Plant list with growing zones is in the description. Also some of these are available at my plant shop: www.hardysplants.co.uk/ (UK Mainland only | Limited stock available)
Autumn leaves and consistent mulching have transformed my clay soil. There used to be a product in stores in the US called Clay Breaker that was made from partially decomposed leaves and wood fines. It was great, but thankfully I don’t need it now.
Always love watching your videos Rosy! I work in a garden center and love taking your advice to order plants for people's differing conditions, and helping them find something for them, they always call me smart when I relay your advice lol. Would love a video on sandy soil too!
I have alkaline clay soil, but the tricky part is that we have dry summers in my area, because historically the Paris area forests have been cut down for agriculture. As a result, it almost doesn't rain in summer because there's no evapotranspiration from the trees. And dry summer clay is really tricky to work with. I have some shaded bottom of the garden areas where some of the plants you're mentionning would work, like astrantia, but for stuff like astilbe it's a big no no. And other classic clay plants like eupatorium struggle a lot, they're just small. But over the years I've found plants that tolerate dry clay in summer. Yes salvias are one of them coz they're so tough. But also perennial geraniums like sanguineum. The most suited genre to dry clay is achillea though. Filipendulina and millefolium just do great in there. Grasses like panicum or sporobolus heterolepis work fine as well. Papaver orientale works fine, as well as some geums, or centaurea montana. But those three will lose their foliage in summer, and it'll pop back up in autumn, so if you plant too many, you'll have many holes in your borders. As a result, I use groundcovers like artemisia ludoviciana or saponaria ocymoides. Some short lived perennials like agastache or gaura will work fine as well. Another super easy genre for dry clay is echinops. And they combine well with achilleas and geraniums. Eryngiums work as well. If you can water a bit in summer, you can then add veronicastrum to the mix, if not, the normal veronicas are better suited (especially spicata or longifolia). Echinaceas or asters are hit and miss. The classic echinacea purpurea will struggle in a full month of no rain (which is common here), while echinacea pallida will take it, but is less showy. Forget the aster novae angliae or novi belgii, they don't tolerate drought. You'll have to use ericoides, oblungifolius, spectabilis or umbellatus. In my opinion though, the most difficult thing about clay soil isn't the plant selection. It's the weeds you have to contend with. Alkaline clay will attract some tough perennial weeds, you'll have couch grass everywhere, creeping buttercup (especially on the lower parts that are wetter and more compacted) and the worst of all, creeping cinquefoil. If the soil has been amended with manure/compost and mulch, you'll also get a ton of bindweed, which can invade a young border very quickly and snuff out all the light.
We have several native Symphyotrichums in my ecoregion in the Pacific NW usa, they really are just a joy to have in the garden. I almost want to park a chair in front of mine because it attracts the most interesting insects. Not sure if you guys grow any ornamental Sidalceas but that is another flower that's done pretty well in our clay. I also grow tufted hairgrass, in the wettest, poorest draining parts of my yard -- for which I think there are some ornamental cultivars as well
Used to have clay soil and our David Austin climbing rose loved it : the only rose we ever successfully grew without diseases ! We mixed bacon grease in the soil on the advice of a rose grower here and there were more flowers than green leaves visually. Amazing & very surprising 😊. Happy Autumn,Rosie . 🇨🇦
@@shanaw3806 About one half cup in a standard bucket (lge.white honey or floor washing one),filled up with good soil plus 2 shakes powdered garlic,equal parsley,equal rosemary dried,mix well and apply,which also keeps the bugs away ! 😊
My mum has about 4 inches of good soil on top of 1 foot of pure blue clay on top of 1 foot of pure yellow clay (and sand underneath that). The plants that grow best in her soil are roses. She doesn't have any Austin roses, but mostly Poulsen roses, a peace rose (my favourite) and an heirloom alba rose, that gets cut all the way down to the ground every time its about 12-14 feet tall, which I know is every 4th year, as I'm the one doing it for her. :D The only amendment she's ever used on them was a thick layer of bark mulch when she planted them, and then one more layer once that had broken down. I'm not sure that's necessary though, as everyone in the area has great roses, even if they just stick them in the soil and wait for them to take off. pH might have something to do with it.
I used dolomite and airated the clay with a pitchfork and left it for a while, then added and garden mix before planting my fish tail fern. Its as tall as my house now. Clivias and bromeliads and orchids dont mind clay soil. Didnt know astilbes liked clay soil or my favorite flower "astrantia " too.
