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trees or shrubs for poorly drained clay

11 years ago

I have one spot in my yard by the neighbours down spout that is always wet. Our soil is basically clay or gumbo. Any one with a suggestion on what I could plant there? Would prefer something that produces either flowers or fruit. Thanks

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Comments (8)

northspruce
11 years ago
Red osier dogwood should do well there, and Viburnum trilobum (American highbush cranberry) probably would too although they prefer a more acid soil while wet clay is likely to be alkaline.
weeper_11
11 years ago
A lilac could probably tolerate it(not a tree lilac, if you do have alkaline soil, they don't like it). A saskatoon might do OK there too, though I don't think they are super attractive ornamentally..they look a bit messy. But you would have flowers in spring and fruit in summer.

I have terrible "gumbo" soil too, that is either a gummy mess or else powdery concrete..so I'm trying to think of what I have in my yard that would work. I agree that the dogwood would probably do fine, they seem to grow just about anywhere. I don't know anything about the cranberry, so I'll take northspruce's word on it.
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Amending the soil just in the planting hole isn't recommended. In clay soils in particular, it creates a pot-like or bath-tub effect because when water perks into the amended soil it has no way to drain. Even if the soil isn't clay, the roots of a shrub are less likely to grow from the amended soil into the native soil. If I want to amend soil I usually do the entire bed. You can layer amendments on top of the soil and mix them in with the soil to make a somewhat raised bed which will drain more normally or at least allow a root run raised above the worst of the water. Or you can build a real raised bed large enough for shrubs. I couldn't think of any shrubs that fit all of your requirements, and when I plugged all your requirements into the Missouri Botanical Garden plant finder no plants came back. Either you will want to compromise on some of your wishes, or perhaps you can combine shrubs and perennials to get evergreen and red flowers, just not all on the same plant. There are some short forms of white cedar, Thuja occidentalis, which is evergreen and is fine in wet to average moisture, but has no flowers. Some have gold or bluish foliage. Some flowering plants that are happy in damp soil to standing water that have blooms in the pink range (not really red-fushia) include Clethra alnifolia 'Ruby Spice' or a pink form of Rhododendron viscosum, swamp azalea. The azalea blooms in spring and has nice fall color, and the Clethra blooms in late summer or fall and has clear gold fall color. Neither have a particularly long bloom period or are evergreen. Both will probably need pruning to keep in bounds. You may find some smaller pink forms of the Clethra. Ilex verticillata, winterberry holly, is deciduous but has red berries all fall into early winter and like the Thuja grows naturally in swamps. Rosa palustris, swamp rose, has pink flowers. Red-twigged dogwoods are deciduous, but will have red branches all winter. Younger twigs have brighter bark, so you can prune some branches to the ground every year to keep it smaller and redder. Some forms have gold bark or leaves that are variegated with white or gold. Cardinal flower, Lobelia cardinalis is red-flowered and likes wetlands. It flowers in late summer. Louisiana iris thrives in wet conditions, and has several forms with various reddish tones, though no really true reds. Both these are perennials.
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Well, that stinks. Seems like you lost a little chunk of change on your lawn and arborvitae. Where did you purchase it? If it is less than a year old, you might have a warranty on it. Did you save the tags? Did you use a landscaper? He should have known better. All good advice so far. Why is your ground wet? Are you near a wetland area? a stream? the bottom of some runoff or a high water table? You need to troubleshoot that or work with it. For evergreens that like shade, look at yews, hemlock (you might have to spray that for wooly adelgid) and broadleaf evergreens like rhododendren, hollies. But before you invest more, investigate your drainage. Will the roots be sitting in standing water? Can you fix that? Because if the answer is yes and no, you will have to choose accordingly. Also, do you need the privacy in winter or do you mainly just use the yard during the more mild seasons? That could open your choices a little. Don't forget to consider if deer feast in your neighborhood. Although it sounds like a water / light problem, don't forget to check your lawn for grubs. They like to eat root systems and a sign of them is grass pulling up easily. You will get visual privacy from shrubs but you will never get sound privacy. For that you need something solid without holes and resistant to sound transmission. Quick illustration: you are in your house with windows closed - open one window and you can hear everything even though most of your surroundings are more solid than a bank of trees and shrubs. So if you want to try to mask sound, try berming the edges of your property and building a solid wall. If the wall is a couple of feet high - higher than an exhaust pipe, it will at least bounce back some car noise. Then there is white noise. You can use that to mask other sounds. A good example of this for the garden is the sound of water flowing or splashing. OK? At least that is what I remember from my acoustical engineering class. The holes could very well be squirrels hiding or looking for their stash.
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Konrad___far_north
11 years ago
As for trees, I'm thinking of a Birch would do well.
nutsaboutflowers
11 years ago
How big is your spot, and how tall do you want?

I bought a Nannyberry (Not the tree form) for a spot like that, although I haven't gotten it planted yet. There's quite a few Willow shrubs that might look nice, although you wouldn't get fruit or blooming.

If you do a search for "nannyberry" there's a thread from May 14, 2011 titled "Anybody have a Tree Form Nannyberry?" North53 posted a picture of a beautiful Nannyberry.

Oh, and Yes, if you have plenty of sun, a lilac would most likely survive there, too.
northspruce
11 years ago
If you go with a saskatoon, you will need more than one for cross pollination or you will get only very few berries. I had one saskatoon in my old yard and it made maybe 2-3 berries a year.
Collin001
11 years ago
A dogwood would be a good decision. I think a smaller viburnum is what you are after.

For a larger space I'd try a basswood if you think the space won't dry out. Ours loved the clay and was one of the healthiest specimens in the city before we were forced to cut it down. For birch you don't want them to dry out. If it is a shady spot it would be easier than if it was an exposed spot. If the spot is prone to dry spells you might want to consider a green or black ash tree. Lots of selection to choose from.
donna_in_sask
11 years ago
Look up pagoda dogwood...it might fit the spot nicely.
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Original Author
11 years ago
Wow thanks everyone---I love the look of the Nannyberry I hope it likes water as the lilac I had there did not do well also drown a blueberry there and one other shrub I got from a neighbor also was lost there. If it wasn't for the clay I might have tried a cranberry for the fruit of course. If the Nannyberry does not work or if I can't find one I will have to resort to Saskatoons (not my favorite but at least edible) I suppose not all Saskatoon bushes look like the ones at Saskatoon Island provincial park.

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