Could someone please give me a little bit of advice . We have just taken out 7 golden Leylandi trees which had gone all brown and must admit did look a bit of a mess so hubby decided to cut them down . They are planted in our rockery and was wondering before I am able to plant anything will I have to treat the soil, as lately nothing seems to grow there as the ground is very dry even though it was watered on a daily basis in the summer.

Many thanks
Mollie

this sounds like it doesn't keep mositure and possibly it is lacking
organic matter.
If I were in your shoes, I would add compost or natural fertiliser -
this would give the plants
better conditions to grow.
Before you do anything else, answer for yourself these questions: what
kind of soil do u have there?
what ph? what would u like to plant there.

Hi mollie, You don't say how big the Leylandii trees were? but assuming that they were a reasonable size, this would account for the arid conditions around them as not only do they take up alot of water in their own right, they also 'sheild' the soil fom natural rain. You say you 'took them out' but also that you 'cut them down', if its the former then just the addition of some organic matter and base fertilizer when replanting will suffice. If the latter is true and you just cut them down then you will need to remove the stumps and as many of the roots as possible before replanting.
Regards Lannerman.

Many thanks for your speedy response The trees were enormous we had 7 in total, we have taken them down to the soil level trying to get the roots out though is a nightmare have been on a few sites which say drill holes in the stumps of the trees and put various chemicals down. what I was going to ask if its impossible to take all the stumps out of the ground will that still make the ground dry and will I be able to plant there all I want is some low maintenence plants and shrubs as we are now both in our sixties we just want something that is easy to manage.

Regards
Mollie

Hi, mollie, without wishing to 'shut the door after the horse has bolted' so to speak, you made the mistake most people make when taking out any tree/large shrub by cutting it down to ground level and then worrying about the remaining stump/root. For future reference and for other 'viewers' the easiest way to remove any large shrub etc. is to remove the side branches, leaving as much of the main stem/trunk, tie a rope to the top and cut around the stump with a mattock whilst pulling on the rope and you will find it relatively easy to pull the whole thing over and out. But back to your present situation, the reason that the ground was dry was that the foliage of the conifer physically prevented the rain from reaching the soil and also the conifer would naturally have taken an enormous ammount of water from the ground in it,s own right but as its now gone you will be ok. Personally I would not bother with the drilling and application of chemicals etc. as the roots will eventually rot. Your only problem will be the physical ability to dig holes with the stump and roots still in the ground, so providing you 'plan' where you will plant so that you can dig holes you will be OK. Without knowing where you live, I would opt for prostrate evergreen shrubs in groups which will not only look quite attractive but be relatively easy to maintain and the following suggestions will also cover the ground qite quickly; Ceanothus thy. Repens. Rosmarinus prostratus, Euonymous 'Emerald and Gold'. 'Sunspot' or
'Emerald Gaiety' Hebe albicans, Leucothoe 'Scarletta' Erica carnea varieties etc. etc. and if you have not shredded the leylandii , which would have made a superb mulch for your 'new' planting, mulch the area with bark etc. for effect, to retain moisture and suppression of weeds (and to hide your stumps) Hope some of this helps,
Regards Lannerman.

On Oct 5, 2:59*am, mollie38
wrote:
lannerman;866304 Wrote:

Hi mollie, You don't say how big the Leylandii trees were? but assuming
that they were a reasonable size, this would account for the arid
conditions around them as not only do they take up alot of water in
their own right, they also 'sheild' the soil fom natural rain. You say
you 'took them out' but also that you 'cut them down', if its the
former then just the addition of some organic matter and base
fertilizer when replanting will suffice. If the latter is true and you
just cut them down then you will need to remove the stumps and as many
of the roots as possible before replanting.
Regards Lannerman.

Many thanks for your speedy response The trees were enormous we had 7
in total, we have taken them down to the soil level trying to get the
roots out though is a nightmare have been on *a few sites which say
drill holes in the stumps of the trees and put various *chemicals down.
what I was going to ask if its impossible to take all *the stumps out of
the ground will that still make the ground dry and will I be *able to
plant there *all I want *is some low maintenence plants * and shrubs as
we are now both in our sixties we just want something that is easy to
manage.

Regards
Mollie

--
mollie38

you said you water on a daily basis. possible that you water only
syperficially rather than long, slow, deep watering less often? just
a thought...

Hi

Many thanks for all your tips I have taken note of all the shrubs and plants for the patio area I live in the UK and I am going to leave it for at least a week or so as we are having quite a lot of rain at the moment(The more the better) so that should soften the ground up quite nicely as it was quite hard to dig, I have cleared all the debris from the soil there was a lot of leaves off the conifers that had gone into the soil I cant believe how much lighter the garden are is now with the conifers gone. I am looking forward to getting out and planting and redesigning the rockery area.

I did water quite a lot I used to leave the sprinkler on for a few hours on the patio area but I think it watered the trees themselves instead of the ground area.

Regards
Mollie