I love to plant under my oak trees, the dappled shade and free mulch can't be beat! What I don't love are the saplings! I spent quite awhile today cutting the individual saplings that have come up too close to the plants. I didn't want to risk damaging the plants by using a weedeater. Right now, I have bromeliads there, and a few baby crinum lilies, but I had planned a lot more. Maybe I should reconsider? Is there a better way to keep the saplings in check, or should I just forego planting under oaks?

Gardening under any tree that drops seeds will require pulling the seedlings. Oaks can create a solid carpet of seedlings. They're one of the hardest tree sprouts to pull, that I've gardened under. Chopping them off at the surface with a weeder won't stop them, the roots must be pulled out.

I've got sprouts from oak, maple, hackberry, mimosa, walnut, pecan, and cherry laurel. I've pulled at least 2,000 baby trees so far this year.

Is there enough sun for Crinums under a tree?

Hi Tiffany, Yes, I do a fair amount of pulling seedlings every year, but this year I think I waited too long and it seemed a bit overwhelming. I wonder if some of the baby trees are actually coming up from the roots of the big oaks? You just can't pull up some of them up.

At my last house, I had a crinum under the shade of an oak, and I think I liked it better than the ones growing in full sun. It stayed neater longer, although it didn't bloom as much.

Maybe I should look for some pretty pots to put under the trees...

Sorry, I lost track of this discussion. I've wondered that too when trying to pull "sprouts." Some of them go really far under the leaves and I never find the end of the root.