Post by HouseOfYikes on Oct 4, 2015 19:59:45 GMT -5
Hey all! Hope everyone is enjoying a beautiful Sunday night! I mostly lurk, but thought I would check in with the experts on this board!
H and I recently purchased a house that basically was not maintained for the last 10 years. We're just about done with the inside (kitchen counters and new appliances on order, woot!) and now it's time to start thinking about the outside. The hill in the backyard is completely overgrown - h cut down what he thought was a small sapling and it turned out to be a rose bush. The thing was 10 feet high!
Anywho, we would like to get a crew in to clear it out. Although there is a lot of vegetation, it's mostly 1/2 dead and actually comes out easily. I'm guessing it's 30 yards by 25 yards, with a pretty steep slope - maybe 30 degrees? They'd need to remove 4 actual trees (20 feet high plum trees) and another 10 or so "volunteers". Is that the right term? Once that's done, we'd like to mulch and add just a few plants for now. We would also like them to "cut in" stairs and a path - literally just steps made from 2x4's and gravel.
Has anyone done something similar? We are going to start calling for quotes, but I have no idea how much to expect. It'd be great if they had a chipper so we could turn some of the refuse into mulch (is that possible?).
If I can ever figure out how to post pics from my phone I would be glad to share our jungle!
Post by InBetweenDays on Oct 5, 2015 13:49:08 GMT -5
I have no experience with this in terms of how much it would cost, but is there a reason you want to cut down established plum trees? I can understand getting rid of the overgrown vegetation and the volunteer trees, but personally wouldn't want to take out mature trees. Especially if you have a 30 degree slope - the roots of those trees are likely providing much needed stability to the soil.
Post by treedimensional on Oct 5, 2015 17:20:02 GMT -5
Yes, what she said. If you denude the slope of vegetation, you'll have swift and severe erosion. You can certainly build and plant the slope, but it's not a small undertaking that can be carried out piecemeal.
I have no experience with this in terms of how much it would cost, but is there a reason you want to cut down established plum trees? I can understand getting rid of the overgrown vegetation and the volunteer trees, but personally wouldn't want to take out mature trees. Especially if you have a 30 degree slope - the roots of those trees are likely providing much needed stability to the soil.
Sorry, I should have said that the plum trees are on the flat part of our yard, they are not on the hill. There are a couple trees on the actual hill that we would be leaving in place.
The plum trees are not producing (though that could be because they aren't gettingb much light or nutrition?) and don't look super healthy or stable. If we take out 4 we will still have 2 or 3.
Yes, what she said. If you denude the slope of vegetation, you'll have swift and severe erosion. You can certainly build and plant the slope, but it's not a small undertaking that can be carried out piecemeal.
Good point. We definitely don't want the hillside to erode. I guess we will need to find an expert who can guide us.
I would get a certified arborist to consult on the trees before you cut.
Also, if the grade is that steep, I would consider terracing top help reduce erosion.
Photos would help.
A lot of the reading I've been doing lately has me somewhat convinced that most landscape companies don't know half of what they should. That's not to turn you off of going worth a professional, just that you have to do research.
And beware, this could get expensive. My neighbor has a pretty nice yard and hired someone to clean it up (mulching, tidying, cutting back bushes and trees, etc.). $3000 (!)
And beware, this could get expensive. My neighbor has a pretty nice yard and hired someone to clean it up (mulching, tidying, cutting back bushes and trees, etc.). $3000 (!)
GULP! Yeah, I am thinking it's going to be pretty sizable. Hopefully we can get a quote or two for general ideas and then save up. We definitely don't want to start during fall/winter and then have a mudslide.
Could you rent goats to clear out the underbrush? That way you'd get to see exactly what you're working with before taking things any further.
Now, by "rent" I'm sure you mean "purchase and keep as pets and love them forever" right? Lol. Actually that is a great idea, I've seen goats working on various hillsides and we also have "wooly weeders" (sheep).
There's really no underbrush though, because these bizzarre viney plants have taken over. They are almost like ivy, except the leaves are shaped differently and it's taller and looser. The trunk or stem of the plants look very similar to grape vines.