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Acer struggling under a leylandii
Antony Stones
Posts: 2
I planted a 7' Acer last year under the neighbour's 6' leylandii hedge, unfortunately the Acer is really struggling and has had a couple of stems die back. I plan on moving it to the front garden where I removed a Laurel bush last week, it'll be planted by a Beech hedge in partial sun.
Should I risk moving it now or give it a load of compost and water and hope it survives until the autumn to move it then?
Thanks for any advice you can give!
0
Posts
Hi Antony - it's a difficult one. The fact that it's a mature plant you've put in would have meant it would struggle to establish anyway - smaller plants are always a bit easier. That said, it's in a very bad position so I'm not sure moving it would be any worse than leaving it where it is! Although it's a bad time to move it, I'd be inclined to go for it because it sounds very unhappy,so if you go ahead, thoroughly soak it first and also get the site it's going in prepared really well too. I wouldn't have it near a hedge either because you'll still have a problem regarding moisture loss. How near the beech hedge are you intending putting it and is there anywhere better you can locate it? In any case, dig a good big hole for it, clear any other planting, weeds or grass away from the site, and give it plenty of fresh compost when it goes in and a mulch. It will need to be kept well watered until it gets established.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Out of interest, what acer is it? A Japanese 'palmatum' cultivar or something else? HC
Thanks for the advice Fairygirl, unfortunately there's hedges around every boundary and I don't particularly fancy a tree in the middle of the lawn! If I plant at the front edge of the border it'll be about 2-3' from the beech.
HC to be honest I don't know! It was a gift from my wife's aunt, a bit of a Google image search leads me to think it's perhaps a palmatum type but the leaves aren't as deeply cut as some, they are a bit more like a sycamore leaf.