Forum home› Plants
This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.

Soil improver for area around acer

Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
in Plants
Last month members offered suggestions as to what I could plant in the area surrounding my acer in the front garden, for which I'm very grateful.

I've had a poke around at the soil and it's quite poor.
There's lots of gravel from my old gravel drive and big lumps of clay, and a lot of roots from my acer.
So I don't think anything that I plant there will thrive in the soil as it is.

I've been looking at various composts/manures/mulches but I'm not sure what would be best to use.
The acer is the star of my front garden so I don't want anything that will upset it.
The soil here is generally slightly acidic.

I was considering a load of composted bark fines (which is what I used to improve the soil where I've planted the little pittosporums), but it doesn't contain much in the way of anything beneficial to plant life.

I had the bright idea of using mushroom compost, but remembered too late that it can be very alkaline. So the 3000L I had delivered a couple of days ago I'll use elsewhere (when my back recovers).
Ericaceous compost is an obvious contender, but most of it is like MPC and will break down in no time.

Any suggestions as to what I should use that will be acer friendly and provide a good medium to plant up the area?

I was wondering if this may be my best bet
https://www.cpa-horticulture.co.uk/compost/well-rotted-horse-manure

Many thanks



Billericay - Essex

Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
«1

Posts

  • AthelasAthelas Posts: 946
    edited September 2021
    I buy manure compost from Mr Muck — yearly applications each autumn for the past couple of years have helped improve the heavy clay, new build soil in my garden.

    You could make your own leaf compost/leaf mould but that will take time and it won’t be a lot, so you could use it in a targeted way for particular plants. I think your acer would appreciate that. I collected leaves last autumn and am planning to use some of it this autumn as a soil conditioner around my woodland plants (epimedium, etc.).

    https://oldworldgardenfarms.com/2019/10/24/how-to-compost-leaves/
    Cambridgeshire, UK
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    Thanks @Athelas
    I've been composting leaves for years - the only significant tree is my neighbours huge oak and the leaves pile up outside my garage door in autumn - oak leaves are quite tough and waxy though. I've got some leafmould ready, but only a few bucket-fulls.
    I've never been able to find leafmould for sale, though I agree it would be good for the job.

    I just had a look at Mr.Muck's site - it is very expensive compared to CPA and I've always been very pleased with what CPA has delivered over the years.

    I'm wondering now if something like a 50/50 mix of horse manure and composted bark fines may be the best option
    https://www.cpa-horticulture.co.uk/compost/well-rotted-horse-manure

    https://www.cpa-horticulture.co.uk/compost/composted-bark-fines

    Any thoughts appreciated


    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    What are you looking to plant @Pete.8?
    I'd opt for manure to improve the soil though, and the composted bark will also be good. Both will be excellent for the Acer, and will benefit most plants and bulbs. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    The suggestions are here @Fairygirl
    https://forum.gardenersworld.com/discussion/1058111/inspiration-please-what-to-plant-under-my-acer/p1

    I'm probably overthinking this but I'm now wondering if I should add topsoil too, as I won't really be able to dig around the acer much because of all the roots, so I'll need to provide a good layer of whatever I use for them to root into

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    I remembered you doing the thread @Pete.8, but I can't remember what was said here yesterday, never mind a month ago!  :D
    It certainly wouldn't do any harm to have some topsoil too. The more help you can give the soil before you get the plants in , the less maintenance you have to do. 
    Or maybe I'm just lazy....   ;)

    Did you have any further other ideas for summer plants, apart from the geraniums? Some of the nicer crocosmias would probably be fine. They'd get enough light if they were nearer the front. Probably not damp enough for things like Astilbe, but perhaps with enough extra soil/manure, you could swing it for them. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    Very true - preparation is key to success which is why I want to try and get the right soil mix for the tree mostly , but that will also suit the plants.

    I thought I'd try and use some evergreen ferns and there are a couple of grasses that may work as it looks really sparse in the winter.
    I like crocosmias but the pittosporums will grow to about 1m round (I'll try and keep them a bit smaller) so not much will be visible from the house and that's the only part that gets sun in the summer.
    I really wanted to make it look nicer from the footpath, so green sprawly stuff would work with some geraniums for some summer interest.
    For spring I'm planning on lots of snowdrops right at the front and maybe crocus. The primroses, anemones, pulmonarias etc suggested before will also add to the mix.

    The easy option would be about a ton of decorative bark :)

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Maybe you could try some annuals and see if any can give you a bit of extra colour. 

    How about some Jacob's Ladder? Or does that flower earlier for you down there? It's early-ish summer for me. June into July usually.  
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    Nice idea - I used to have a variegated one somewhere that done well for a few years and I'll have a look for sme annuals that may work too - thanks

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Yes - I used to grow Brise d'Anjou a very long time ago, when I still liked blue  ;)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    Blue has always been my favourite colour. As a kid (my mum used to tell me) I always wanted a blue one of whatever, even if a blue one was not available, then throw a screaming fit if I didn't get a blue one!
    I've not changed :)

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
Sign In or Register to comment.