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What's best to plant around a dry tree ?

#1 · 19th April 2023, 5:53 pm

Since we had the rescue dogs the grass gets churned up by this tree. I thought about a garden seat but haven't got the time or money so wondered about planting some nice evergreen bushes around the tree but would they be ok or would the tree suck the life out of them ?..

any suggestions of what to plant to make a nice area..

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#2 · 20th April 2023, 7:42 am

Hi @smallzoo

Welcome to the Garden Ninja forum!

What a dilemma, dogs and dry shady soil. That's a tricky combination, as I know as a dog owner!

You're going to need to find shrubs that once established, will tolerate dry shade and stop your dogs from destroying them. The biggest thing is getting them established. They will need a lot of water and care for the first 6 months as they are competing with the tree for moisture.

Here's two bullet proof examples.

Mahonia winter fire - once established the dogs will leave this alone and they will grow under trees quite happily.

Geniste/Cytisus/ Broom shrubs:

These tall thin evergreens have beautiful yellow flowers and again once established don't mind some dry shade too!

Hope that helps!

Lee