Two weekends ago...

I have plans for this boxwood which currently resides at the back corner of my house by the air conditioning unit. At the far end of the front bed, there are smaller versions or varieties of this encircling the white Crape Myrtle. At the other end of the front bed, by the driveway, is a yucca; my plan is to dig out the yucca and replace it with this boxwood from the back. I am hoping it will provide some design continuity and tie the two far ends of the bed together. We'll see when I actually move it. In the meantime I followed the advice of Paul James from HGTV's 'Gardening by the Yard,' affectionately known to me as "The Goofy Gardener Guy." He recommends doing the following if you have time before you move a tree or shrub; I included how I handled the steps with this tree.

1. Measure 1 ft up tree, then measure the diameter at that spot, multiply diameter times 18 to find size of root ball to dig.

It was hard to get into the middle of the shrub and I was too lazy to go inside and get my measuring tape so I used my favorite folding yardstick to guesstimate. I think I came up with 1/2".

2. Cut inside branches and stems back 1/3, don't do top b/c it ruins natural shape.

I didn't cut it back at all. I know, I know, but being evergreen and naturally globe-shaped I was too nervous.

3. Dig a trench at the root ball distance, slicing thru roots as cleanly as possible.

Ever have completely inpenetrably, dense moments? The day I was doing this, I couldn't figure out how to do this to save my life. Did it mean depth, width, what? Finally, I plunged ahead and started digging approximately 9" out from the trunk. I think that's what he meant.

4. Fill trench halfway with compost or shredded leaves.

I used some of the shredded leaves I had gathered last year.

The result for now...

I'll move it in October or November. In the meantime, I'm watching it and planning to repeat the treatment for the two lilacs placed on either side of the deck steps; it's too shady for them to bloom there.