I have this "lovely" soggy bed next to my front door so I want it to look good. So far, my Zig Zag irises love it but they need some company. A low growing (3-4 ft) evergreen to fill in during the winter would be perfect but, after searching, I can't find a suitable plant.
Please help! Thanks.
Zone 8B
Wet clay soil in part shade
I think the first thing to do is to amend the soil with Gypsum. It works by not allowing clay to stick to itself. That makes it easy to dig and helps water to be able to soak in and out. After that, choosing a plant is easy. Azaleas look nice but there are many.
Ken,
Do I need to dig in gypsum? I have some areas that need amending but haven't tried much other than adding organic material. That works if you add a lot and you are willing to kill yourself digging.
C
It's faster if you dig it in, but you can top dress and let it soak in.
The mechanism is a little interesting - it's not the physical addition of the gypsum that changes the soil, like if you mixed in sand or something. It's the chemical composition, which molecularly acts with the chemicals of the soil.
It will be reacting with _all_ the soil chemicals, not just the clay-clumping ones, so you may need to be attentive to creating some sort of mineral deficiency. I think the best practice would be monitoring with soil tests.
Daddysbug, just to be obvious, is your spot damp because the solid clay doesn't drain? Or is it clay-ey soil, which also stays damp because, oh, it's in the shade and it gets drainage off the roof every time there's a heavy dew?
As far as evergreen and shade, english ivy would work. You'd just have to be attentive on pruning. You could even sorta make a form under it, to create a greenery shape to provide the cover or interest you need in that space. There's always dwarf nandina. Indian hawthorne, maybe? Probably would depend on the variety. Although I'm not sure if that goes with irises... Someone was telling me about festuca. I don't have any personal experience. There's a bunch of different ones, in various sizes and colors. I'm always a big fan of holly, so I'd probably go with a dwarf yaupon.
There might be some sort of lovely urn or rain chain or such to fill the space, even if only in the winter. Or some stand thing to let you put a potted plant up higher.
With respect to using gypsum, you need to know if your clay is acid (in which case gypsum is a good idea) or alkaline (in which case it's a bad idea). My clay in Bellaire is on the alkaline side and gypsum only made it worse. Once I started using compost, matters improved dramatically. Compost is also a good choice for acid clays; you just can't beat it. Adding gypsum can really be a major mistake IF your clay is alkaline.
Nor would I till. John Ferguson of Nature's Way once told me (when we were both acting as "experts" at the Azalea Trail) that what he did was drill holes (probably one inch or larger in diameter - I forgot to ask) at 12-18 inch intervals throughout his garden. Into these holes he poured finely-screened compost (which, granted, he had put together based on careful soil analysis). Within one year, he had a wonderful sub-surface environment for his plants. It may be possible to have Nature's Way blend compost to your needs based on a complete soil analysis which has to be in great detail, not just telling you the percentage of organic matter, etc. in your soil. If you're interested, call them and get the name of a reliable laboratory.
If you read up on the micro environment that exists below the soil surface, you can understand why there is a major debate on the efficacy of tilling. I don't want to get into that debate which, with all my large trees, is a moot point.
Leslie
You can add compost, green sand, and expanded shale to help with improving the soil and increasing the drainage problem.
I think Nature's Way makes a compost/expanded shale combination that might be worth looking into.
If its a shaded area, you can always plant Hostas. They do well clay soil and love water.
LOL Sylvia! I think I'm the only person in the world who doesn't like Hostas.
To the OP, do you think the Texas native columbine would work? It likes shade and starts putting on new growth in the winter. However, not sure if it would like the humidity. Brazos Penstemon grows well in shade as well as Toad Lilies, but those aren't shrubs.
Leslie,
I am with you on tilling. I try not to disrupt the soil layers if possible and do not routinely till any part of my yard. I am going to try and make some new beds and just wondered about the gypsum.
I have 2 strategies in mind.
1. cover the grass with cardboard or newspaper layers and build up a raised bed.
