Specialty Gardening: Xeriscape fertilizer, 1 by LaWolf8

LaWolf8 wrote:
The best success I had was Manz Dr Hurd with a clay soil in LA I didn't amend it but it was in an area we had to do some trenching and backfill. after 5 years it's chest high. I had 2 Ceanothus Centennial on top of the 2'brick wall with back fill, they exploded because of the loose soil, some compost but mainly on the surface. One has since died but the other is taking over that area.

I planted a third plant other side of yard with little digging in hard clay and it's low, flat and uninspired to do much more. I think it was breaking up the soil and getting the roots down for best growth. I leave leaf trash to decompose and create it's own mulch.

The Arbutus Compacta grow 8" every time they get water. Not native but wonderful at 7' and keep them hand pruned. Gophers came into the yard from construction nearby 4 years ago and ravaged some plants so I'm going to replant with "toxic" plants. Wiki search turns up an amazing amount of poisonous plants.

When I was at a Native nursery they told me no fertilized compost but inorganic additions to aerate the clay. Can't remember the name but it wasn't builders sand. That will create concrete conditions with clay.