On Sat, 5 Apr 2003 16:31:02 -0500, "David J. Bockman"
wrote:

err.. no I'm not, there is no email address associated with your post..

Heh, sorry. It's

~Lilly

The most beautiful women in the world have a cat-like quality.
They slink, they purr; claws sheathed in silken fur. In the
privacy of their summer gardens, in the green depths of
forests, I believe they shed themselves of their attire, even to
their human flesh, and stretch their bodies to the sun and
their secret deity.
Storm Constantine, 'My Lady of the Hearth'

I had a cherry tree that was in a similar situation. What I did was build a
retaining wall out the trapezoid cement retaining wall blocks with a
interlocking lip. I didn't disturb any roots. I set the base far enough out
from the tree so that it didn't require any excavation. Then back filled it
with good soil. (I used wintermix from Pacific Topsoil). To get good
drainage against the block I used 2" rock to backfill against the blocks.
Then I build a smaller terrace up on firm ground nearer the tree - again
without disturning roots - and filled that in with good soil so that instead
of the dirt sloping away from the base of the tree it was level.

If you build a retaining wall out of the dry fit blocks figure on spending
about 1/2 the project time getting the foundation level and firm. Really put
extra effort in. When I drive around the Seattle area I see where lots of
people have threw them up without building a solid base for the retaining
wall. It's very apparent from the "sagging" in the wall after a pretty short
settling period. What home depot tells people is to dig a footer and fill it
with 1/4 minus crushed gravel, tamp it so it's firm. I'd also suggest that
before you start positioning the block lay in rebar on top of the gravel -
this should get you should get a straight line that somewhat resists
settling.

Another helpful tip is that when you split the blocks soak them for an hour
or so before you start whacking on them. You won't get an exact break but I
use a cold chisel to score a line and then whack it pretty good. It makes a
fairly good cut. But soaking the block is the key.

Lilly wrote in message ...
On Sat, 5 Apr 2003 16:30:06 -0500, "David J. Bockman"
wrote:

I haven't seen the photo, so I can't comment on the appropriateness of a
retaining wall around your tree, but *usually* it's not a good idea to
drastically alter the depth of roots by piling more soil on. Dry laid
retaining walls, if they are to hold any substantive amount of soil
behind
them, need foundations, which also means potential messing with roots of
the
tree. I'm emailing you a diagram of how to lay the stone properly. Good
luck,

I wasn't going to add much more dirt, but thanks for the email! Even
though I might not do this one currently, I have several other
projects that will involve retaining walls. Thanks again!
~Lilly



The most beautiful women in the world have a cat-like quality.
They slink, they purr; claws sheathed in silken fur. In the
privacy of their summer gardens, in the green depths of
forests, I believe they shed themselves of their attire, even to
their human flesh, and stretch their bodies to the sun and
their secret deity.
Storm Constantine, 'My Lady of the Hearth'

I wouldn't suggest that maybe the tree needs to go (but someone else may
want to ;-)

"Pam" wrote in message
...


Lilly wrote:

On Fri, 4 Apr 2003 17:49:37 -0500, "JNJ" wrote:


I'd be interested in seeing the picture to use as a backdrop for your
posting -- something's not quiet meshing in your description. On the
one
hand you're talking about 10 feet across, then you're talking about
building rings...?

I'm not sure what you're not sure of.
It's a circular mound about 10 feet across, with a tree in the center.
Planted around the tree are rhodies that have been there for years,
and are way to big for under that tree.

FWIW, I would not recommend building a retaining wall out of stone. I
have
a few of them here -- not fun, not fun at all. From your description,
it
sounds like you might find it better to terrace the area a bit instead.
I
also noted in your other post that the tree is in the middle of a mound
of
dirt -- you start building retaining walls you may damage the root
system
either directly or indirectly. Remember that the mound is a fully
function
ecosphere of its own -- including the rhodies.

I realize it may be a lot of work, but then I consider that kind of
stuff fun. Go figure. I'm sure that the rhodies that are already there
are damaging the trees roots. My idea was to replace the rhodies with
very small shallow plants.

More likely the other way around - the tree roots are probably stressing
out the
rhodies. Rhododendrons have extremely shallow root systems, but lots of
surface
feeder roots, as does the tree. Root systems are proportional to the size
of the
plant - the large tree will have a far larger and more widespread root
system
than the rhodies and also much more aggressive in terms of removing
moisture and
nutrients from the soil.

If the rhodies are already well established, I wouldn't move them. The
disruption
to both them and the tree from root disturbance could be severe. From a
design
point of view, tiering down from larger plants - the tree to rhodies to
hellebores to gorundcovers, etc - to smaller plants is more visually
appealing.
Also, neither the callas or hellbores will be happy in this dry shade
situation.

pam - gardengal