Nature's Helper® Soil Conditioner for conifers?

15 years ago

Hi all. I was reading some other forums on Garden Web and several members use a product called Nature's HelperÂ® Soil Conditioner to help break up clay soils. From what little info I can find, it appears to conisist of pine bark fines.

Has anyone used this and does it actually help amend the soil for conifer plantings? Perhaps it could also be used in soil mixes for growing conifers in containers?

The threads indicate it is/was available at Home Depot or Lowe's but the stores in my area don't seem to know anything about it.

Thanks

Dave

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Comments (4)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
15 years ago
in clay .. the proper procedure is to plant on a berm.. so that half the roots are in the clay.. and half above.. to insure that at least part of the root mass can get oxygen during the transplant and re-establishment phase ...

i dont believe anyone here recommends any amendments in the planting hole ...

under the logic that it is necessary ... one would presume you dont have a tree/conifer anywhere in your county ... which is a ridiculous example.. but confers just dont need anything.... BUT PROPER WATERING

if you suspect anything lacking in your soil .... have a soil test done.. and take appropriate action ...

good luck

ken
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tsugajunkie z5 SE WI ♱
15 years ago
Any organic material worked into the clay will help break it up, but all organic materials break down so it needs to be an ongoing process. The danger in amending just the planting hole is that it can create a bathtub effect that water will pool in, you really need to amend a large area. Also, pine bark, being primarily carbon, worked into the soil will bind nitrogen for a time until the bacteria digesting it die off. They say it's composted pine fines but who knows what that means. Finished (or nearly finished) homemade compost has a better balance of nitrogen and carbon to work into the soil and then use as a top dressing going forward. Now, you could mix sand with the clay, but to do large enough area you'd need yards of it. I've read anywhere from a 40 to 60% sand/clay mix would be needed. I've never tried that. Short of making your own compost, I'd go with the berm. As for a potting mix, it would depend on what kind of texture/drainage it has.

tj
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Embothrium
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Amending of planting hole backfill is not beneficial, anything that results in a small area of one soil texture surrounded by a larger area of another is liable to produce soil moisture problems for the newly planted stock. Peat, bark, sand...it makes no difference what material is used, if it gives the backfill a different texture it is liable to affect how water moves into and out of the planting hole.

Put a layer of better soil on top of the clay, excavate and replace a large area of clay with better soil, or plant in the clay soil. Do not mix amendments into the clay soil unless the entire potential rooting area of the new plants is modified, and as mentioned can be re-amended periodically in future years. This kind of procedure and routine is best for small, short-lived plants like flowering annuals and annual vegetables.

Trees and shrubs, including conifers also do not have the same ability to utilize the kinds of nutrients available in recently disturbed, highly organic and fertile soils that annual plants do. It's consistent with natural situations, where a recently devastated (such as by fire) forest site would at first have lots of certain nutrients available that had been released by the burning. As the disturbed site aged and the nutrient regime in the soil changed, there would be a different growing environment for the returning trees and shrubs.
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tsugajunkie z5 SE WI ♱
15 years ago
I'm not sure how much experience you have working with clay, bboy, but compost is arguably the best way to allow clay particles to separate by working organic material between them, even for conifers. Compost is not at all like fire residue which, in addition to releasing nutrients, is also highly alkaline. Compost is pH nuetral. Compost also does not have nutrients readily available but, rather, has the building blocks for soil organisms to slowly convert the matter into forms the plants can absorb. It is not a rush of nutrients by any stretch. And, finally, all one need do is look at a forest floor to see that it resembles compost infinately more than compost resembles fire residue in both form and nutrient availability. Somehow, I don't think that forest floor is only good for flowering annuals and annual vegetables. I believe the trees live off it.

tj
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Nature's Helper® Soil Conditioner for conifers?

Comments (4)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

tsugajunkie z5 SE WI ♱

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