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General question about maintaining shrubbery beds

sabeehasabeeha Posts: 344
in Plants
Hello,

I have another question please :)

In the house that I have moved in, there are a wide variety of shrubs. The base of the shrubs/the beds, is filled with many leaves, dried up dead straggly plants etc.

I just wanted to ask what to do about this.  

Do I rake it all out? and add some kind of compost/mulch? (which one if so?)

Or due to the hot weather, leave it for a while? It seems to be providing some kind of protection for the soil... from drying up?

And also, do well established shrubs need watering?

Thank you!



Posts

  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,889
    I'd leave well alone as they are, effectively , forming their own mulch. 
    As my dear late Mother would have said;
     " never trouble trouble, until trouble troubles you "
    Devon.
  • raisingirlraisingirl Posts: 7,093
    sabeeha said:

    And also, do well established shrubs need watering?

    Generally no. It's better not to water them as you can disrupt their roots - making them grow nearer to the surface - and that makes them more vulnerable to drought in future years. Deciduous ones may lose their leaves earlier than 'normal' this year but it's better to just accept that and wait until next spring to see what has survived (most probably will). Evergreens may start to show some signs of stress. If you have camellias or rhododendrons, they may not flower well next year if they don't have enough water this summer. I'd still say not to water though, as you're new to the garden. The plants will probably be basically OK and you can worry about getting the best from them when you're a little further along in knowing what you have there.
    Gardening on the edge of Exmoor, in Devon

    “It's still magic even if you know how it's done.” 
  • raisingirlraisingirl Posts: 7,093
    edited August 2018
    Hostafan1 said:
    I'd leave well alone as they are, effectively , forming their own mulch. 
    As my dear late Mother would have said;
     " never trouble trouble, until trouble troubles you "
    Or rather less poetically, 'If it's not broken, don't fix it'  :)
    Gardening on the edge of Exmoor, in Devon

    “It's still magic even if you know how it's done.” 
  • sabeehasabeeha Posts: 344
    Thank you Hostafan1 and raisingirl - I will leave alone.  It does look a bit 'messy' but I guess appearances aren't the most important thing!
  • nutcutletnutcutlet Posts: 27,445
    It's one of the worst years for gardens looking dreadful, not a good time to access any damage. If you get an ID on each plant we can help you through the rescue process but, as others have said, leave it all alone for now. 
    I know that some of the plants in my garden that look really bad will be fine, I also know I will have losses. We won't really be sure until we see what happens next Spring. Don't lose heart, you'll have a garden and if there are deaths you can grow something new.


    In the sticks near Peterborough
  • sabeehasabeeha Posts: 344
    Thank you, yes, I will have to be patient.  I will post more IDs requests, as sometimes I don't know whether they are 'normal' plants or weeds!
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