Dear Sibe,

I have a number of hydrangeas in my front garden from the previous owners and I really am not one for the plant. I have tried brute force and ignorance in removing them and in the process have managed to remove my pickaxe from commission. Could you please advise me on the best way to remove a hydrangea plant. Your advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,
DB Hew

Our gardening expert replies:

Hello there,

Removing hydrangeas should not really pose any problem. It would appear from what you say that these hydrangeas are, to say the least, well established - hence the damage to your pickaxe. I assume that there is a dense mass of roots and this is causing your problem.

Plants will always balance root and shoot growth. The above-ground parts make food which is then transmitted to roots to enable them to grow into new ground and provide new sources of water and nutrients to the top parts for making more food etc, etc. What you need to do is to weaken the root system and this can be done by removing the top growth. Use a good pruning saw, or possibly a sharp axe, with which you can completely remove all above-ground growth and dispose of this.

New shoots will emerge in the spring and if you continue to cut these off as they develop, the plant will eventually become exhausted. During this process the roots will die back. You could then leave these in the ground to rot - which is not really a good idea but would at least save you further work - or dig them out. The method of digging would be to get a sharp spade and a stout pair of boots and to gradually slice in from the outside of the rootball towards the main stem. Cut through the root system extracting a spadeful at a time. Shake the soil off the roots and dispose of the latter. This method will work with most plants; I think what you did wrong was to attempt too much in one go. Presumably you were aiming your pickaxe at the base of the stem, where the whole plant is at its strongest.

I know you haven't asked for alternatives to plant, but you may be interested that I removed a hydrangea a few years ago (I like hydrangeas but this was in the wrong place). After replenishing the soil by digging in lots of well rotted garden compost I planted Choisya ternata. This evergreen plant, commonly known as the Mexican Orange blossom, makes a superb display of scented white flowers in late spring which then continue on and off throughout the summer. The evergreen leaves are glistening in the sun as I write this, and it continues to look good through the winter.

Sibe