TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Dig This: Under The Oaks

ADVERTISEMENT

By ESTHER HAMMER

The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 7, 2008

Oaks give welcome shade, but that shade, combined with the heavy root system, can be a problem for anyone who wants something besides dirt under a tree.

Ground-huggers such as ivy and creeping jasmine and shallow-rooting flowers such as impatiens seem to thrive. But getting shrubs to grow big oak can be frustrating.

The solution is in preparation and plant choice, say Sandy Saunders, department manager, and Jim Taylor, live nursery specialist, at Lowe's Garden Center on South Dale Mabry Highway in Tampa.

To prepare the soil, cover the area with one or two bags, depending on the area's size, of pellitized lime. That will neutralize the acid that gets into the soil from the oak's roots and fallen leaves. Saunders suggests spreading the pellets at least as far as the canopy's drip line.

Then water gently by hand or with an oscillating spray before planting.

If the tree roots protrude above the ground, you need to build up the soil to at least 4 inches deep with a mixture of equal amounts of topsoil and cow compost.

Then, get digging.

Liriope

Hardy little fellas, these plants are my favorites because they can take a variety of conditions, from sun to shade, watered well or hardly at all.

Their foliage color ranges from variegated to dark green. Your choice should depend on what kind of effect you want. Do you need a dramatic patch of dark green or a softer blending?

Ginger plants

Stromanthe sanguinea "Tricolor" is sometimes called "Triostar." It has exotic white, burgundy-pink and green variegated foliage and grows up to about 2 feet tall. It thrives in shade in moist, well-drained ground.

It should be well-mulched for the winter and then cut back heavily the following spring.

Variegated Shell Ginger Alpinia spreads by roots or rhizomes and grows 3 to 7 feet high. It bears clusters of fragrant, creamy flowers, which give way to showy, bright red seed pods, usually in August.

It can take the cold and, if hit with frost, will come back the next spring.

Peace lily or spathiphyllum

Get beautiful, white, lilylike flowers on a regular basis all year.

Peace lily likes water and needs a drink more than once a week during the hot summer months.

Loropetalum

A drought-tolerant shrub once established, "Chinese witch hazel" has coppery brown and green leaves that support clusters of showy pink blooms in the spring and sporadically throughout the year.

It's one of the few shrubs that blooms in shade, Taylor says, and can add some interesting color under the oak tree.

It can grow quite tall if not kept trimmed regularly.

Philodendron

The Xanado stays a little smaller than others of its genus.

It can get to be 4 feet tall but usually stays shorter, especially with regular trimming.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT