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I know there were some questions a while back about growing stuff in red clay- the char N&O has a home/gardening section with Q&A - I found this and thought many may find it helpful
Q moved from Nassau County, NY ....the clay here is quite challenging. ... I cannot dig in the clay without a lot of water to soften the clay and I cannot dig deep. How do the roots travel through the clay to get established and grow? .......
AY
... Just about everything grows here. But the soil needs help. Clay soil is quite fertile but it requires significant loosening up to create the pores that allow roots to spread, air to get in and water to reach roots then drain. Most broad-leaf evergreens do not just appreciate this, they demand it because most will not tolerate tight clay soil that stays wet. Flowers and vegetables planted in unimproved native soil do not grow very well at all. The best thing to do is to define your flower and vegetable beds, then add at least 2 inches of compost. Even more would be better. Dig or till that into the soil at least 8 inches. People who have great beds do this every year or so, and the results are usually splendid: deep, dark soil that is rich, fertile, fresh smelling and so loose that you can move it with your hand. It also becomes slightly raised to further encourage good drainage. That's a sharp contrast to the brick hard soil that we start with.
Nancy Brachey
I know there were some questions a while back about growing stuff in red clay- the char N&O has a home/gardening section with Q&A - I found this and thought many may find it helpful
Q moved from Nassau County, NY ....the clay here is quite challenging. ... I cannot dig in the clay without a lot of water to soften the clay and I cannot dig deep. How do the roots travel through the clay to get established and grow? .......
AY
... Just about everything grows here. But the soil needs help. Clay soil is quite fertile but it requires significant loosening up to create the pores that allow roots to spread, air to get in and water to reach roots then drain. Most broad-leaf evergreens do not just appreciate this, they demand it because most will not tolerate tight clay soil that stays wet. Flowers and vegetables planted in unimproved native soil do not grow very well at all. The best thing to do is to define your flower and vegetable beds, then add at least 2 inches of compost. Even more would be better. Dig or till that into the soil at least 8 inches. People who have great beds do this every year or so, and the results are usually splendid: deep, dark soil that is rich, fertile, fresh smelling and so loose that you can move it with your hand. It also becomes slightly raised to further encourage good drainage. That's a sharp contrast to the brick hard soil that we start with.
Nancy Brachey
Yeah, here in Fuquay Varina (Raleigh) I have red clay. I planted a tree three years ago and it about killed me....lol. It took everything out of me to plant my red maple. The clay is like rock! The tree today looks great, but it has not grown but maybe 6 inches...if that. I must have done something wrong. I don't know what though.
Yeah, here in Fuquay Varina (Raleigh) I have red clay. I planted a tree three years ago and it about killed me....lol. It took everything out of me to plant my red maple. The clay is like rock! The tree today looks great, but it has not grown but maybe 6 inches...if that. I must have done something wrong. I don't know what though.
May depend partly on soil (pure clay is tough to grow roots thru), partly on what else is around it. Most deciduous hardwood trees (particuly young ones you plant) grow slowly if they're in direct sun. In fact some (like dogwoods or redbuds) should never be planted in direct sun. They'll also need more water, if it's been dry. I planted a maple in a sunny area and it's not really grown any. However under my pines, I got baby "wild" maples growing like weeds!
Forests are evolutionary. If you have a large area of no trees (like old farmland), the first trees that will start working their way in will be evergreens & conifers (pines, cedars, etc). As they grow up and provide their own shade, then the hardwoods (maples, oaks, dogwoods, etc) will start as sapplings in the shade of those pines, work their way up and eventually "squeeze" the pines out. So if you see a forest that's mostly pines, you can assume it's young---while if you see one that's mostly oaks/maples/etc, you can assume it's older.
(This of course is for upland forests---wetland forests are a bit different.)
Next door, their yard is all hardwoods. So our subdivision was a forest. Don't know if that means anything. All I know is our clay is hard as a rock! But it changes greatly in that part of Wake Co. A few miles east the soil can be sandy.
Next door, their yard is all hardwoods. So our subdivision was a forest. Don't know if that means anything. All I know is our clay is hard as a rock! But it changes greatly in that part of Wake Co. A few miles east the soil can be sandy.
Good observation! I spent the better part of 4 years in school studying the soils of NC. The fall line between the Piedmont and the Coastal Plain roughly runs along the Wake/Johnston County line. If you take a look at a satellite photo of the state, you can just about see where the clay/sandy soil border lies. Much more farmland in sandy areas south and east of Wake Co., and lots more forested areas north and west.
We are here for a visit and noticed some trees along I40 west of Mebane that have changed to red are really pretty. Anyone know what they are?
Hard to say without actually seeing them, but the red maples have really started changing in the last few days. If it was a smaller tree (<25') it may be a dogwood; they can actually be quite pretty in the fall too.
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