Shrub Removal: Tips & Techniques for a Clean Yard

Shrubs are a beautiful and functional addition to any landscape, but sometimes, removal is required. If they’ve outgrown their space, succumbed to stressors like pests or disease, or you’re planning a new landscaping project, removal may be necessary. If that sounds a little daunting, you’re not alone: here is an overview of how to determine if a shrub needs to be removed, how to care for your space post-removal, and how you can prevent the need for future removal. How to Determine if a Shrub Needs to be Removed It’s important to note that there are two different goals of shrub removal: removing a shrub completely from your yard or removing a shrub from one spot and transferring it to another. Regardless, here are some reasons why you may need to remove a shrub:

• Under Performance: There are a couple different ways to tell if your shrub is under-performing: if you notice the shrub declining in size, growing dead spots on its leaves, or dropping leaves prematurely, it may be time to remove it.
• Lack of Sunlight: If a shrub is planted in a spot with poor exposure to sunlight, it may be time to remove it, as shrubs require lots of sunlight to grow.
• Soil Conditions: If soil conditions are too wet or too dry, it could be preventing healthy growth–you could attempt to improve the drainage, however if it’s an issue of soil quality, the shrub may need to go.
• Maintenance: If a shrub requires more maintenance than you can handle, or it's overgrown from a lack of pruning, this could be another reason for shrub removal.
• Stressors: Common stressors shrubs face are disease and pests; if your shrubs are overcome with disease or have a pest infestation, shrub removal needs are likely.

Post-Shrub-Removal Care This is heavily dependent on how many shrubs have been removed and what your next landscaping project is. That being said, when shrubs are removed, there are large gaping holes where the shrub used to be because the entire plant has been pulled out of the ground. So, you want to ensure that you’re filling all the holes with soil that is appropriate for your lawn. If you want to take your lawn care one step further, you can aerate and overseed your lawn if you plan to put grass seed or sod there, you can implement some weed control and fertilization if you’re planning to put new plants there, you can level the area if you’re considering a retaining wall, or you can even mulch the area for added nutrients while you decide what to do next. Where to Dispose of Removed Shrubs Some great ways to repurpose your removed shrubs, if you’re not transferring them to another area of your yard, is by shredding them into mulch to aid in adding nutrients to the rest of your plants or by adding them to a compost that you can use later. However, you should not compost or mulch diseased plants, as the disease is still present and can transfer to the plant life you apply it to. In cases where you cannot reuse your removed shrubs, there are local recycling plants that will take organic waste from you and dispose of it correctly. Organic waste is not typically allowed in the regular trash or dump. Choosing the Right Shrubs for Your Yard Here are some things to consider to help you choose the right shrubs for your yard:

• Purpose: Though many people plant shrubs specifically for aesthetic purposes, there are some shrubs that can help with other things like privacy, specific color, or specific textures. Consider the purpose behind planting your shrubs to help you narrow down varieties that will do the job best.
• Size: The mature size (height and width) will help you determine if the full-grown version of the shrub will fit in your space and how it will interact with the plants around it.
• Growth Patterns: Some shrubs have flowers that show up at certain times of the season or grow in a certain direction as they reach maturity. Assess your current landscape design and determine if the shrub you’re considering will not only look good with everything else but also if its growth will hinder the growth of other plants.
• Maintenance: Every plant needs some sort of maintenance, but different shrubs require different things. Opt for a low-maintenance shrub if you don’t have the time to consistently water or prune.
• Soil Type: The type of soil in your landscape directly affects the growth of your shrub. If your yard has drainage problems that result in wet soil, you need a shrub that can withstand that. If you have a particularly dry yard, you need a shrub that has less water requirements. There are also shrubs that work better with clay soil, acidic soil, or other soil varieties. Consider which shrubs flourish most with your specific soil type.
• Climate: Your location’s climate also has a direct impact on your shrubs. You can’t plant a warm-weather shrub and expect it to last the winter if you live in a place that snows! You’ll also need to think about if you have a rainy season where your plant may get less sunlight, or a drought season where it will have to withstand lots of water.

How to Maintain Your Shrubs On the whole, shrubs tend to be an easier plant to maintain. But here is a list of fool-proof maintenance strategies to ensure healthy shrub growth:

• Watering: Newly planted shrubs require thorough watering once a week and more if it doesn’t rain. You want to focus the watering on the roots. Older shrubs, on the other hand, don’t need watering as frequently, especially if there’s mulch.
• Pruning: A big pruning should be done once per year in the fall before you wrap shrubs for the winter. Otherwise, frequent prunings of excess growth and dead or damaged branches help promote health and vibrance–think of it like a haircut.
• Mulching: Mulching is a great way to ensure your shrubs are getting the moisture, nutrients, and elevated soil quality they need. It’s also great for suppressing weeds.
• Fertilizing: Fertilizing your shrubs once a year will help you cut down on other maintenance–it ensures their resilience to stressors like disease, pests, and fungus.
• Hiring Shrub Care: While this isn’t always necessary, landscaping companies can work mulching, seeding, transplantation, trimming, weeding, and pest control into your lawn maintenance plan so you can have it all done in one go without worry. They’re also a great resource for helping plan out your landscape, as they can aid you in determining your soil type, what shrubs work with your preferred maintenance schedule, and what shrubs do well in the area.

Conclusion Overall, sometimes it can be hard to see your beloved shrubs go, but the health of your landscape may suffer if you keep them in a place they’re not supposed to be in. Shrubs are super helpful in terms of adding color and volume to your landscape, and they tend to be lower maintenance than other plants–but you have to nurture everything in your garden. Now that you know how to determine why you may need shrub removal, you can curate a plan that will prevent having to do it again in the future.