Can I plant foundations plants in clay soil?

I've been told people shouldn't plant along the foundation of homes in my area (Northern Colorado Springs 80921 zone 5a) because the soil is clay and the watering of these plants will cause the soil to expand and crack the foundation. A lot of homes are left bare but some have beautiful plantings. We've just purchased a (rather ugly) house that has a concrete driveway for a front yard with just a sliver of dirt between the driveway and front of the house. It desperately needs some plants to soften the look. Is it OK to plant right next to the house? Is there anything I should stay away from? It's pretty much a Northern exposure which probably doesn't help... ANY suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thank you, thank you, thank you! Laura

Laura, how wide is the space you are looking at? Foundation plantings generally means shrubs of some sort. They need a fair amount of room for their roots.

I think someone is jerking your leg ladalt, I think the question would be what will grow in clay soil. Lots of misconseptions about clay soil actually it is a better soil to plant in. Pick your plants girl and be like the pretty neighbors.

Thank you both for the encouragement. Looking for plants that do well in clay soil should have been a no brain-er but I tend to assume that others know best... As for the space available, it is pitiful. To the right of the front door there is a patch about 20 inches deep by 15 feet wide (by the end of the 15 foot stretch it is probably about 3 feet deep). To the left of the front door there is only concrete from the driveway that leads to the garage about 8 feet away. (The house footprint is L-shaped, the house is one part of the L and the car is the other part...It is a 3 car garage so the driveway is really wide). I was actually wondering if we could dig up some of the concrete to plant something but my husband doesn't like that idea. Another option is to put some planters there. I was also thinking maybe we could build a raised bed but my husband thinks that the drainage will be an issue and/or it will stain the driveway... I know at the very least we need to plant things on the side of the drive that doesn't butt up against the house. The house is on a cul-de-sac so as you approach all you see is: a weedy flat yard and a giant drive in front of a not-too architecturally interesting house; good, creative landscaping could really make a difference in the curb appeal but if I'm going to put that kind of effort in I don't want it to look like it was done by an amateur, which, of course, I am. I think I've watched too much HGTV which makes it all look so easy!
We won't be moving in until mid Oct. is that too late to plant some bushes or trees?

laDalt, could you take a couple of pictures of the area you want to plant. All you have to do is reply to this message and upload your pictures, one per reply. That makes it easier to see what is around the area that might affect the plantings.

ladalt if you are worried about the soil not performing well then till the area you want to plant and mix compost and some manure with the clay soil. We are the King of clay soil here in N/C.The prettist flowers I ever had was under the rabbit cage at the end of the house lol

I hate to tell you what you don't want to hear but... If you have been told this by people with knowledge of the clay soil you're dealing with in your area, then I would say you better heed their advice. There are a lot of different "clay" soils. Some can be amended and do well. But some absolutely cannot because no matter what you do, you will still have a solid "clay pan" underneath that will not allow water to percolate through it and the amendments you add will be a sponge collecting more water that cannot escape. We have spent many thousand $$ correcting problems partly created by flowerbeds retaining water next to our foundation, resulting in cracks in interior sheetrock, etc. After about 25 years of heartbreak dealing with it, paying for steel piers to be installed (total wasted $$), walls cracked worse, finally hired an independent foundation engineer who told us we have a very excellent foundation but if we didn't stop the cycle of clay swelling and contracting depending on moisture extremes, then we would always be repairing broken sheetrock in our house and brick walls cracking on outside. It is like living on an "earthquake in slow motion." When it is wet, it heaves up; when dry, it shrinks down. Endless cycle. Following his advice, changed landscape around the whole place after very expensive lime injection under the foundation and no more moving walls or brick for more than two years now. We have completed new landscaping around 3 sides of the house now, paying close attention to the amount of "fall" away from house. Just wish we would have known this 30 years ago. We were very slow learners!! LOL.

My advice would be to get a lot of opinions from local residents that have been there a long time. Maybe even talk to a structural engineer. I hope your situation is not as bad as ours was but better safe than sorry. Good luck.

Looks like your frost date is 9/25 so I'd wait till spring (your last frost looks like end of May)

If it was me I wouldn't jump in and make any changes right away, anyway. I'd wait and see if there is a current drainage problem in that area. Also have you actually dug down to confirm that there is clay? Raised beds are always a good solution if you don't want to spend the time admending the soil.