I garden in clay soil and it hasn't stopped me but I do quite a bit of prep work. As I don't compost myself, I use the cheapest peat free compost I can find (the less rich the better!) and mix it in with the soil, as well as potting grit. I do add some farmland manure (well rotted) but that's for nutrition rather than drainage. I make the hole for each plant very wide and deep - my thinking for that is that even if some water does gather at the bottom of the hole, hopefully this way it won't get to the main part of the root and make it rot. And little by little, plant by plant, most of the borders have now been amended.
Your videos are so very helpful thank you. Can I ask is Alpaca manure is helpful for clay soil and also when you say part shade how much sun do plants need thank you
Thank you for making this video! I have all the standards for clay soil but would like more choices. I am getting ready to 4 astrantia major Brilliant Stars for my largest bed. I keep amending with compost compost and shredded leaves. Hopefully, we will see more changes soon. I have containers with annuals and shrubs for adding color that won't grow in my soil. 😊
Thanks … for your videos n help will try some of these. I’ve been amending my clay soil bit by bit .. any suggestions for shade perennials? N plants bunnies don’t eat. This year they ate my brown eye susan, dahlias, parsley, marigolds, tomatoes… I put up cages n sprayed. Some bunnies reacted over cages n munched away 😡 so frustrating. In Delaware zone 7 ..btw few houses away their same flowers not touched ?? Bunnies to full from eating mine 🤣🤣
We live on clay reclaimed wetland, so I mostly garden in raised beds! I’m excited to try Symphyotrychum Calliope. Do you know how it does as a cut flower? Many thanks! ( I’m in USA zone 8)
I have a large garden and grow most of the plants you have discussed. All do very well, except the Bistorta affines. This blooms sparsely each year. It grows into a beautiful mat but is not invasive. It is next to clumps of Ajuga which loves the garden. I look forward to the beautiful blue blooms over a long period in the Spring. The Bistorta was planted next to it as a great contrast in the late summer with shades of pink blooms, bright green leaves, red stems, and sitting next to the now deep burgundy leaves of the Ajuga. After 2 years the blooms are negligible. Any idea why? My 20 year old garden has become less solid clay and huge rocks, to a much better soil with a “ clay undertone”.
Thanks very much for your advice and generally for great content! I wanted to ask for the clay soil, i have it on our terrace garden, we dont really have space for compost etc. So i have no way of accessing the middle stage compost you mention. What should i look for in a garden centre then? Leaf mulch? Anything else that comes close? Thank you!
Hi Rosy, thanks for another informative video. I have the opposite problem, sandy soil. Would incorporating well aged compost help? I'm in zone 4 and tried to grow a bistort Superba but was unsuccessful.
Absolutely. You don’t even have to incorporate it (unless you are planting). Just mulch with at least 4 inches of compost every year. Earthworms and other micro organisms will do most of the work of mixing the soil for you. In case you don’t know it, look up the “no dig method”. Plenty of videos show how it works. I have tried it myself and it’s awesome. You can get great results without the back breaking work of digging and turning over the soil.
I saw someone on youtube who had been drilling core holes in his lawn and pulling the clay out to replace it with compost. Over a few years the compost broke down into the clay soil improving it. Do you think this os a viable method? It seems a lot of work
Different genera within Asteraceae. Several are colloquially known as Asters, like Aster proper, Symphyotrichum, Erigeron, Boltonia, Eurybia. All have smallish daisy flowers. Botanists reclassify plants into new groups all the time. Most species that were once in the genus Aster are now split off into their own genera.
I was told it’s because of development in DNA analysis technology. Botanists now have access to genetic information that have given them a better understanding of how genera and species are related to each other. That’s why all the current renaming of plants is happening.
Plant list with growing zones is in the description.
Also some of these are available at my plant shop: www.hardysplants.co.uk/ (UK Mainland only | Limited stock available)
Thank you! The cultivation advice was fabulous as well. I really enjoy your clips, they’re so educational, please them coming :- )
Your notes on working.clay soil was the most useful part truly.
Autumn leaves and consistent mulching have transformed my clay soil. There used to be a product in stores in the US called Clay Breaker that was made from partially decomposed leaves and wood fines. It was great, but thankfully I don’t need it now.
Love watching your videos, Rosy! I have clay soil here in South Carolina and this video was extremely helpful !
Always love watching your videos Rosy! I work in a garden center and love taking your advice to order plants for people's differing conditions, and helping them find something for them, they always call me smart when I relay your advice lol. Would love a video on sandy soil too!
