Planting a Triffid

You may remember the Acer we brought with us from Lincolnshire - the tree with rather a dodgy heritage. Well since being here, it has been sitting minding it's own business, on the front path. However, twelve years in a pot for a tree that was already over 20 years old when it went into that pot; it was high time it was potted on. The only sensible solution was to put it into the ground. The only sensible place was near the front door, as sheltered as anywhere in Windy City. Sounds easy doesn't it?

We moved it a while back, to see if we thought it had a hope of surviving in that spot.
So having decided that it was going to happen, the back end is the time to do it. 109mm of rain so far in September was always going to make it hard work, but if we don't get on with it - all the other planting that is waiting to happen in the front will be delayed. So, better dig a big hole (again!)

At the bottom of the hole, guess what? We found a rather large stone. As it was below the required level, we thought we'd leave it there. Then Husband changed our minds!

Having dug said hole and removed the stone, it was time to get the tree out of it's pot. That's a metre rule. It's a big pot.

We called the cavalry in. An ex forester and a landscape architect (and winners of the local gardens competition!) - pretty fitting really. After an awful lot of broggling, pulling, shoving, digging, scraping, huffing and puffing. One very pot bound tree was finally minus it's pot.

Loosen the roots, drop it in the hole, twist it this way. No, twist it that way. Back fill with compost/soil combined and then get the Gill the Landscape Architect to add the finishing touches. Voila! All that remains now is to dig up the remaining borders in the front, and replant them all!