At our old house it took years of 1st my dad doing some admendments and then we bought the house had it for 12 years doing admendments for my flower gardens(Dad was the veggie gardener) Our house was built on clay pits that were once owned by the largest brick manufacturer in the late 1800's and early 1900's. So I definitely know clay.

In northeastern Oklahoma, homes are typically built on slab foundations, atop clay soil. (No crawl space or basement foundations, except in much older homes.)

We were advised that unless the soil around the foundation was regularly watered (as typically happens with foundation plantings), the soil could go through extreme dry/wet periods that would eventually crack the foundation. So foundation plantings were encouraged, as was regular moisture.

So not to muddy the water, but we received the exact opposite advice. Granted, the frostline in your Colorado Springs area is MUCH deeper than Oklahoma, but you might double-check that information before accepting it at face value.

Hi all. I too think you need to check out your local conditions IaDalt. The CSU Extension Service is highly recommended by DG CO members as they have regional offices with horticultural support. here is a link to the directory. http://www.ext.colostate.edu/cedirectory/extension_region.cfr

I don't even have clay soil and I find this thread pretty interesting and educational....sorry laDalt I can't offer advice but I'm happy to learn with you.

I do have heavy clay soil here, but the ground never freezes beyond the top couple inches or so and then, never for very long. Just about every home around here has foundation plantings of some sort.

Heh I forgot to say Welcome to DG IaDalt ^_^ ps there are alot of CO gardeners including members from Colorado Springs on the Rocky Mountain Forum. I hope you pop in to visit. Here's the link to find us http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/f/region_rm/all/

Our structural engineer told us that the clay getting too dry was just as damaging as getting too wet. The extremes are what has to be avoided. In our situation, not having any experience with this type clay when we moved here, I used the techniques I'd used in Houston's black gumbo and started digging down about 6 to 10 inches to make foundation planting area, amending with lots of compost, etc. When it rained, that foundation planting area was nothing more than a hard trench that trapped way too much water that had no way to drain out. Wet clay swells = foundation heaves up.

What we've done now is pack the clay pan back to its original condition and never dig into it, elevate all foundation plantings on top of that so when that compost gets full of water in a heavy rain, excess can drain away, leaving a healthy amount of moisture in the clay next to the foundation. In dry spells, watering plants in that healthy soil on top of the clay keeps it moist and prevents the shrinkage that occurs when clay gets too dry. Perfect conditions for healthy and stable foundation.

Hello
We avoid planting near foundation - but not because of the clay soil - (we have plenty here in the Piedmont of NC) rather we were told not to disturb the soil close to the foundation because it disrupts the termite treatment and also if you mulch around the plantings - it can encourage the little devils to invade the foundation space.

Great point missingrosie!

This is a very interesting thread. I never heard of clay being such a problem around foundations. Here in this area of PA we have clay at the base of the mountain and sandy loam by the Susquehanna River. The pH around here is really acidic (3.0-5.5) accept for 2 limestone patches. One patch is mined and the other is on state game land.

I am not a big fan of foundation plantings as far as designing. Most of my plants are all over the yard in small groups.

Actually wind barriers aren't even useful unless they are installed many yards away from the house.

Hope you get a great design for your house, IaDalt.

Foundations on clay are hard on the house too. Settling etc.,

I think my daughter spoke about the Susquehanna River - when she lived in Scranton. Sometimes the concern was that it would overflow..... compromise the roads where mining tunnels were underground and then the big sinkhole would occur. Does this sound right? She lives in Carbondale now and doesn't speak about it much.

Now that I think about it....maybe that river wasn't the same name. I know she spoke about Tobyhanna too. (getting my 'hanna's mixed up maybe) This river was near Steamtown I think.

That sounds about right. The north branch of the Susquehanna river goes through Scranton and actually starts in upstate New York. The east central area of PA has tons of coal mines so I am sure that sinkholes could arise.

There is a coal mine somewhere around that area (its a big area for mining coal) that caught on fire years ago and is still burning to this day.

wow.

I saw one of the sinkholes --- and a house that was I bet a hundred years old.... right at the edge. This was 2 secs from downtown Scranton business district a few blocks from where my daughter lived. It wasn't my favorite place to visit. Standing on the porch and looking off to the distance, it looked like a lot of rock no matter the season (she gets mad at me for saying that) and a lot of folks just didn't have the $$ to fix up the houses and the houses were very very old and in need of repair. Every single time I visited it was rainy, and grey, and cold. Pull your skin off cold. But, it is home to her --and she doesn't mind the weather. She had good soil at that house tho. I do remember that. I didn't see a spec of red clay.