Very helpful. Thanks from Western Canada.
I have alkaline clay soil, but the tricky part is that we have dry summers in my area, because historically the Paris area forests have been cut down for agriculture. As a result, it almost doesn't rain in summer because there's no evapotranspiration from the trees. And dry summer clay is really tricky to work with. I have some shaded bottom of the garden areas where some of the plants you're mentionning would work, like astrantia, but for stuff like astilbe it's a big no no. And other classic clay plants like eupatorium struggle a lot, they're just small.
But over the years I've found plants that tolerate dry clay in summer. Yes salvias are one of them coz they're so tough. But also perennial geraniums like sanguineum. The most suited genre to dry clay is achillea though. Filipendulina and millefolium just do great in there. Grasses like panicum or sporobolus heterolepis work fine as well. Papaver orientale works fine, as well as some geums, or centaurea montana. But those three will lose their foliage in summer, and it'll pop back up in autumn, so if you plant too many, you'll have many holes in your borders. As a result, I use groundcovers like artemisia ludoviciana or saponaria ocymoides. Some short lived perennials like agastache or gaura will work fine as well.
Another super easy genre for dry clay is echinops. And they combine well with achilleas and geraniums. Eryngiums work as well. If you can water a bit in summer, you can then add veronicastrum to the mix, if not, the normal veronicas are better suited (especially spicata or longifolia). Echinaceas or asters are hit and miss. The classic echinacea purpurea will struggle in a full month of no rain (which is common here), while echinacea pallida will take it, but is less showy. Forget the aster novae angliae or novi belgii, they don't tolerate drought. You'll have to use ericoides, oblungifolius, spectabilis or umbellatus.
In my opinion though, the most difficult thing about clay soil isn't the plant selection. It's the weeds you have to contend with. Alkaline clay will attract some tough perennial weeds, you'll have couch grass everywhere, creeping buttercup (especially on the lower parts that are wetter and more compacted) and the worst of all, creeping cinquefoil. If the soil has been amended with manure/compost and mulch, you'll also get a ton of bindweed, which can invade a young border very quickly and snuff out all the light.
We have several native Symphyotrichums in my ecoregion in the Pacific NW usa, they really are just a joy to have in the garden. I almost want to park a chair in front of mine because it attracts the most interesting insects. Not sure if you guys grow any ornamental Sidalceas but that is another flower that's done pretty well in our clay. I also grow tufted hairgrass, in the wettest, poorest draining parts of my yard -- for which I think there are some ornamental cultivars as well
Used to have clay soil and our David Austin climbing rose loved it : the only rose we ever successfully grew without diseases ! We mixed bacon grease in the soil on the advice of a rose grower here and there were more flowers than green leaves visually. Amazing & very surprising 😊. Happy Autumn,Rosie . 🇨🇦
May I know how much and how to incorporate the bacon fat in clay soil? Vancouver gardener with clay soil 🙏🏼
@@shanaw3806 About one half cup in a standard bucket (lge.white honey or floor washing one),filled up with good soil plus 2 shakes powdered garlic,equal parsley,equal rosemary dried,mix well and apply,which also keeps the bugs away ! 😊
My mum has about 4 inches of good soil on top of 1 foot of pure blue clay on top of 1 foot of pure yellow clay (and sand underneath that). The plants that grow best in her soil are roses. She doesn't have any Austin roses, but mostly Poulsen roses, a peace rose (my favourite) and an heirloom alba rose, that gets cut all the way down to the ground every time its about 12-14 feet tall, which I know is every 4th year, as I'm the one doing it for her. :D The only amendment she's ever used on them was a thick layer of bark mulch when she planted them, and then one more layer once that had broken down. I'm not sure that's necessary though, as everyone in the area has great roses, even if they just stick them in the soil and wait for them to take off. pH might have something to do with it.
I used dolomite and airated the clay with a pitchfork and left it for a while, then added and garden mix before planting my fish tail fern.
Its as tall as my house now.
Clivias and bromeliads and orchids dont mind clay soil.
Didnt know astilbes liked clay soil or my favorite flower "astrantia " too.
Thank you that was very helpful.
I garden in clay soil and it hasn't stopped me but I do quite a bit of prep work. As I don't compost myself, I use the cheapest peat free compost I can find (the less rich the better!) and mix it in with the soil, as well as potting grit. I do add some farmland manure (well rotted) but that's for nutrition rather than drainage. I make the hole for each plant very wide and deep - my thinking for that is that even if some water does gather at the bottom of the hole, hopefully this way it won't get to the main part of the root and make it rot. And little by little, plant by plant, most of the borders have now been amended.