2. dig out grass and amend as best as I can, which in my soil would require double digging or tilling as the soil here is awful clay with little organic matter visible.
I prefer method 1 but soil is expensive to build to any height. Plus moving it is getting harder with each passing year!
C
Sometimes I just amend in the area I'm going to plant something. I know...bad gardener! LOL
To answer all of you who been so thoughtful and given me great ideas,
My soil is clay-ee and I was looking for an easy fix. I love the tall pots idea and, of course, yaupons save us all the time. I don't like hostas, either. They are beautiful but, gosh, the snails love them too, too much. Amending the soil is the best way.
realbird - I am a real bird, too, by way of Alabama/Mississippi.
Thanks for your help.
Don't use gypsum on our clay soils. Gypsum should only be used on clay soils in places like Georgia (red clay). Gypsum is calcium sulfate dihydrate, our clay soils are the result of calcium carbonate breaking down (dig down a few feet and you will find that calcium carbonate - caliche and limestone). The last thing you need is more calcium. Get the soil tested in the area to be sure.
Compost is your best friend. It takes a few years to make a difference, but it is really the best amendment. Expanded shale does help with drainage too.
ITA with those who recommend compost. Up here in north Texas everything is very, very alkaline, while in east Texas the soils are acid. I've always heard that gypsum is a great product, but for us it didn't help.
Tilling for us was also a bad idea. It turned our clumps of clay into boulders of clay.
So what do you have in Conroe? I'm guessing acid? If so, gypsum would work for you. But there simply is no better soil improvement anywhere than compost. Works everywhere.
In the first post Daddysbug ask about what to do for a soggy bed, compost will not help a soggy bed. Gypsum will raise the pH but only a little and that can be fixed easily enough. I have used gypsum for over 20 years, here where the soil is acidic and in west Texas where the soil is alkaline. I have seen people add compost to clay and what they get is a soggy mess, the water still doesn't go anywhere.
A local landscaper asked me to look at a problem area he had. He had dug out a flower bed in solid red clay and added good rich soil. Then the Spring rains came and the bed never dried out. All the flowers drowned. I said he should treat the area with gypsum and wait several weeks and plant again. He did and the bed looks great. What he had was a swimming pool full of organic matter and water that had nowhere to go. Gypsum will loosen the soil for a long way down and allow the water to permeate through. Then add the compost.
I am not down on compost, around here I am known as the Compost King. My compost pile is 45' X 18' and will be 8' high by this time next year. We have one acre and no grass, just plants and flowers with compost everywhere. If it starts getting hot and dry, I mulch with compost to help hold the moisture. If it starts to get cold I mulch around my plants to keep them from freezing. If I start getting weeds, you've got it, I mulch with compost.
When working a new bed, it is best to test and know the pH of the soil as well as what pH the plants like that you are planning to use in the area. pH is not that hard to control, I added sulfur in west Texas and I sometimes lime here in east Texas. Then again I still add sulfur to my blueberries because they like their pH close to 4.5.
That is true if the drainage is an issue but I have lived with clay soil for years too and compost definately improves all aspects of clay soil.
C
Now I know why the guys who was helping me plant left all those mountains of soil in my Hosta bed. I guess they couldn't smooth it out. Strange but I never noticed my soil clump up like this before. When I first moved here I had the entire lot tilled with peat and something to amend the soil ... it must have helped. If I dig a hole now I have to make mud pies to get the soil back in the hole. I guess that's why I have all these ball of soil all over the place ... its really a mess out front. One of the guys told me not to worry about it the rain will take care of it
So what should use and how?
Add Gypsum.
Then add more compost.
This message was edited May 16, 2010 6:01 AM
I got 200 hostas out there and I cant dig them up. I dont have compost, maybe I can get some at the box stores. Can I apply the gypsum and compost in the hole when I get ready to plant another hosta? or just throw it all over the place and let it work its way into the soil. :(
Just spread the Gypsum on top and it will work its way down. Then put some kind of organic mater on top and it will help hold the water during the dry times and help protect from the cold during the Winter.
Gee Thanks Ken! Will do!