Evergreens that tolerate poor drainage?
greenhearted Z5a IL
7 years ago
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greenhearted Z5a IL
7 years agoRelated Discussions
Help! Poor drainage in L.A. yard - to auger, till or other?
Comments (9)Thanks for the responses. To Kimmsr: I may have been unclear as to the drainage time. None of the holes that I dug were drained after 60 miinutes. The test involves filling the holes twice, and I guess the second time is more important (as the first filling of the soil eliminates to bias from the surrounding soil being dry and gives a "truer" indication of drainage). On the first filling, some of the holes were down to an inch of water after about 60 minutes, but that last inch wasn't really budging, so I just did a second fill at that time and waited another hour, at which point the holes all had MORE than an inch of water in them after 60 min. (but were less than half full). The County guide-book I'm using basically says if it's taking over 60 minutes to drain, you have a problem and need to look into augering or tilling, so I did not keep timing to see how long over 60 min. the holes took to drain. Since I'm taking this info from my LA County planting guide-book, I am reluctant to second-guess or ignore it. Hmmm...maybe the rate of perculation varies by area and is "naturally" supposed to be faster in my area, and that is needed for the Guide's recommended plant list, which is why they want 12" per hour or less for drainage? (I'm guessing.) I would also note that the water seemed to go down reasonably quickly at first, but then slowed considerably as the water got below the halfway point in the holes, which I gess means there's reasonable side-ways drainage from the 6" mark and up, and it is below that that the walls and floor of the hole were more like a bowl than a strainer (or more like a brick than sponge). Basically, for all I, it would take over 3 hours or over 6 hours, or who knows, to wait till the holes were totally empty, so I'm not really sure how bad my drainage problem is. To Ken_Adrian: You suggest getting my County Extension's "guide," but I'm pretty sure that's what I'm using, and what I linked to above. Did you look at that guide, and is it NOT the same thing? Note, with budget cuts and a big city and stuff, it's nearly impossible to get a County person on the phone in Los Angeles, at least when I've called to talk about other stuff, like permits and tree trimming and stuff, so I'm not real confident in my ability to find some one in the County to pick their brain my questions... to Toxcrusadr: Thanks for that reply, I learned some stuff. It sounds like I can till and then use lasagna method without fear of grass sprouting everywhere. If we did til, then add the lasagna layers, we'd then be walking over the soil to some extent to do our planting (cutting through all the layers and planting in the "real" soil that the grass is in, as I understand it), so I am a bit concerned this would cause compaction at least in some areas, and even if we till the soil when it's not wet, the lasagna method calls for wetting down the various layers as you add them, so I'm still not sure if this approach would lead to compaction problem. Maybe my biggest concern, though, is that the tiller I saw for rent at Home Depot looks like it'll only go maybe 6-8 inches deep, whereas the 1-man power auger they rent will go 16 inches deep, maybe more. If I've got a compaction problem below the 8 inch depth, I am wondering if tilling will help that issue at all? Lastly, there's a suggestion that the lasagna method, standing alone, should fix a drainage / compaction problem organically, as the right mixture of ingredients in the soil will lead to thriving organism or micro-organism or whatever, that naturally keep drainage good. (Sort of like imagining if you cultivate worms in your yard, and they will dig holes as they move through the earth creating a healthy amount of porousness and drainage for the soil, but on a bigger level since I'm sure the healthy soil has a lot of living stuff going on apart from worms.) If my image/analogy is correct, and the lasagna method -- done right -- will ultimately fix the drainage issue, do I really need to do anything? It would be nice if the answer is "no," EXCEPT for the fact that the County Guide I'm following SAYS to do augering or tilling before Lasagna if the drainage is slower than 60 min for a 12 inch hole. My main concern with doing the lasagna method without improving drainage is that, if water does not drain fast enough from the lasagna layers, will that sabotage the whole lasagna process? Ken...See MoreBamboo that tolerates poor drainage, cold winter?
Comments (13)You could also try P. atrovaginata, it's similar to water bamboo, it has air channels that can tolerate wet feet. I planted a culm last year, but I didn't plant it in boggy ground, so far it's still alive. It's supposed to be hardy to zone 5b. I got mine from bamboo plantation.com, so far the last 2 boos I got from them were really healthy and not too expensive. Here is a link that might be useful: Phyllostachys atrovaginata...See Morepoor drainage/low point/soggy
Comments (1)Because of erosion across the area where there should be grass, we dug a "dry creek" and loaded it with river rock. Now when it rains, and for days afterwards, the retention basin at the lowest point of our creek stays wet. I thought cattails would be a good idea. I put 7 stalks into the wet and muddy earth under 3/4" gravel, which holds them upright. After a couple weeks some of the lower leaves are yellowed, but they are still standing. Does anyone have any advice for making sure they survive? Thanks!...See MoreFull sun- drought tolerant-bad drainage.. ?
Comments (2)Except for the issue with the drainage, the creeping thyme sounds like a great idea. It will certainly be able to handle the summer heat, is quite drought tolerant once established, low enough that wind is not a factor and can tolerate some pretty cold temperatures as well. And it will stand up to foot traffic. Drainage is relatively critical with most plants - there is a short list of those that will tolerate less than ideal drainage, but for the most part, drought tolerant groundcovers require good drainage. What is there about your new garden that leads you to believe drainage is poor and what can you do to correct it? FWIW, any soil improvement you can do now before major planting will benefit you and the garden in the long run. I typically suggest to my clients to take the time and invest sufficient dollars into improving their soils before spending a lot of money on plants which may fail because of poor growing conditions....See Moregreenhearted Z5a IL
7 years agogreenhearted Z5a IL
7 years agogreenhearted Z5a IL
7 years agogreenhearted Z5a IL
7 years agogreenhearted Z5a IL
7 years agogreenhearted Z5a IL
7 years ago
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