hello,

i'm a newbie. i have a question that comes with a bit of a back story. so here it goes...

last year, on the property line of my family's house, a row of about 10 forsythia bushes (10ft tall) were cut down 4 to 8 inches above the ground. nothing but stumps. it was done because of septic problems during heavy rains. my father ordered the bushes cut down out of speculation. we had the county come out and check it and they said the bushes weren't the problem at all. so at the behest of my mother (who loved the bushes as natural fence) i have a few questions.

are the bushes dead? i'm guessing there's no chance of saving them. is there a way to accelerate their decomposition or is digging them out the only way to clear them? can i plant some younger bushes next to them and hope they grow and replace the old ones (without removing the old stumps)? there are power lines along the border so i'm looking for the easiest solution.

any help would be GREATLY appreciated. thanks!

john

Yep, I agree with Terry...
Those bushes are very hard to kill!!!

What time of year were they cut down?

You should see some spring growth soon!!!

* * * *
Weezie

Don't forget to be kind to strangers. For some who have
done this have entertained angels without realizing it.
- Bible - Hebrews 13:2





http://photobucket.com/albums/y250/weezie13/

thanks for your thoughts. it's good news to hear.

weezie13: the trees were cut down around late June, early August last year.

we were hoping they would come back and 'forgive' the mistake. haven't seen any growth as of yet. like i said, the stumps are about 4 to 6 inches in diameter and stick out about from 4 inches to a foot out of the ground. no branches at all. i'll keep a look out for signs of life.

thanks again!

Do you have any pictures of the bushes before they were cut down. I don't think I've ever seen a trunk that big on that type of bush.

* * * *

i'll see if i can get some pics and post them later today.

when it rains heavy, all the toilets back up and the sinks back up a little. our property is a little lower than the property to the west of us and the runoff runs to the east, directly under the row of forsythias. the thinking was that the roots were choking the pipes. but apparently not after inspection.

the bushes themselves were around 20+ years old and had not been trimmed in the last 4-5 years prior to being cut.

it might take a year or two for you to see new growth.

when i bought my house, the previous owners had cut down a bush - just left a stump in the ground. i had no idea what it was.

the second summer i was there, i saw some new shoots come up. i just let it go and now i've got a small (but very healthy) green-leafed bush. in 4 years it's grown up to about 2 1/2 feet.

if you want the forsythia to grow back, i'd suggest just leaving the stumps be. don't do anything to them - new growth will appear at some point.

Why is it soooooooo brown around just the area's
of the trees, just outta curiousity?????

* * * *
Weezie

Don't forget to be kind to strangers. For some who have
done this have entertained angels without realizing it.
- Bible - Hebrews 13:2





http://photobucket.com/albums/y250/weezie13/