what plants can i grow in my clay soil garden

Ephemera

Hi there,

If you have dug out a patch of clay soil you have probably discovered that the surrounding un-dug soil turns your dug patch into a bog!

The simplest way to get ground that you can grow pretty much anything in straight away would be to create a raised bed. Just make a wooden frame around the dug area, fill the top with good quality topsoil or compost. The worms will move the compost into the clay soil beneath for you over time, and save you a LOT of digging! You can also add sharp sand or fine grit to help open up the underlying soil too and aid drainage.

As you have raised the level of the ground then what you can plant will be up to you. The plants get the benefit of clay soil to retain moisture, and they are not sitting in water that can rot roots. As for choosing plants, I tend to just plant what I like, if it lives, great, if it doesn't, I plant something else. I find that following guidelines does not always work - I have had plants thrive in soils they should have died in, and vice versa.

If cost is important, then why not swap plants with friends and family. Cuttings and air layering are simple and extremely cheap ways of propagating plants and are a lot of fun too. You can Google for ideas and advice...there's lots of it out there. Car boot sales, school fayres, etc are also good places to find plant bargains.

One other thing to consider is that there are a lot of plants out there that not only look great, but are edible too! Ruby or rainbow chard, white flowered runner beans, nasturtiums and pansies, ornamental rhubarb, etc are all pretty and are tasty, too. Herbs are great as well and a lot are drought tolerant so saving you water.

Food for thought?

emweaver

thanks think ill build it up with compost and get plating lol

Tiby

My garden soil is clay too, and over the past few years I have discovered that Dahlias love clay( with a bit of sunshine).

arkonite_babe

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emweaver

where are you moving it too? it was only moved to this section today

Witsend_2

I have clay soil and have grown many plants and veg well, most from seed and although it has taken around 3 years it is beginning to fill out. The perennial plants that seem to like it are as follows
Red hot poker (sorry I dont know the correct name)
Lupins
Lillies all kinds
Lavender (in a hot spot by tree roots)
Grasses
Forgetmenots
Bulbs (dry spots by the hedge)
Seedum
Delphiniums
Pirimula
Clamatis
In fact the more I think of this the more I think it would be quicker to list what you can't grow. Just go for it plant what you like and if it says free draining on the lable put a couple of handfulls of pea shingle and sharp grit in the bottom of the planting hole. Happy gardening to one and all :beer:

emweaver

last week we had a play area built in our back garden, well play bark put down lol. my dad just mentioned when he last dug over our back garden that too is clay soil. Will this affect the playbark as I heard it needs good drainage?

I would have thought the nursery would have checked it out but all they did was dig out and put membrane down

Jnelhams

Clay Soil is fantastic for Hybrid Tea Roses, and my Apple Trees seem to do well enough in it, as Apples and Roses are of the same family!
Potatoes are an ideal way of helping to break up Clay soils and do very well, Hardy Geraniums seem to love it as do Dandelions! Daffodils do well. Don't let the text books put you off, Clay is very variable from garden to garden, look to see what is growing well in the neighbours. Gypsum is a good way to break up clay without affecting the Soil PH like Lime does.

If you have spots that are underwater all winter long, then try and dig these over during the late spring/early autumn to let the frost help break up the soil, or plant ornamental Willows.

jennybridger

my neighbour asked me if i'd had luck with my cabbages/brassicas last year. he said he couldn't get his to heart up on our soil...... but he said his friends/in-laws had great success on clay soil as they like something solid to get their roots into.

Plum_Pie

I have clay soil in my garden (v common in London!). Things that are growing well in my garden (and aren't on Witsend's list):

Perennials:
Brunera (I think it's a Jack Frost) - has doubled in size since I bought it.

Gooseberry bush
Choisya

Flowers (annuals):
Lavatera
alyssum

Climbers:
evergreen jasmine

Ceanothus, wisteria, bergenia, holly hocks also grow wonderfully in many front gardens near where I live.