Planting containerized trees in heavy clay
forestandfarm
9 years ago
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drew51 SE MI Z5b/6a
9 years agofireduck
9 years agoRelated Discussions
Any Cherry tree for heavy wet clay ?
Comments (4)You didn't mention anything about fruit. Are you referring to a flowering cherry, or did you want fruit, too? Do other people in your area grow sweet cherries? There may be factors to consider other than your soil. The varieties mentioned above are all fine varieties, but all need another variety for cross-pollination. There are a few self-pollenizing sweet cherries....See MoreDealing with heavy clay
Comments (9)Some of this repeats what others have already told you, but anyway: Forget about adding drainage amterials to the bottom of a deep hole. That won't work. Forget about any kind of "box" or structure-not needed, and will just add expense. Forget about ammending the soil, unless you are prepared to ammend the entire area. It is of no use to ammend a little tiny area around the new transplant when it is going to have to grow well out beyond that anyway. Also, highly ammended soil in the hole can make that very spot more prone to accumulating water, the opposite of what you're trying to do. So what should you do? Plant the trees at the proper depth, meaning with the root flare right at, or slightly above grade, into a shallow, wide hole with its' sides sloping upward toward the edge. Choose species that are adapted to the existing conditions. There are many. A few off the top of my head: various elms, silver maples, Freeman maples, ie. "Autumn Blaze", green ash (Okay, maybe not, with emerald ash borer present in your state), honey locust, bald cypress, dawn redwood, arbor vitae, American larch (Tamarack), poplars, swamp white oak, uh, you get the picture;^) Best of luck with your undertaking. It is a fine project. +oM...See Morefruit 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 MoreTree for heavy clay wet site
Comments (19)Go with option #1 or 3. Unless you can amend a very wide area - like the entire projected root spread, not just the planting hole - you will create a bathtub or a planting hole that retains water even longer than the surrounding clay. And option #3 can be modified to just just a bermed or mounded planting area, rather than a complete or structured raised bed....See Morealan haigh
9 years agosteve333_gw
9 years agoalan haigh
9 years agozendog
9 years agogrow_life
9 years agocopingwithclay
9 years agoforestandfarm
9 years agosteve333_gw
9 years agoalan haigh
9 years agodrew51 SE MI Z5b/6a
9 years agoforestandfarm
9 years agoskyjs
9 years ago
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