Taming the Sumac BEAST! ✂️
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FunTranscript
00:00 large patch of out-of-control growth. It always starts like that. You've got these plants that you think will never
00:06 They will never outgrow their their situation. They won't spread like people say they're gonna spread. In fact the tiger is sumax
00:14 I think in if you put it next to like the older varieties of sumax, it does spread slower
00:20 But it still spreads and they can start by seed like they can spread by seed
00:24 But they also will naturalize in an area by rhizome so they send out these, you know
00:30 Underground roots that pop up new growth. For example, if you look in here
00:34 You can see the main branch of one of the sumax and there's another main branch here and another one back here
00:42 Yet we have growth
00:44 popping up
00:46 all over in this space and
00:49 You can tell like a root came from this one and it cruised through all the way over here and there's a whole extra plant
00:55 Right in this space right there. So from where the originals were planted now, this is their third season in this space
01:02 So they have traveled I
01:05 Would say about 15 feet or so 10 15 feet this way and that's basically just this year's growth because the first year they didn't spread
01:12 At all last year. They started to spread a little bit, but we pulled every bit of growth that came up
01:17 And it was very manageable. I think if we would have kept doing that this year
01:20 It would have also been manageable and this isn't horrible. In fact, we're gonna be digging some of these today to plant out in the dirtlands
01:27 But it's not it's not something I want to have this big in this area. So here's what we've got for tools
01:33 I've got a shovel and some biotone so we can dig a few and take them out. I've got a rake
01:38 Got a rake to do some cleaning I've got my battery-operated loppers and
01:45 My Velgos and some gloves. I just want to come in here though and show you from the other side
01:49 Like I even planted a hibiscus in here Rosa Sharon
01:51 Hibiscus and the sumacs have just come all the way over and they are glorious in terms of I mean
01:58 this variety is very chartreuse in the summertime and
02:01 Brilliant orange red in the fall. I want to say it's one of our most beautiful things in the fall
02:06 And that's kind of why I held off cleaning this one up
02:09 I had gotten to a point this summer where we could have come in and we could have cleaned it all out
02:13 But I thought well, let's just let it go through fall so that we can at least enjoy the color that it's gonna provide and then
02:19 We'll come in and take care of it
02:20 So again, you can see a main branch and we've got a root that's come over
02:24 We've got a whole extra plant just popping up out of the soil and I have no idea how hard these are gonna be to dig
02:30 Oh, I don't know
02:32 I won't need to dig that many in order to get some impact out there because if they naturalize like this one has
02:38 A little goes a long way
02:40 So you guys I think what we're gonna do is just haul into this project
02:43 See how it goes. Here we go
02:46 [Digging]
02:48 [Digging]
02:50 [Digging]
02:52 [Digging]
02:54 [Digging]
02:56 [Digging]
02:58 [Digging]
03:27 All right guys check this out
03:29 So I waited to remove this just so I could show you how these grow
03:32 So there was actually two roots coming in this way
03:35 This is the supply line where it originated from the main plant over here
03:40 So it grew this way and then sent up a new a new plant right here
03:44 And then there's roots going away from it as well
03:47 This is actually where I stuck my shovel first, of course and ran right into that root
03:52 But to remove these, you know, I could dig and dig and dig and dig and dig and who knows where that root will end
03:57 so I'm just gonna cut these off and
03:59 hope for the best so we'll get in there and
04:03 So you can see the roots that are left I mean that's pretty severe root prune right there, but we'll see how this goes
04:13 That's about how much work I'm willing to do to make this thing propagate into the South Garden
04:18 Yeah, and it probably I mean with how this grows plants are so resilient
04:22 This will probably be plenty of root system and it will take off
04:25 likely
04:28 Not guaranteed. All right one down isn't that wild and that was this year's growth that we didn't pull. Oh
04:35 My mercy I could start a field of these so it's just gonna be that times a whole bunch
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06:06 Oh my gosh, what a difference.
06:13 It looks like a completely different space.
06:16 My word, there were so many runners.
06:20 I can't even believe it.
06:22 So I kind of started on,
06:23 well I started in the back area right there,
06:25 just kind of clearing it out
06:26 to where I could get toward the front.
06:29 And then I cleared out around this one.
06:31 You can really see the distinct individual,
06:33 like original sumacs there.
06:36 Then I cleaned out around this one.
06:37 This one had runners that were completely like growing out
06:40 over the top of the nepeta and the spruce
06:43 into the echinacea that was here.
06:45 I did decide to leave three brand new clumps right there.
06:50 And we'll see, that might be something that we decide,
06:53 you know, maybe we don't want it to even be
06:55 this big of a clump of sumac, but it is kind of nice.
06:59 And they're really nicely spaced.
07:00 So we'll see how they do.
07:02 We can always pull those out.
07:04 So at this point for next year,
07:05 I wanted to keep much more on top of the growth.
07:08 And if you keep after it, just a little bit at a time,
07:11 kind of like you do weeding, it's not a big deal at all.
