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blueiris3

Will buried perennials recover?

blueiris3
13 years ago

Hello, I need to raise a flower bed 6"-8" at the back sloping down to maybe 3" at the front. The neighbours property beyond the fence is that much higher than ours. The spectre of having to dig everything up, raise the level of the soil, and then replant it all has scared me all summer. Then a brain wave hit - what if I wait until the plants are pretty much dormant and then just put dirt on top of them? I would of course dig up the ground covers and move them. What do you think? Would most perennials simply grow up until they reach the sun next spring? I don't have any peonies or iris in that bed, and the rue is the only woody plant there (it's already slated to move out front near the new tulip tree to fend off the roving canines). I'm really hoping that this will work, since it would cut my work down by 2/3rds. Thanks for any advice you can share.

Comments (7)

  • oilpainter
    13 years ago

    6 to 8 inches is a lot of soil. Some plants like to be planted shallowly and if you have some of those they wouldn't make it. The others well maybe or maybe not. I tend to think maybe not and maybe if they did come up they wouldn't be as nice a plant. All this is conjecture as I never would have thought about doing something like that. I just don't think it would be a good idea.

    Maybe you could work in sections.

  • marricgardens
    13 years ago

    I agree with oilpainter, the plants will probably not survive under so much soil. There are some that may come up eventually but not all of them. If it was something I had to do I would dig up the perennials, top the bed up with soil and then replant. Also preparing the bed in the fall would let you replant in spring. I would leave them in pots for the winter and plant in spring. If you leave them in pots, do you have a garage or shed that you could put them against? They would survive in the pots as long as they are watered well so the roots don't freeze dry and they are out of the direct winds, the shed/garage will provide some shelter. Do not leave them in direct sun as the intense sun on some winter days could start them growing and the night freezing will kill them.

  • ianna
    13 years ago

    I'm with oilpainter and marric on this. A couple of inches would have been fine but 6 or 8 inches deep -- way too deep. You will risk killing off some perennials. Even with woody plants you invite disease or pests to penetrate the wood and infest the plant.

    Actually -- marric I would suggest if she does the bed now then she should replant now. It's best to redo the planting when plants are going dormant. I often plant new perennials in the fall. This would be no different.

  • woodyoak zone 5 southern Ont., Canada
    13 years ago

    I think it would largely depend on what is in the bed and how upset you'd be if you lost the plants. A couple of years ago we tore down an old garden shed and built a new one. The compost heap was behind the shed so we had to empty it to make room to work on the new shed. We dumped all the compost on a nearby bed. I figured I'd lose everything because it got buried under 4-6" of compost - it was in mid-October so things were going dormant. I wasn't too worried about losing things because there wasn't anything that couldn't be easily replaced. I did lose some things but all the vigorous stuff came back. The things I lost had relatively shallow root systems but all the deep-rooted things came back. So you should at least move anything you'd hate to lose and anything with shallow roots and then you could take a chance on the rest.

  • madtripper
    13 years ago

    Don't put them in pots over the winter. Put them right back in the garden and they will be fine.

  • sheryl_ontario
    13 years ago

    You could find a place to make a temp garden, just somewhere to stash them until the new area is ready. Just stick them all in there, even crowded, water and leave until you are ready to replant. Then you are not rushed and you can leave them there all winter and slowly replant them when you are ready.

  • diane_v_44
    13 years ago

    I think it depends on you yourself
    I mean they are plants but that is all that they are

    I find as I am becoming older and always seem to have more and more great ideas as to what would look good in the garden, so as I create more work for myself, that I have to sometimes, do what I need to do, to save myself some work but get the job done that I want.

    So for myself I would save myself, and let the plants take care of themselves.
    This way you will have the job done, rather than keep putting it off because it is to big of a job for you
    Is an ideal time, as you said, as the plants are dormant.

    Just do it and see what spring brings.
    That is my opinion. and that is all that it is.