Swallowed up Hinoki cypress
Site plants mature as time marches on. Whatever the landscape architect dreamed up in her initial design eventually matures. Trees shoot up and shrubs get out of hand. Then what do you do? I was thinking about this as we examined two Hinoki cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa) trees which were getting slowly swallowed up. The culprit was the fast-growing native Western Red Cedar (Thuja plicata) tree, now clearly towering over the Hinoki cypress specimens.
Rescue plans
Now what do we do? One possibility is pruning the Western Red Cedar but it’s not easy considering its size. You’d have to prune the entire 360 degrees to avoid a weird, lopsided look. And that’s a lot of work the decision makers on the ground didn’t want to do.
Transplanting the Hinoki cypress was my favorite solution. Clearly, both specimens were getting shaded out and probably outcompeted for resources. One Abelia shrub is also reaching for sunlight as the Western Red Cedar pushes out new growth.
So, we remove one and transplant it in a suitable spot on the site. If a decent spot can’t be located, there is always Facebook marketplace. Hinoki cypress trees aren’t cheap; a little dwarf can easily cost C$100. I’m sure there is a gardener who would love to score a cheap tree.
But, again, this solution required more time. Time to dig up the tree carefully; and time to find a good spot on a site which, in this case, was rather large.
Therefore, the fastest and crudest solution was flush cutting the tree and dumping it into the back of the truck where green waste goes. It was quick and easy but I felt a bit sad as I loaded the tree carcass on the back of the truck with the man who did the flush cutting.
Editing
I’m not a landscape architect but I think plant removal is assumed in maturing landscapes. It’s a good sign when trees and shrubs grow well, almost too well. Where pruning isn’t practical, transplanting or removal should be considered.
If you can, recycle your edited plants to friends or strangers. Personally, I toss out plants only as last resort, like when my Mazda 3 couldn’t possibly fit all of the Crocosmia corms we removed one day.
Take a good look in your gardens and see if editing is required. Then have some fun.
