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Raising soil level up trunk

11 years ago

Hi there, I have an established 3m high woody hibiscus in my garden and I'm about to do some landscaping to put terraces in my sloping beds. My question is, if I bring the soil level up by 1m around the trunk (I.e. because I want to leave the hibiscus in place and don't want to transplant or disturb roots) will it still survive? Or is it quite likely to rot? What would you do in this situation?

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Comments (3)

brandon7 TN_zone7
11 years ago
Copying form my response to this exact same question in the Shrubs Forum...

The work required to keep the tree alive (a dry tree well) seems like a lot more than the work required to replant. And, even with a dry tree well, it's not a guarantee that it would survive. For me, the ONLY option would be to remove the hibiscus and replant it at its new level. It's just a no-brainer, IMO.
merkity
11 years ago
I find that plants do not like to have their soil level raised up above the current level.
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laurie_tennant
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks brandon7 and merkity. Looks like we'll be digging it up!

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