07:13 And this wasn't really hard.
07:15 It was a lot easier than I thought it was going to be.
07:18 The wood of sumacs is so brittle.
07:20 You can just snap stuff apart.
07:22 There's a lot of roots still underneath that soil surface.
07:25 So they are going to be popping up.
07:27 So we'll just have to just know that it's something
07:30 that we have to keep on top of.
07:31 But I personally think it's worth it,
07:33 having that kind of maintenance
07:35 for what this brings to the garden space.
07:37 I mean, in the spring, the new growth is so vibrant.
07:39 It has kind of an orangey yellow,
07:42 and then it ages to a chartreusey yellow color.
07:44 So it's a very bright, vibrant spot out here.
07:47 And then the fall color is just nothing like it.
07:50 And the stems are super soft, like they're very velvety,
07:53 and they have these really neat seed pods.
07:55 That one over there has more.
07:57 Anyway, I'm just really pleased with how that turned out.
07:59 Now I saved five, and they are right here.
08:02 Some of them have a little bit more root action than others,
08:05 but I'm just going to plant them and see what happens.
08:07 And honestly, if even just one of these out of five takes,
08:10 that's perfectly fine with me.
08:12 It'll fill in.
08:13 And I think this is where I want them all to go,
08:15 right in this area between the Vanderwolf Pine
08:17 and the North Pole Arbovitas.
08:19 Chad's dropping off some fill dirt right now.
08:21 It's all going to be smoothed out
08:23 so that this whole area is a little bit more level.
08:26 Anyway, I'm going to start digging some holes.
08:27 They don't have to be very deep.
08:29 They're pretty shallow rooted, so let's get this done.
08:31 (engine rumbling)
08:34 (crickets chirping)
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08:40 (crickets chirping)
08:43 (wood cracking)
08:45 (wood cracking)
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08:53 (wood cracking)
08:56 (water dripping)
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09:02 (leaves crunching)
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09:28 (wood cracking)
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10:29 (water dripping)
10:41 Those are going to be so pretty.
10:44 So just a little grouping of five, which we can add to.
10:47 Of course, if they take,
10:48 they will naturalize in this space anyway,
10:51 but it would be pretty just to kind of continue on
10:53 with a nice big, like a river of sumac through here.
10:56 Oh, I love it.
10:58 I think the structure is really pretty,
10:59 especially when I look through this way
11:01 and it looks really dark in the camera,
11:02 but the sun that's just barely peeking through
11:05 is illuminating that velvet on the branches
11:07 and they look like they're glowing, to me anyway.
11:11 Oh, they're so pretty.
11:13 And you guys, that is going to do it for today's project.
11:16 I just really wanted to get that one done.
11:18 The last big couple of things that I want to get done
11:21 before it gets too cold,
11:22 we need to get more bulbs planted.
11:24 I have a gator full of tulip and daffodil bulbs
11:27 that I want to get in the ground.
11:28 And then dahlias.
11:29 We need to still get them prepped and in storage.
11:32 They're all in the greenhouse.
11:34 So as soon as those two chores are done,
11:35 it's just, I still have a huge list of stuff
11:38 that I'd like to do,
11:39 but they're not as essential to get done right away.
11:41 I will show you this back corner though
11:43 and what's going on over here.
11:44 Look at all of this soil.
11:45 Oh my goodness.
11:46 Aaron's having Chad bring in a bunch of topsoil
11:50 to kind of fill in this area right here
11:52 because it slopes quite a lot,
11:53 just right at the very edge of the property.
11:56 And he really wants it to be leveled out.
11:58 So that is what's going on right here.
12:00 The kids love it.
12:02 In fact, I can see one of the pathways
12:03 that they were sliding down on their bums last night.
12:06 See that?
12:07 That's a sledding on your bum channel right there.
12:10 And there's another one that they made right in here.
12:15 So when you see me post pictures or reels on Instagram
12:19 of the kids playing on the dirt piles,
12:20 this is where it's at, the back corner.
12:22 So if you pan this way, you can see the high tunnel
12:24 and then the house over there and then the South garden.
12:27 And I'm not sure the timeline,
12:28 I don't know if they are planning on getting that all
12:31 leveled out this fall yet or this winter,
12:33 or if the dirt piles will stay till spring.
12:36 I know that would make the kids really happy
12:38 if the piles stayed, but we'll see how it goes.
12:40 Either way, super happy to have that sumac done.
12:43 It looks so good out in the garden,
12:45 seeing it all cleared out and seeing the structure
12:47 of those plants again.
12:48 And I know Aaron's gonna be happy with that.
12:49 He really liked the look of the sumac limbed up.
12:52 He's a big fan of trees being limbed up anyway,
12:54 but to see the structure of those,
12:56 I think that he likes that better
12:59 than the kind of overgrown look that it took on.
13:01 And I think I do too, in this case, for sure.
13:03 So thank you guys so much for watching this video.
13:05 I hope you enjoyed it and we will see you in the next one.