I also have a horde of Vinca growing happily in the side yard under a large Norway maple. I've removed tons in other parts of the yard to make gardens, mostly via digging and smothering. Digging is hard, smothering is relatively easy. First I scalp it by mowing it down as low as possible, then smother with cardboard topped with layers of organic material (i.e. lasagne gardening or sheet composting). Be sure to overlap the cardboard well or it will grow through. This does indeed kill the Vinca and as the layers decompose it will create a nice rich bed for planting. In defense of Vinca minor, it can be useful in a hard to grow and contained location, and it's attractive. But in my experience it is very aggressive and will choke out pretty much everything except for mature established shrubs and trees, native or not. I also had 5 large Norway maples, but have had 4 of them removed (1 huge one left). Even for a maple, they are particularly difficult to grow underneath, as they cast a dense shade, and have mildly allelopathic roots that will suck all the moisture out of the ground. Some natives that will grow in dry shady or open woodland include White wood aster (Symphyotrichum divaricatum), Blue wood aster (S. cordifolium), White snakeroot (Ageratina altissimum), Woodland sunflower (Helianthus divaricatus), Northern sea oats (Chasmanthium latifolium), Viola, and possibly native Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis). I'm sure there are others. You should conider moving the Juglans nigra as they have very allelopathic roots and are difficult to grow under. They also eventually grow into very large trees with wood that is quite valuable.

froggy, why not take the "glass is half full" view of this? An ecotourism approach would serve to make more people aware of the importance of ecological restoration projects. Participants would learn how restoration is done and where it is done; they would learn some interesting facts about the plants and animals involved, and they could come away with a better understanding of the importance of this work and the need for funding. As a result, the professionals would have more opportunites and therefore be better paid. Back in 1988, my husband and I went to an outing sponsored by the local Nature Conservancy chapter. At that time, I was unaware of ecological restoration. As a result of that simple half-day walk in the woods, the following has evolved: 1. I became a volunteer at the site. 2. I took several classes, including a series of restoration classes taught by Steve Packard. 3. My husband and I eventually bought property with some natural areas worthy of restoration. 4. The payoff to froggy - we have hired some professionals to assist us! 5. I have become a board member of a local environmental group. While restoration work does need to be overseen by someone who understands what they are doing, I think there are a lot of opportunities to train volunteers on specific tasks and then use them. Consider this: start the day with breakfast and a lecture on buckthorn - why it is a problem, what it looks like, how to control it. Then out to a wooded area for a few hours of buckthorn removal. After a lunch break, the group moves on to another wooded area that has been cleared of buckthorn, and they see the end results of their morning's work. That evening, a lecture by a rep of a non-profit group that supports such restoration efforts. This would be along the lines of educating the participants as to the group's mission, not a blatant pitch for dollars, but of course the appropriate info would be in their packets. Substitute your local ecosystem and restoration problem accordingly. Some of those people will leave and become supporters of the cause, and eventually more professionals will be hired. Some of the people will go home and find similar projects in their own back yard, and still increase the opportunities for professionals. The more the word is spread, the better. Yes, there is a seasonality factor. But remember, tulip time in Holland is big, as is cherry blossom time in Washington. No one makes those trips in August. Seasonality does not mean it can't work; it just has to be scheduled. V.

One thing I know I would try would be Hart's Tongue fern but it looks like you are looking for understory (shrub/tree). Maple leaf and black haw viburnum are pretty adaptable. There is one anthracnose resistant Cornus florida, it is Apalachian Spring but I thought Dogwoods liked neutral to acidic? For herbaceous layer try columbine, ebony spleenwort, cliff brake, bulblet fern, walking fern (if you have any moist spots). Best to figure out what plant community type or ecosytem is supposed to be on a calcareous ridge in the piedmont(?) of New Jersey and start getting some ideas from there. Even if you aren't going native it will give you ideas. Eastern red cedars are pretty tough to grow anything beneath. Because they are evergreen (shading anything herbaceous) and also due to their efficient and opportunistic use of moisture they effect the soil and any groundcover beneath their canopy. They can actually further raise the soil surface ph of your limestone ridge and substantially decrease moisture. I think they have some kind of toxicity that impedes germination of some species too. Combine that with the known toxicity of black walnut on many plants and you've got a tough nut to crack (no pun intended). Black Walnut Toxicity Good luck.

lol I washed the root system totally bare of any soil before I put it in my pool but I did get some strange looks from a neighbor :P; he probably thought it a bit strange seeing a guy sitting in his pool with a half dead tree for 20 minutes. Anyhow thank you both for your help. I'll take it out of the patio in the Summer and replant in a different spot in September. Laura, yes I was a bit unsure about putting it back into it's original pot but I finally decided to go this route because I want to make sure that the tree is free from any root rot fungus and doing well before I planted it in another area of my yard as I wasn't sure that the chlorine would work and I didn't want to contaminate another area of my yard potentially with root rot because I read somewhere that some strains of root rot spores can last up to 10-13 years... ugh. I plan on planting a lot more fruit trees in the future which is why I'm worried about further contamination. It is quite a relief to know that the massive amount of flowering is normal and another person has gone through this same struggle with their tree. I will definitely pinch off any fruit as you've advised. Thank you both so much. I'll try to keep this thread updated with info on the tree's health progression.