Planting cedars
When you look at the picture below, you know something isn’t right. You have cedars in plastic pots sitting in a raised bed; and it looks like the work is still in progress.
Except, this particular unit is occupied by an accomplished home gardener. You know the type. They do their own planting and maintenance and, if you’re lucky, they let you make a pass through with a backpack blower.
Now, the proper planting technique would be to remove the trees from their pots and plant them in the raised bed. This allows the roots to establish in the soil, whereas in the pots the roots would likely circle and eventually girdle the tree.
So, I bravely knocked on the door to find out what’s going on. Perhaps the owners needed help with planting the cedars. I would be happy to help.
Council bomb
It turns out that the owners had removed the pots and-correctly- planted the trees in the raised bed. Then there was a twist. A letter from their strata council arrived shortly thereafter, advising the owners to put the trees back in the plastic pots and plant them like that!? What? That’s ridiculous.
This is what happens when the enemies you make in your complex volunteer for strata council. Now you’re facing a monthly $200 fine if you fail to comply with the order. And we know that the order doesn’t make any sense. The best planting for long-term health is to remove the pots and plant the trees in soil. The way the owners had it in the first place.
Of course, you can go to council and make your case. Not every strata council has the same bylaws. You have to check with your own strata council. I think your unit comes with access to the bylaws.
The owner I spoke to didn’t sound motivated enough to fight. That’s obvious because the trees are now sitting in their plastic pots.
One trick would be to remove the plastic pot bottom so the roots could escape.
Conclusion
Avoid making enemies in your strata complex because you never know who will get on council later. Your enemies could cause lots of headaches for you down the line.
