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caribbean copper bush

anniebill32anniebill32 Posts: 7
in Problem solving
Hi I'm new to this great site, hoping for some advice please... we have recently moved into this house/garden.  There is a caribbean copper bush/tree about 15ft tall...on the boarder and I want a raised flower bed along the boarder, will it harm the tree if I put soil 9-12" up the tree trunk.... 
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Posts

  • NollieNollie Posts: 7,529
    Hi and welcome to the forum. That’s a beautiful shrub/tree, rather tender so probably not grown much in Europe, where are you in the world?

    Without knowing much about it, yes, it’s highly likely you will kill it if you pile soil around the trunk. Most trees and shrubs will not tolerate that, the trunk will rot.
    Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
  • anniebill32anniebill32 Posts: 7
    Thank you Nollie, it is really beautiful and I would hate to kill it.  We are on the east coast of the UK.  My worry is that the trunk would rot so I think I will have to put a break the raised bed to bypass the tree.
    many thanks
    Anne
  • NollieNollie Posts: 7,529
    I thought you were going to say you lived somewhere exotic! I couldn’t grow it here in Spain, but I guess a lot depends on altitude, I am pretty high up.

    If you wanted to incorporate it into your raised border, you could create a sturdy bottomless box around it, probably allow a good foot out from the trunk all around. If you grow taller things around it, you won’t notice the box frame. If it’s on a slope, its ok to level up the soil in front of it a bit, so long as you don’t go higher than the lowest exposed bit of the trunk at the base.
    Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
  • anniebill32anniebill32 Posts: 7
    We inherited the tree when we moved here 6 months ago, definitely not  a exotic location .. along with a lot of other plants I've not heard of... luckily I have a plant identifier on my phone... we have decided to make a box around the trunk as you describe... many thanks for your help
    Anne
  • AnniDAnniD Posts: 12,585
    Hello Annie :) , is there any chance you could post a photo of it please ?

  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    Plant apps on phones are not very reliable.

    Is it like this - https://worldofsucculents.com/euphorbia-cotinifolia-caribbean-copper-plant/ 

    or more like this - https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/details%3Fplantid%3D559 

    Either way, burying ts trunk will kill it.  If it is the euphorbia, be very wary of getting the sap on your skin, especially in sunlight, as it can cause burns and do not ever rub your eyes after handling it without washing your hands very thoroughly as that can be even worse.



    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    @Obelixx 's 2nd link isn't working for me but as you're on the East coast, which isn't exactly renowned for a balmy climate, perhaps it's one of the purple forms of Cotinus coggygria.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    That was the second link, on the RHS site.  Trying again - 
    https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/details%3Fplantid%3D559

    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • NollieNollie Posts: 7,529
    Hmm, I wonder if that is what it really is, that’s why I assumed you were in an exotic location Anne!
    Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
  • AnniDAnniD Posts: 12,585
    That's why l asked if Annie could post a photo,  l have a feeling it might be a cotinus  :)
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