Shade tree suggestions for heavy clay soil?
larjoranj
16 years ago
Featured Answer
Sort by:Oldest
Comments (16)
quirkyquercus
16 years agoquirkyquercus
16 years agoRelated Discussions
fruit trees in heavy clay soil
Comments (1)Congratulations for having interest in growing many fruit trees. That is good. Trying to grow them in a way that keeps all the trees happy is the next thing. If you dug a hole in the sandy beach shore to make a swimming spot, the water that you put in it would just drain away through the sand. But, if you placed a one foot thick layer of your clay soil on top of the sandy hole, the water would be unable to drain away and the swimming spot would work. Although the water would not be clear.When you water too often, or when heavy rains won't go away, the fruit tree roots in your dug-up clay hold excess water for a l o n g time, which is very unhealthy for many kinds of fruit trees. As an immediate action, I would not put any water on the plants without checking the moisture in the soil a few inches deep. If it is moist below, leave it alone until it is not wet.. For a "fixing" of the problem, when your next Winter is beginning, you could carefully dig up each tree's root ball and replant it ON TOP of the clay and surround it with a mound of good/organic/sandy/rich soil mix. Like a doughnut with a doughnut hole. Make the mound a little higher than the root ball, since it will sink downward as it settles. These mounds have the exact opposite challenge in that the water easily descends through them to reach the flat clay surface below. Keeping this mound moist in hot, dry Summer will take frequent, slow soaking to get them thoroughly watered and thus welcoming to the tree roots' expansion in search of moisture and food while enjoying what they did not have enough of before: air in the soil mix. As the trees grow in size, you could add more soil mix over time to enlarge the mounds. When the trees are ready, they can choose to send their roots downward into the clay below. Building boxed sides or some other kind of material for sides is not needed, though it may be wanted....See MoreBest choices for alkaline, heavy clay soil and dry climate?
Comments (8)I have the same conditions only a little further north than you. I would never let the Hoopsii be the only blue spruce. Scatter some others around and tie the color theme together. I have 9 different cultivars of P. pungens in my yard and it isn't much bigger than yours. I have a 1/2 acre lot but that includes the horse barn and corral out back. Use one or two globes and perhaps a columnar blue spruce. I love 'St. Mary's Broom'. I have Picea pungens 'The Blues' and love it's weeping form. It will never get too big. I have a pendula out front and a little P. pungens 'Blue Pearl' in the same bed echoing the color theme as an accent. There are also a number of cultivars of P. omorika that won't get too big for your yard. Check out Coenosium Gardens web site for a wealth of ideas for the smaller yard. Much of what you find there will not be found locally though. You should be able to find what I mentioned above except perhaps 'Blue Pearl' or 'The Blues' Picea abies has an almost endless range of sizes and forms. I too covet the Skylands but have been afraid to give it a try with our dry heat in the summer and burning sun. If you try it I would certainly put it in an area where it isn't going to get full sun at least while getting established. I have put a P. abies 'Gold Drift' under a globe willow that will eventually come out -in hopes that it can get established in the shade and then show off it's gold color after the willow comes out. There are also some golden junipers that would work for you. The northern Utah nursery that I have found to have the best selection of the less common conifers is Alpine Gardens in Perry (south of Brigham City) but that is also a little hit and miss....See MoreTrees for wet heavy clay soil?
Comments (3)link review the link ... especially the part about planting in clay soil .. once you have it committed to memory ... we can more fully discuss how and what you are thinking about doing .. most trees can adapt to almost anything ... but its our planting.. or transplanting... that ends up killing them ... so ... according to the link.. we plant high ... so the transplant has some air in the roots ... so that the plant can get itself ESTABLISHED ... and put it roots where it can cope with whatever is there ... i am sure there are specific trees which might not thrive .. but as the others note.. we have no real clue about where you are.. what the rest of the soil is ... nor zone.. so its not worth discussing such until we get more info ... ken ps: and do study the rest of the link.. as in .. no amending the hole .. proper watering.. mulching.. root flare.. etc ......See MoreSuggestions for large shade trees on dry thin soils
Comments (8)How "alkaline" is your soil? Limestone areas in the nearby Cumberland Valley can be quite alkaline on/near a limestone outcrop, but fairly acidic close by out of the outcrop area. Bitternut hickory tolerates alkaline soil well. Also hackberry, catalpa & black walnut. So does stuff in the pea family -- honey and black locust, redbud, coffee tree, yellowwood. And obviously VA juniper, aka red cedar....See Moreschmoo
16 years agomichman
16 years agokatrina1
16 years agoquirkyquercus
16 years agordak
16 years agomichman
16 years agojqpublic
16 years agodctreenut
16 years agolarjoranj
16 years agokatrina1
16 years agoconifers
16 years agocascadians
16 years agoconifers
16 years ago
Related Stories
GARDENING GUIDESGardening Solutions for Heavy Clay Soils
What’s a gardener to do with soil that’s easily compacted and has poor drainage? Find out here
Full StoryGARDENING GUIDESHow to Stop Worrying and Start Loving Clay Soil
Clay has many more benefits than you might imagine
Full StoryGARDENING GUIDESGardening Solutions for Dry, Sandy Soils
Has your desert or beachy site withered your gardening creativity? Try these ideas for a beautiful, easy-care landscape
Full StoryGARDENING GUIDESHow to Pick a Mulch — and Why Your Soil Wants It
There's more to topdressing than shredded wood. Learn about mulch types, costs and design considerations here
Full StoryGARDENING GUIDESInvite Cellophane Bees to Your Garden by Providing Patches of Bare Soil
Look for cellophane bees (Colletes) pollinating flowering trees and shrubs in U.S. gardens this spring
Full StoryGARDENING GUIDESHave Acidic Soil in Your Yard? Learn to Love Gardening Anyway
Look to acid-loving plants, like conifers and rhododendrons, to help your low-pH garden thrive
Full StoryGARDENING GUIDES5 Prairie Wildflowers That Can Heal Your Soil
Get free, organic soil fertilizer with nitrogen-pumping plants that draw pollinators too
Full StoryLANDSCAPE DESIGN7 Great Trees for Summer Shade and Fall Color
These landscape-pro faves straddle the seasons beautifully. Could one enhance your own yard?
Full StoryGARDENING GUIDES10 Solutions for Soggy Soil
If a too-wet garden is raining on your parade, try these water-loving plants and other ideas for handling all of that H2O
Full StoryLANDSCAPE DESIGNGreat Design Plant: Retreat to the Shade of Hardy Catalpa
Big foliage and a towering height provide a shady respite in summer, but that's not all hardy catalpa offers dedicated gardeners
Full Story
larjoranjOriginal Author