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Soil for Lavender Hedge

welshcakewelshcake Posts: 118
in Problem solving
I have started creating a border for a lavender hedge (plants arriving next week) and would appreciate your advice regarding soil improvement.  The existing soil is a clay type and if it was a smaller area, I'd be inclined to dig it out and replace it.  However, it's over 7 metres long and I'm constrained with buying top soil by the bag for this job.  Is there any option to mix in the existing clay soil with top soil and/or sand and/or gravel instead to still allow the lavenders to thrive?  I've seen videos online where they've created a mound for each plant with a top soil/sand mix and put stones in the bottom but there's 35 plants going in so that potentially would still be a lot of bags to buy :)  They will be in a sunny spot and the grass that was there before never seemed to get water logged.  I've attached some photos of the soil in case it helps.  These are taken after removing the top layer of grass on the weekend, loads of rain on Sunday and a sunny day today.  Many thanks 

Posts

  • fidgetbonesfidgetbones Posts: 17,618
    Mix as uch grit in as you can, and some compost if you have any. Sadly I think that may not be the right place for lavender.  It looks like it will set like concrete in hot weather.
  • Busy-LizzieBusy-Lizzie Posts: 24,043
    I had a lavender hedge in clay soil in SW France. It was in the sun. I just dug in compost before planting and it was fine. If your soil doesn't get waterlogged, which they hate in winter, it should be OK, but they will need watering while they are young. After that I hardly ever watered mine.
    Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
  • welshcakewelshcake Posts: 118
    Thanks very much both for your help.  I don't want to take a chance with so many lavender plants so I've booked some time off work and will spend the next few days digging out the existing soil and mixing it with a lot of compost and grit!
  • Busy-LizzieBusy-Lizzie Posts: 24,043
    You don't need to dig all of it out, just a bit to make room for the compost. I didn't dig any out and it set like concrete in the summer but the lavender survived.
    Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
  • welshcakewelshcake Posts: 118
    Busy-Lizzie said:
    You don't need to dig all of it out, just a bit to make room for the compost. I didn't dig any out and it set like concrete in the summer but the lavender survived.
    Thanks @Busy-Lizzie.  I'll start digging some of it out and see how I get on - good to know I may not have to take all of it out!
  • Busy-LizzieBusy-Lizzie Posts: 24,043

    Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
  • welshcakewelshcake Posts: 118
    Busy-Lizzie said:

    Wow that looks beautiful....the lavender and the rest of your garden.  I've started the digging and it's not as bad as I thought it would be.  It's taken about 45 minutes to do about a third of it so I'm going to keep going.  The soil will be better and I get the bonus of burning extra calories 🤣🤣 
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