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Plants for shallow clay soil

NewGardenerCornwallNewGardenerCornwall Posts: 40
in Plants
Hello. I have clay soil and part of the garden where shallow (spade depth) before hits a stone layer. The area is west facing, very sunny in summer, but wet in winter if we get a lot of rain. Any plant ideas welcome. Thank you.
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Posts

  • CloggieCloggie Posts: 1,457
    Shrubs or perennials?
  • NewGardenerCornwallNewGardenerCornwall Posts: 40
    Mostly perennials, but do have space also for a small shrub. Thank you.
  • Blue OnionBlue Onion Posts: 2,995
    Have you considered a raised bed?  I have similar conditions, and they are the best choice for me.  I highly recommend some sort of brick or other such indestructible material, boards rot out after a few years and even treated lumber only lasts a few more years with wet soil and wet winters.  
    Raised beds give you the advantage of filling with quality soil or your own compost to increase the suitable depth for a wider variety of plants.  It also doesn’t get as wet in the winter as the surrounding soil due to it's height above the surrounding surface.  
    Utah, USA.
  • NewGardenerCornwallNewGardenerCornwall Posts: 40
    I do have a raised bed in that area, but still space around it that needs planting up.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    I think that's going to be difficult, especially if you can't get drainage.
    Shrubs certainly won't thrive in that depth if they don't have it. 
    Annuals would be ok because they'd be out by the time it was soaking. There might be some perennials that could cope, but it would be hard to find anything that would be happy with both of those situations long term.
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • raisingirlraisingirl Posts: 7,093
    Some of the smaller crocosmias might cope - Emily Mackenzie is nice (don't get a 'species' un-named one). Possibly some of the shorter agapanthus would be OK, especially if you lift them in autumn so they don't sit in the wet ground over winter. That could also work for other summer flowering bulbs. Annuals like nasturtiums will probably cope - they put up with most situations. 
    And you should mulch, every autumn, as deeply as you can, and build up the soil depth above the bedrock, so that in the longer term, you'll have more options.
    Gardening on the edge of Exmoor, in Devon

    “It's still magic even if you know how it's done.” 
  • NewGardenerCornwallNewGardenerCornwall Posts: 40
    Thank you. Maybe annuals is the way to go.
  • LoxleyLoxley Posts: 5,698
    edited February 2022
    Improving the soil with plenty of organic matter is a must. What type of stone is underneath? There are a lot of tough plants out there which you could be using but the more you can improve your soil, the more you'll be able to grow. There's an RHS list of potentially suitable plants here.
    You're probably best reading up on individual plants before trying them. A couple raised my eyebrow slightly.
    "What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour". 
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Does the site drain at all, or is the stone layer making that impossible? If it was sloping, that would suggest water would eventually run off.
    Difficult when we aren't seeing the site too, but I think it would definitely give you more scope if you could raise it slightly - as suggested already, which would make it easier to add more organic matter, and therefore make it more likely that plants would thrive   :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • NewGardenerCornwallNewGardenerCornwall Posts: 40
    The site does drain as the stone is porous, and sometimes when dig it disintegrates when hit edges.  But because of it waters takes longer to drain and then the soil is shallow. Thank you for that RHS list- really useful and think will be the solution :smiley:   
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