My Garden

Trees for wet clay soil

Last post 05-06-2009 7:45 PM by francesca hart. 10 replies.

• 22/12/2008 07:39 PM
  Linda Spratling Location: Avon Joined on: 22 Dec 2008 Posts: 1	Reply | Contact I have plans to create an informal wild garden and would like to plant a selection of trees in an area which lies wet and floods each winter. What suggestions do others have? I have considered alders & willow so far.......

• 22/12/2008 07:47 PM

  In reply to

  Phot's-Moll Location: The sunny South coast. Joined on: 06 Jan 2007 Posts: 3,347

  Reply | Contact They were the two that sprang to mind. Willow is available with different coloured barks and in a variety of forms (weeping, contorted for example) and can be grown naturally or pollarded, so you could have a variety of trees using nothing else. It's also very easy to propogate and quick growing, so if you have secateurs and friends/relations/neighbours/park keepers who aren't looking inyour direction, it's cheap to get going. Whether you think you can do a thing, or think you cannot, you are right.

• 22/12/2008 07:50 PM

  In reply to

  Phot's-Moll Location: The sunny South coast. Joined on: 06 Jan 2007 Posts: 3,347

  Reply | Contact  Sorry, the post on guerrilla gardening must have got to me ... Don't take cuttings without asking. Do ask though - most people would be happy to let you have a piece if you ask nicely. I have a contorted willow that is the source of a large number of trees in other people's gardens. I grew mine from a cutting that I took (with permission) from a garden I visited. The owner of the tree grew hers from a cutting. Whether you think you can do a thing, or think you cannot, you are right.

• 22/12/2008 09:05 PM	In reply to
  sue1002 Location: Ipswich, Suffolk Joined on: 06 Sep 2005 Posts: 5,200	Reply | Contact  Suitable trees and suitable shrubs sue1002

• 23/12/2008 01:07 PM

  In reply to

  annefloweryanne Location: Joined on: 04 Mar 2008 Posts: 42

  Reply | Contact I have a similar situation, too: a (currently) very overgrown riverbank, which floods regularly, has much clay in the soil. It does slope steeply, though, so most things don't sit with wet feet for months at a time. We moved there last autumn, so have not done much to it. The plants that are there are a mostly things thinned out from the "proper" garden by the previous owners, so are not necessarily chosen with a mind to overall design! Willow does incredibly well (actually, far too well). There are also a couple of apple trees, which I am AMAZED survive and fruit impressively - perhaps crab apples would manage equally well, and be more appropriate for a wildlife garden. The dogwood is also very succesful. Also, some dog roses, and geraniums, which are trying to take over and smother the ground elder. Mint, iris' and water forget-me-not, are also doing well.

• 23/12/2008 04:53 PM	In reply to
  Josh Location: Flintshire Joined on: 20 Dec 2008 Posts: 3	Reply | Contact I have a Crab Appple 'Evereste'(yellow fruit) and 3 Silver Birch (Jacquemontii) in my wet clay. They seem to be doing OK.  Josh

• 27/12/2008 10:07 AM

  In reply to

  DayLily Location: Ashton-In-Makerfield Joined on: 30 Nov 2008 Posts: 3

  Reply | Contact To be really controversial... I have managed to grow a pear (comice de doyenne) an apple (James Grieve) a cherry (stella) and a plum (victoria)  in painfully heavy clay soil which turns into a pond in winter... and last year I had the best crop so far.  The longer they have been in the more they have improved! When I put them in originally I put compost in the hole and have left them to their own devices now for 2 and a half years.  If it rains at all at any time of the year (usually daily knowing the British weather)it gets waterlogged and stays wet for at least a week afterwards! Never say never no matter what you want to grow... just try it and see if it works...I should probably tell you that the trees where not bare rooted when put in. They where in a hessian soil ball thingy.

• 14/03/2009 06:14 PM	In reply to
  Jeanne Location: South East London Joined on: 14 Mar 2009 Posts: 1	Reply | Contact Thanks Josh, just what I needed to know.....very clayey soil around here.

• 20/04/2009 02:53 PM

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  MC_Emily Location: Lincs / Notts border Joined on: 20 Apr 2009 Posts: 9

  Reply | Contact Hi I live in Claypole on the Lincs / Notts border (guess the soil type!!).  Our soil gets so claggy and slimey with the smallest amount of rain and within 2 days can have cracks all over it!  We flood in the winter, too, as we're next to a river.  When we moved here 16 years ago, there were virtually no trees apart from an ancient hedgerow, 3 massive Oaks and 1 huge crack Willow.  I'm now successfully growing Oak, Ash, Silver Birch, Beech, Willow (various), Mountain Ash, False Acacia, Wild Cherry, Morello Cherry, Sweet Cherry, Pear, Plum, Greengage, Boulace, Holly, Apple (various), Hazelnut, Snowy Mesipilus (sp?) etc, etc.  As well as the dreaded Elder, which I wish would stop growing  For me, the key seems to be patience.....and a lot of horse manure!!  Whenever I've planted a tree, I dug in plenty of fresh manure (yes, fresh) and mulched around the tree with shavings.  I spend the first year watering when neccessary.  Many trees grow with lightening speed but those that haven't seem to really take off in their third year.  I think it takes them this long to find their feet in the heavy soil.  Once they do, they just don't stop!!  As an example, one of my Morello Cherries has been in for 3 years.  When planted, it was about 2 1/2 feet high.  Last year it had struggled to get to 4 1/2 feet.  This year it's about 7 feet tall....it's rocketed!!!  This is typical of the trees I've planted. Going on what I've managed to do, I think most things will grow on clay...given time.  Good luck!   Emily

• 01/05/2009 11:14 AM

  In reply to

  JanineD Location: Wiltshire Joined on: 01 May 2009 Posts: 1

  Reply | Contact We also live in an area of heavy gey/blue clay soil - which is only about 8 to 12" from the surface.  So that in the winter/wet if pools, but after a few days of no rain it fissure's and cracks! We were lucky to inherit a few mature apple tree's and acquired some semi mature pears tree's from a relation which have transplanted extremely well.  But we have not been so lucky with our newer dry rooted plum and apple's.  Basically we dug out a very large hole and then mixed compost and soil improver into the bottom and then into some of the spoil we had removed before planting but this seems to have caused a sort of sump so that the plum tree then drowned in the improved soil!  Does anyone else have this problem?  Would it be better to reuse the excavated soil in this scenario? Any recommendations for specific fruit trees for this type of soil would be much appreciated!!!  Help! Janine

• 05/06/2009 07:45 PM

  In reply to

  francesca hart Location: Beccles Joined on: 05 Jun 2009 Posts: 1

  Reply | Contact Hi, we have the same problem when we dig planting holes - they soon fill with water from the surrounding soil. We have wondered whether its better to not improve the soil but to top dress every year & let the worms do the work? Our plot is on a slope so we were wondering if anyone has had any success with drainage pipes & whether this would be worth a try? We have just bought several different fruit trees (yes I know autumn would have been better but once my husband decides to do something he wants it now). so we are comitted to getting them in somehow.                          Francesca