gardening on clay

exdinnerrita

just moved house and found I have cly soil please can anyone advice what besy to plant Thanks

B3

A few pics would be helpful.

raisingirl

start with anything from the rosaceae family - more or less all of them are happy in clay but whether they'll like your aspect, acidity or climate we don't know enough to answer at the moment. 

Watery

People tend to panic when they see clay soil.  I'll bet your neighbour's soil is similar to yours.  What are they growing?  Lots of things do fine in clay soil.   I plant pretty much whatever I want, with the exception of keeping my blueberries in containers.   I see lots of different trees, shrubs and plants all around my neigbourhood and we are clay on limestone.   I even see lots of heather doing just fine. I;ve never dug mine either.  I just add green waste compost on the top.    I don't grow a lot of vegetables but flowers, shrubs, trees do just fine.

Fairygirl

It's the best medium of all to grow in. As has been said, take a look at what's growing round about in other gardens and that will help.

The aspect is also a factor - no point in growing sun lovers if all you have is shade.

If teh soil hasn't been worked at all, you can add plenty of well rotted manure and compost to help improve the texture. Lots of grit dug in is also beneficial, especially if you're in an area of high rainfall as it will help with drainage. 

exdinnerrita

Thanks for all your replies

Mark56

Hydrangeas, hardy geraniums, roses, weigela, penstemon, lilac, verbena bonariensis & fuchsias all grow really well in mine. I don't have the thickest of clay, as years of work digging in grit and organic matter like manure has helped 

Last edited: 19 February 2017 16:29:31