Farmyard manure is ok for nutrients but be careful if it is intensively farmed animals that have a lot of chemical feeds.
Yes little by little is the best way to proceed
Your videos are so very helpful thank you. Can I ask is Alpaca manure is helpful for clay soil and also when you say part shade how much sun do plants need thank you
Thanks you again for another great video and great information
Excellent video. Many thanks.
Thank you for making this video! I have all the standards for clay soil but would like more choices. I am getting ready to 4 astrantia major Brilliant Stars for my largest bed. I keep amending with compost compost and shredded leaves. Hopefully, we will see more changes soon. I have containers with annuals and shrubs for adding color that won't grow in my soil. 😊
That all sounds good, remember do the borders little and often.
Thanks … for your videos n help will try some of these.
I’ve been amending my clay soil bit by bit .. any suggestions for shade perennials? N plants bunnies don’t eat. This year they ate my brown eye susan, dahlias, parsley, marigolds, tomatoes… I put up cages n sprayed. Some bunnies reacted over cages n munched away 😡 so frustrating. In Delaware zone 7 ..btw few houses away their same flowers not touched ?? Bunnies to full from eating mine 🤣🤣
Thank you!!!
Have red clay. Usually it becomes cement and fissures in July. This year in April.
We live on clay reclaimed wetland, so I mostly garden in raised beds! I’m excited to try Symphyotrychum Calliope. Do you know how it does as a cut flower? Many thanks! ( I’m in USA zone 8)
I have a large garden and grow most of the plants you have discussed. All do very well, except the Bistorta affines. This blooms sparsely each year. It grows into a beautiful mat but is not invasive. It is next to clumps of Ajuga which loves the garden. I look forward to the beautiful blue blooms over a long period in the Spring. The Bistorta was planted next to it as a great contrast in the late summer with shades of pink blooms, bright green leaves, red stems, and sitting next to the now deep burgundy leaves of the Ajuga. After 2 years the blooms are negligible. Any idea why? My 20 year old garden has become less solid clay and huge rocks, to a much better soil with a “ clay undertone”.
Thanks very much for your advice and generally for great content! I wanted to ask for the clay soil, i have it on our terrace garden, we dont really have space for compost etc. So i have no way of accessing the middle stage compost you mention. What should i look for in a garden centre then? Leaf mulch? Anything else that comes close? Thank you!
Yes a leaf mulch would be fine. Also use the cut and drop method of the old stems and leaves from you existing plants as extra course mulch
Hi Rosy, thanks for another informative video. I have the opposite problem, sandy soil. Would incorporating well aged compost help? I'm in zone 4 and tried to grow a bistort Superba but was unsuccessful.
Absolutely. You don’t even have to incorporate it (unless you are planting). Just mulch with at least 4 inches of compost every year. Earthworms and other micro organisms will do most of the work of mixing the soil for you. In case you don’t know it, look up the “no dig method”. Plenty of videos show how it works. I have tried it myself and it’s awesome. You can get great results without the back breaking work of digging and turning over the soil.
I saw someone on youtube who had been drilling core holes in his lawn and pulling the clay out to replace it with compost. Over a few years the compost broke down into the clay soil improving it. Do you think this os a viable method? It seems a lot of work
It is a lot of work. It probably will work over time.
Evergreens for clay please...
Hi! Viburnum Tinus, most conifers, Hellebores, some Ferns, Bergenias, Camelias, rhododendrons, azaleas , Pieris, Skimmias (acid soil also) Euonymus, Leucothoe, Vinca, Carex, Sarcococca, Mahonias. ☺️
I dont understand all the different names for asters. How is eurybia different from symphootrichum?
Different genera within Asteraceae. Several are colloquially known as Asters, like Aster proper, Symphyotrichum, Erigeron, Boltonia, Eurybia. All have smallish daisy flowers.
Botanists reclassify plants into new groups all the time. Most species that were once in the genus Aster are now split off into their own genera.
Rosy actually did a whole video about the aster plant family ua-cam.com/video/qQIz1kxYwko/v-deo.htmlsi=tsDlI0UATvcGHoye
I was told it’s because of development in DNA analysis technology. Botanists now have access to genetic information that have given them a better understanding of how genera and species are related to each other. That’s why all the current renaming of plants is happening.
@@pansepot1490 Yes, that's true.
Which country this video
Uk