Planting flowers around a newly planted tree

[carol harrison]

We lost our Bradford Pear in the storm a few weeks ago. This weekend we planted a Lacey Oak. I had Day Lilies around the previous tree and my husband says he read where you shouldn't plant flowers around a newly planted tree. Is that true? And if so, how long can I wait. I need to do something with the Day Lilies and don't really have another place to put them!!

[Tony M]

Planting flowers around a tree is not the problem, how close you plant them and what damage you may do to the roots is. A tree's water requirements are different than plants so one will get too much and the other too little. If you plant too close to the trunk you usually end up with an excessive amount of dirt over the root flare. This gets worse as the plants grow and begin to touch the trunk resulting in a trap for organic material and moisture against the trunk. If your root ball is 24" across go out about 40", install some edging and plant between the edging and the root ball. You still risk conflicting water requirements but you just need to pay closer attention.
Tony M