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jholbeche · June 2023

New garden, new member, very heavy clay, was rotovated, I’ve added compost each time I planted but 4 Acers leafed up then the leaves shrivelled and are dead, Ribes that flowered and now is shedding all leaves, Cotinus just died, a Excordia died and a Fatsia looking very unwell.
I would appreciate your opinions, the rain did cause some waterlogging which I know Acers hate but 3 other Acers are fine albeit more mature. Other plants seem to be thriving. Was it just the rain do you think?

Fairygirl · June 2023

Do you mean you rotovated borders @jholbeche ?
Compost added to heavy clay isn't enough to amend it well enough for planting straight away, and it depends on the plants themselves - ie how mature they are, and what else is around them etc. Rain alone doesn't cause plants to die, it's how they're being grown that matters, and what they're growing in.

If it waterlogged after a bit of rain then it isn't suitable for most shrubs/plants.
Can you give more details and maybe a photo or two?

jholbeche · June 2023

Sorry for delay, I have to admit I was impatient to get in the ground the plants that had been kept in pots for a year due to house move and work going on in new house, we had a tremendous amount of rain from March onwards and I was planting into heavy clay but thought the compost would counter the wetness, they all seemed to thrive for a little while before becoming wilted. I’ve kept the Acers in particular in pots in the hope they will revive, there was no sign of grubs in roots. I am slowly (73 yrs old) adding grit and sand to the bed, smaller plants ie - Japanese Anemone, foxglove, Echinacea etc and a Deutzia are doing fine. There are areas I think that are not so intensely clay. Do you think the ones that are thriving like my bigger Acers will end up the same once the roots hit the clay? I appreciated your quick response. The scratch test on acer stems are brown so they are goners I presume. Thank you for help.

Fairygirl · June 2023

I'm still not clear on what plants are dying and where they are.
If you mean the shrubs [Ribes, Cotinus etc] are in the ground in rotovated, unamended clay, and are dying, then yes- the condition of the soil is the main factor. If you rotovate clay, you're then planting into subsoil which is no use, and compost isn't enough to sort that. There's no short cut with clay - it has to be nicely amended with organic matter to give plants the right start, and to ensure they continue to thrive.
If the potted plants are all just the Acers, then it sounds like they've had it, but if you put anything woody in a container for a year, it has to be in decent enough soil, and I'm afraid those pots are also only half full, so mature plants are going to struggle to survive, let alone thrive.
Jap. anemones and foxgloves will grow in virtually anything, but Echinaceas like decent drainage and soil, so it will depend where you have them, and how long they've been in the ground. Deutzias like reasonable conditions, like any shrub, so it depends on where it's planted and what the soil is like there.
The more mature Acers may be well enough established to cope, but if you can't be sure of what the soil's like everywhere, the best approach is to keep adding organic matter regularly. That helps the soil structure - helping with drainage in wet spells, and preventing it cracking up and drying out too much in long hot/dry spells. Rotted manure is particularly good, but compost -home made or cheap commercial stuff, leaf mould , composted/fine bark etc. I wouldn't waste money on sand and grit - you'd need tons of grit to make a permanent difference to a border, and sand has to be the right sort or you can make it worse. They're fine in containers, but it's organic matter you need for borders.

jholbeche · June 2023

Thank you very much for your answer, the Acers in pots are the ones that were dying in the ground and I just pulled them out and put into the pots with compost to see if they would survive, I was too late obviously. They were in good soil for the year waiting and alive when I planted them.
I shall continue to add compost but I cannot dig it in everywhere due to having spinal stenosis so will it be taken down naturally by the worms etc do you think if I leave on the surface or should I employ someone to dig it in?
Again, thank you.

JennyJ · June 2023

Putting organic matter on the surface as a mulch will work, as you say the worms will take it down into the soil, and you can put it around the plants that are doing OK (not touching though).

When you say compost I don't know whether you mean homemade from your compost bin or bought bags. I think well-rotted manure or the bagged soil conditioner would work better than bagged multipurpose compost for soil improvement.

Fairygirl · June 2023

Yes - just put any organic matter on the surface, and it'll break down without any help. Soil conditioner is ideal, and is usually just manure - it can often be chicken manure, but any mix of the aforementioned products will help

I think I slightly misunderstood what you had done re the Acers. I see that you lifted them and potted them for a year, then planted them in the new garden after rotovating etc, and the pots in the pix are from lifting a second time. They won't have liked being put back in those pots, as it looks like they've not had enough suitable soil to grow in, but planting them in that rotovated ground will have done the most damage. They certainly don't look alive in those pix.
Unamended clay isn't ideal for any plant, but if it's been rotovated, you're also mixing the poor, sticky, dead subsoil into the top layers, which is hopeless for plant roots trying to survive and establish.

jholbeche · June 2023

Thank you for your comments, lesson learned for sure, I do have a new composter but it’s not got anything ready yet, so I shall buy or source local equestrian yards to obtain as much as I can of the above, thankfully it seems only one side of the garden is in this state. I didn’t have this clay problem in my previous garden so thought rotovating would help! Apart from that I am pleased to now have this forum for future help. Thanks again. Happy gardening all.

Fairygirl · June 2023

Clay is a wonderful growing medium, but it needs some amending so that you get the best from it, especially with drainage.
Rotovating is rarely a good idea anyway, as it can also chop up persistent, perennial weeds and give you even more of them

It'll all be fine if you get plenty of 'stuff' onto the soil. It's surprising how quickly you'll get an improvement too. If you have any bare, unplanted areas, you can use fresh manure and leave it until next spring for planting, otherwise it has to be well rotted.

Good luck with it - shame about the acers though. They wouldn't have minded staying in the pots until next year, but that's gardening - always something to learn, isn't there. The supermarkets often have small acers at a very cheap price, so you can always pick up a couple if you aren't too bothered about particular varieties

jholbeche · June 2023

It was my own impatience that caused this, you’d think I’d know better at my age. Still a lot of my plants from previous garden and some new ones are doing ok so I’m grateful for that. Just got to sort out a better design now for the rest of it and I’d like a small pond too for the wildlife.
Good idea about the new manure as I do have a spare spot and there is a place locally that I can pick it up for free so thanks again. Great forum.

Fairygirl · June 2023

It's always disappointing when something goes wrong @jholbeche, and you're not alone in that happening - not that it's much comfort when you've lost nice plants.
The manure is a great resource, and if you have a compost heap/bin, or want to start one, that's a great product for adding to it for future use.

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