With 2 feet of gravel, you could probably grow some sedums or other succulents. But I doubt a tree or shrub will thrive (or even survive) under those conditions. No soil = no nutrients, no moisture retention and a very difficult situation to establish any feeder roots.

Pea gravel is 2 feet deep? Seriously? Very few plants will grow in rocks.

Could you push the gravel aside and sink a good sized planting pot of dirt into the gravel? You might be able to grow something in the pot, something that doesn’t mind being hot and dry.

How big of an area is this? The only reason I can think of for such is that it is for drainage. If clay surrounds it you may have a pebble filled tub. Any chance of a pic and where are you located?

tj

clay is one of the most nutritious soils there are ... just look around your greater area .. im sure its not barren ...

the issue is drainage ... and you overcome that by planting high .. and allowing the plants to grow its roots into the clay ... before you kill it after the transplant ...

you would take a potted plant.. and dig a hole half as deep as the pot.. and then build a berm with good draining soil ... so the roots can settle from the transplant.. and eventually grow down into the clay ...

you should probably start by perking your soil.. to find out if its as bad as you presume ... once you find out how the soil drains.. then you have info to start planting ....

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=perk+garden+soil&t=ffab&iar=videos&iax=videos&ia=videos

do understand that july and august is not prime planting time for most of us ... see section one at this link.. and then read the rest ...

https://sites.google.com/site/tnarboretum/Home/planting-a-tree-or-shrub

i think you have a long way to go.. before you even think about playing in gravel ... but if you insist.. thats a whole other show ....

do you have any idea why the gravel is there ... does it serve some function .... like a french drain ... if you are new to the house.. maybe the neighbors might know ....

ken

ps: if you want suggestions on what to plant.. we need to know where you are.. big city name ... and some pix of the situation ... little to me.. might be too big for you .. if you get my drift ...

Thanks for the ideas. We are in Pocatello. We are in the city but our septic is not with the city for some reason. Apparently they will add us at some point. I asked around and no one knew why the gravel was there other than landscaping. My husband says all our lines run from the road directly under our house. This is at the side of our driveway.

I have a potted hydrangea there right now. I was hoping to plant it there as I realized it would not survive the winter in a pot. It's not looking very good due to the heatwave we've had for the past 2 months. This corner is the only place that gets a bit of afternoon shade. I realize I cannot plant it there now but was looking for ideas on what might be possible without taking all the gravel out. Of there is some sort of pipe would I have hit it before I get to the dirt?

We are in Pocatello

==>> well you got me.. i guess i wanted city and state .. lol .. i usppose thata sounds CA.. but im too lazy to look it up ...

what do you mean your septic lines run from the street ... under your house ....

first of all.. get the black pot out of the sun ... heat can accumulate heating the roots.. and most plants dont like that ... and it can make watering issues ... just put it in full bright shade until we decide what to do about it ...

even if all you can do is put it in the shade the tires are making... its the pot that needs to be shaded ... not the plant ...

ken

Ken, Pocatello is in Idaho. Did we sleep through US geography in school :-)

I’m also confused about depth. I guess you kept digging it goes down 24”? That IS weird, because who would dig out such an area to begin with?

May I suggest a read of Beth Chatto's 'The Dry Garden'. Establishing a gravel garden in deep gravel and pea shingle is not the impossible task it might seem...in fact, it is a popular route for growing alpines and coastal plants (such as Derek Jarman's garden in Dungeness).and other plants which require extreme drainage and have the right root and leaf system to sustain life. I appreciate there might be complex issues of drainage to contend with requiring herringbone French drains, redirection and such, but it is entirely possible to manage with 18inches of substrate - many green roofs manage with less. Right plants, right place...you are not without options but feel hydrangeas are not going to be featuring in your future.

If you mix some nutritious clay soil with the pea gravel you will experience success. Try about 3/4 parts pea gravel and 1/4 part clay soil that is cut into small pieces. You will probably have to get it wet gradually so over several days the water soaks down a couple of inches. Try to keep it the consistency of modeling clay so you can make clay cigars. Then dig it up and chop it up while you can still make the cigars. If it drys it will be quite hard. Pea sized to ping pong size will work. OR you can buy bags of Kellogg Palm, Cactus & Citrus soil and mix it with the gravel. This is the only product that actually has soil in it. Most other bags labeled "Soil" consist of organic amendments-not soil. Soil is a mineral.