Thanks for all your replies - you have confirmed my suspicions. I don't think the company that did the work will re-do it, at least not for free. But I have asked and am awaiting their reply. We are under 3 feet of snow right now (in NY) so it will be a few months before anything can be done. I suspect that the root balls of these plants haven't changed much since they were planted in the late fall but I am concerned about disturbing them too much. I will follow your good instructions and hope I don't inflict more harm than good. I think my husband and I will be able to use that levering approach. When you say to put a few good sized rocks in, do you mean to leave the rocks in place or just to hold the root ball temporarily while backfilling with soil? Also, as far as soil and compost go, I don't really know how to identify good soil. I ordered some "top soil" from a local nursery and what was delivered was more like screened dirt. I couldn't really see much organic material and it was loaded with small pebbles. Is there a good way to know what is good top soil? Is the stuff in bags at nurseries good? And if I need to amend, do I mix compost in with the back fill or just on the surface? Do I work it in from the surface? As far as compost goes, I don't produce much from kitchen scraps but I do have a lot of mulched leaves but they're not really composted yet, so I will be buying. I have seen compost with manure at the nurseries. Is this good for amending soil? A landscaper who once did some other plantings for me used peat moss when he planted. Is this advisable? Finally, when I am putting whatever amendments around the drip line do I work it in or just let it sit on the surface? I apologize for what may seem like dumb questions but this is a new house/garden and my gardening experience has been limited. Thanks very much - your answers are great.
