Q: Last summer I got all my evergreen trees removed but the roots still remain, some above ground level so sowing a lawn is not an option. The space is almost inaccessible to machinery to grind out these roots. Can you suggest a rough ground cover please. Miriam MacElroy
A: Unfortunately, this is a common problem. Certain fast-growing, once-popular species of coniferous trees and hedges such as Leyland cypress (× Cuprocyparis leylandii) are renowned for quickly becoming too large for the average-sized garden. They also often cause problems with shade as well as siphoning off precious nutrients and water in the soil, making things difficult for other plants unlucky enough to be growing nearby. Ugly dieback as a result of overly harsh pruning or severe weather can be another valid reason to get rid of them. But the challenge, as you’ve discovered, is how best to tackle the ugly tree stumps and root systems that remain in the ground.
You don’t say whether the space the trees once occupied is shady or sunny or whether it’s relatively dry or poorly drained. Either way, the first thing you’ll need to do is to break up the soil surface with a garden fork and remove as many of the smaller fibrous roots as you can. The next step is to improve the starved soil around the remaining tree stumps by generously mulching it with a mixture of good-quality top-soil and well-rotted manure. This will do a lot to help any new planting to establish properly, so try not to skimp.
If the stumps are very large and unsightly, consider also the possibility of mounding soil over them to create a raised bed.
If the area is in partial shade, then tough evergreen ground-cover options to consider include varieties of the small-leaved creeping periwinkle (Vinca minor); bugle (Ajuga reptans); the wall bellflower (Campanula portenschlagiana); Oregon grape (Mahonia aquifolium); pheasant grass (Anemanthele lessoniana), the Corsican hellebore (Helleborus corsicus), coral bells (heuchera), prostrate species of Cotoneaster including C procumbens and C salicifolius repens and the evergreen shield fern (Polystichum setiferum) as well as varieties of the smaller-leaved creeping ivy. Deciduous/herbaceous options include lady’s mantle, (Alchemilla mollis) and geranium “Anne Thomson”.
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Many, but not all, of the above will also do well in full sun so long as the soil isn’t very dry and stony. You could also try prostrate rosemary (Rosmarinus prostratus); varieties of roses from the supremely tough, drought-resistant Flower Carpet series; Mexican fleabane (Erigeron karvinskianus); calamint (Calamintha nepeta); creeping ceanothus (Ceanothus thyrsiflorus) and Euphorbia x wulfenii. To give any new planting the very best chance of success, I’d also recommend working some generous handfuls of a good-quality, slow-release organic fertiliser into the soil before planting. Regular watering for the first few months after planting will also help their young root systems to quickly establish.
