I am in zone 5 and just cut down my lilac that was infested with black ants and old. It looks so bare where it was. I want to know if we can plant something right away or should we wait till spring?

Part of me says since it was infested we should wait but then once the old branches and trunk were removed, it eliminated the ants.

So, what's your take on it? I was planning to visit Winding Creek tomorrow and look at some bushes. I'd like one that grows tall and flowers. Rose of Sharon is my choice but I hear they can be testy.

I also want to know if I should plant in the same hole? We cleaned it out pretty good but of course we couldn't get all the root but did manage to pull the ball out.

Thanks!

http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf16317624.tip.html

from what i read spring or fall

I just planted 4 Rose of Sharon in the landscape project I did last week. They are hardy in Zone 5 and are blooming right now. They are large, beautiful, do well in full sun, handle heavy pruning very well, transplant very well (I have moved mine at least 3 times), have little to no bug problems, are drought tolerant, come a wide variety of colors and do very well as screening plants.

They do sucker some what but if you plan to use them as a large shrub then they are just the right plant. You can limb them up as a multi-stemmed small tree (I have seem them done that way and they are quite attractive).

The new blue and violet satin colors are wonderful. Check out Monrovia's website for some of the colors. www.monrovia.com and search for rose of sharon or hibiscus syriacus. They look like a Hibiscus but are cold hardy.

I would make sure you add a good soil amendment where you removed the lilac something such as mushroom compost and topsoil. Mix it up good to make sure you've gotten rid of any ant residue. Next spring, fertilize the plant and make sure it has good water.

Thanks Frank and Cheryl! Jim and I plan to ride over to Winding Creek and pick something out then. I wasn't sure what to do and if I could plant in the same hole. I did notice a few grubs too but I think that's normal in plant areas. I haven't seen any in the grass but may ask the lawn guy to go ahead and spray for them. I'll talk to him later on about it.

I knew this was the right place to ask!

Probably the same for you Cheryl, but almost certainly in Ill like it is in Ohio...

I do okay planting shrubs in the fall as long as I water a lot. We have a serious lack of rain in the average fall. As long as you water regularly, it actually seems like the best thing for them. Spring, they try so hard to grow leaves that the roots take longer to set.

I figure, everybody else waits till Sept or Oct to plant trees, and everybody can't be wrong. lol

I went ahead and planted them last week and added root stimulator and fertilizer to them. So far so good! I look out everyday to make sure they aren't wilting. lol

Sandy

We did that makeover landscape job the week before we had 105 degree temps and planted two Rose of Sharon. I drove by there yesterday and the shrubs look mahvalous!! And the Koi Pond landscape job in my album, I planted 4 Rose of Sharon and it was once again 100+ that week! They are doing just fine and the homeowner is just finishing the automatic irrigation system so everything had to be hand watered for almost two weeks!

They are pretty hardy plants!

Thanks Cheryl! Hey, can you give me the round about figure for an underground watering system? My yard is 200x70 with the house on it. I know you can't guve an exact but just curious how much they typically run. I don't even know if you do those so if not, ignore my question. lol

We do. We charge by the zone. It's about $800 per zone. A zone depends on water pressure. For example, 750 square feet of sod would take 2 zones and the beds around it would take two drip zones. That would be approx 100x50 of yard. Sod takes more zones for coverage that plant/shrub beds due to overlapping coverage.

Places like Home Depot will help you design your own automatic sprinkler system if you buy the parts from them for installation. They have programs that design it, list all the parts you need, if you bring in the dimensions and a basic design.