Native Plants
Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?
A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.
Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
rate this answer
Thursday - June 25, 2009
From: Arvada, CO
Region: Rocky Mountain
Topic: Non-Natives, Problem Plants
Title: Removing non-native juniperus x pfitzeriana in Arvada CO
Answered by: Barbara Medford
QUESTION:
We have 200' of large juniper pfitzers (3' tall - 4' wide) that completely enclose our front yard. We want to remove all of them but the estimates to dispose of them have been extremely high. One suggestion was to use a mulcher to eliminate the high cost of renting the roll-offs. Any suggestions on the best way to go about this? We don't want to get caught trying to do something that might be best left to professionals.ANSWER:
This is quite a turnabout for us, as we get numerous requests for suggestions for hedge plantings, evergreen, of course, and some of them with lengths equal to or greater than yours. We sometimes find ourselves recommending members of the Juniperus genus, mostly to get the evergreen characteristics. Your plant, Juniperus x pfitzeriana, is a hybrid, grown only in cultivation, and therefore not considered a native plant. At the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, we deal only in plants native to North America but also to the area in which they are being grown. The nativity of the plant really has nothing to do with your problem, however, and it is a problem.
It's a shame you could not offer your shrubs to anyone who wants to come and dig them up, but junipers are notoriously difficult to transplant, even when they are quite small, as they have taproots that, once damaged, don't repair themselves easily. Frankly, tree disposal is somewhat out of our line, but we can certainly understand why the prices you have been quoted are so high. To begin with, just getting those shrubs out of the ground will be a difficult operation, and then, when they have been ground into mulch, that will be a mountain of mulch.
Perhaps you need to re-think your priorities. Perhaps you could arrange to take just a few of the shrubs out at a time. Rearranging and replanting your garden could be done over a period of time, with a long-range plan. At some point, you might decide you wanted to actually retain some of the junipers, as background planting, or a privacy screen. We have no personal experience with this particular job, but we really don't think it's feasible as a do-it-yourself job.
More Problem Plants Questions
Removing Persimmon plants from the base of Live oaks
October 15, 2015 - I live in Bastrop county and have hundreds of Texas wild persimmons at the base of my huge oak trees. Should I cut some of them? I am worried they are taking up water my oaks need. I like them but do...
view the full question and answer
Poison ivy? vine in NJ
July 30, 2012 - I have a vine growing among some vegetation in my backyard. It has a leaf with 3 "points" with ridges along its edges. The smaller leaves are reddish which is why I thought poison ivy but definite...
view the full question and answer
Controlling poison oak or poison ivy in Iowa
April 29, 2010 - We recently purchased a property that is VERY wooded and has been vacant for two yrs. with little upkeep previously. We have (we were told) l00 yr old poison oak vines hanging
from trees. We hired so...
view the full question and answer
Aggressive native Inland Sea Oats in Whitehouse Station NJ
April 29, 2010 - Can you direct me to a source of help managing a very aggressive grass, Chasmanthium latifolia, Woodland Oats or Indian Sea Oats. It is behaving like a very noxious plant and I am concerned as I am h...
view the full question and answer
How Can I Tell an Invasive Thistle from a Native
May 01, 2012 - Mr Smarty Plants,
I have some thistles coming up in my yard. I'd like to keep them if they are native, but not if they are invasive or non-native. How can I tell? My yard is a wild area in West Lak...
view the full question and answer
Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |