I am removing bushes and ground cover weeds from the front of my house. The soil is full of roots and weeds. There is a Hydrangeas plant that I will moving to another part of the front yard, after I take out those bushes and weeds as well. Should I completely remove all of the soil before starting to add new plants? Or should I just get a landscaper?
1 Answer
In general, no you shouldn't need to completely remove the soil, plants are very good at finding space to grow. If the ground is absolutely riddled with old roots then when you plant you might think to dig your hole a bit deeper and wider than is called for. That way you can back-fill some fresh soil in for the new plants to grow into first, I do this regardless. Also, I always mix in some of the native soil with the soil I use to back-fill the hole. You might think to leave the ground for a year without planting if the dirt is really thick with roots. This will give you time to make sure that they all died and to eliminate new unwanted growth in the area.