plants for Alabama. The photos include useful snippets about raising and caring for the plants, as well as their drought- and bug-tolerance.
http://www.aces.edu/counties/Lauderdale/documents/NativePlantsforAlabama.pdf
Didn't find a native plant society for Alabama, but there are wildflower societies near you and these folks often include larger plants in their areas of interest, too. Or individual members will know a lot and be very happy to share info. Master gardeners, and university extensions, can also be extremely helpful.
I myself am in the process of replacing my pasture with native grasses that horses still like, my lawn with native ground cover, and my trees and bushes with local natives that used to thrive in my weird blackland prairie soil before foreign imports became popular. It's going to be a long project, but I hope to finally have beautiful, healthy, long-lived acreage requiring much less care.
Happy landscaping!
On 8/11/2012 9:40 PM, Donna Brantley wrote:
You're increasing my vocabulary! I had never heard the word aplomb, but looked it up & understand now what you were saying in that sentence! I'm glad you mentioned native plants. As long as I'm trying to figure out what to plant, I may as well be looking for native rather than imported plants. I've found a nursery online that's about 1.5 hrs. away from us. We live in central Alabama.
From: Kathryn Berck <ksrberck@prodigy.net>
To: DoIt_Yourself@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Saturday, August 11, 2012 5:00 PM
Subject: Re: [DIY] Landscaping Plants
Most big-box stores and ordinary nurseries sell plants that might survive comfortably in your area, but they are often high maintenance, drink too much, and are not happy if conditions are less than ideal. Here in Texas the Native Plant Society is very active in promoting and supporting the use of native plants in place of the usual foreign imports (like roses, azaleas, magnolias, etc, etc). These native plants not only thrive in local conditions without meticulous care, survive less-than-ideal conditions with aplomb, but are also uncommon and often very beautiful. There are some nurseries that specialize in local plants, too, but not most.
Not knowing where you are, I can't advise you further except to suggest that you Google 'native plants' and your state or area. It would help if you knew your soil type, also, which you can find through Google, too (here is a typical map that includes the whole US)
http://classes.colgate.edu/dkeller/geol101/soil/images/soilmap.gif
A plant seller worth talking to will recognize immediately what soil type you are working with where you live, and can advise you accordingly.On 8/11/2012 4:05 PM, bdbrant wrote:
We need to choose some plants for sloping areas in our BIG yard. Top priority is low-maintenance, drought tolerant plants, but would also like a few things that are not what EVERYBODY else has in THEIR yards! Can we expect to just go to the "big-box" stores & find an adequate selection, or would it be best to order online??
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