Surviving territorial pissings
May 2, 2016 7:20 PM Subscribe
I have been put in charge of beautifying a tiny patch of land in nyc, what should I plant in it?
I have been given charge of gardening the tiny patch of land (about 4 ft by 4 ft) in front of my brownstone. There is already a full grown tree in the patch which I don't want to remove. What plants can I plant around it that can both thrive around the root system of the tree without hurting the tree and are resistant to the many daily passing dogs who mark it as theirs? I would love to be able to plant perennial flowers but am having difficulty finding any that seem like they would meet the qualifications.
I have been given charge of gardening the tiny patch of land (about 4 ft by 4 ft) in front of my brownstone. There is already a full grown tree in the patch which I don't want to remove. What plants can I plant around it that can both thrive around the root system of the tree without hurting the tree and are resistant to the many daily passing dogs who mark it as theirs? I would love to be able to plant perennial flowers but am having difficulty finding any that seem like they would meet the qualifications.
Pachysandra is an evergreen low groundcover plant, great in shade. It's invasive, just because it grows and spreads robustly, but your patch sounds like it's bounded by paving so that seems like not an issue for you.
I can't speak to its dog-pee survivability.
posted by LobsterMitten at 7:36 PM on May 2, 2016 [1 favorite]
I can't speak to its dog-pee survivability.
posted by LobsterMitten at 7:36 PM on May 2, 2016 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Thanks for taking care of your NYC street tree! I've done some tree care in NY with one of my neighborhood orgs. If you're new to tree care, I highly recommend attending a TreeLC/stewardship session, I learned a lot by attending one myself (including why it's important to keep dogs out).
To keep dogs out, you'll need a tree guard. The tree will probably continue to survive without one, but your ground cover will not. Source: I tried planting nice things in the guard-less tree bed in front of my apartment the last 2 years, without success.
If you do all that, here are recommendations for ground covering from the Parks Dept.
posted by paradeofblimps at 8:05 PM on May 2, 2016 [1 favorite]
To keep dogs out, you'll need a tree guard. The tree will probably continue to survive without one, but your ground cover will not. Source: I tried planting nice things in the guard-less tree bed in front of my apartment the last 2 years, without success.
If you do all that, here are recommendations for ground covering from the Parks Dept.
posted by paradeofblimps at 8:05 PM on May 2, 2016 [1 favorite]
How about horseradish????!?!?!? It will proliferate (I think) and people can dig it up and put it in bloody marys!!!
posted by museum of fire ants at 8:09 PM on May 2, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by museum of fire ants at 8:09 PM on May 2, 2016 [1 favorite]
Bonus, horseradish will shade out other weeds
posted by museum of fire ants at 8:10 PM on May 2, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by museum of fire ants at 8:10 PM on May 2, 2016 [1 favorite]
Best answer: On a dog site, I'm seeing liriope/monkeygrass recommended as very dog-pee-resistant. The NYC site linked above recommends lilyturf, which is also a liriope.
posted by LobsterMitten at 9:34 PM on May 2, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by LobsterMitten at 9:34 PM on May 2, 2016 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thanks, everyone! It is a partial shade situation and all of these suggestions are great, especially about installing a guard. I will definitely look into the tree stewardship sessions!
posted by Waiting for Pierce Inverarity at 5:55 AM on May 3, 2016
posted by Waiting for Pierce Inverarity at 5:55 AM on May 3, 2016
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Lyn Never at 7:27 PM on May 2, 2016 [1 favorite]