Planting in clay soils is a much different process than planting in most rich soils. It's critical that you understand the effects of clay soils on plants trees and shrubs.
Where we are, it is much worse. Our clay is as hard as rock and you literally do need a pick ax for it. Watching you dig that hole i realized your clay soil is much softer than ours. You are lucky. You still got it good bud.
I had a friend with a huge area of pure clay soil were nothing would grow he asked how to tackle it. So for fun i helped him out the way i reasoned tackling the problem is that. It needed to be tilled to loosen it and so it could drain, however... Clay re-compacts after rainfall (that's the problem you have to beat). So we gathered a huge amount of leaves and small branches dug long trenches lines in the clay and a couple lines intersecting them as well. We mixed some of the vegitation into the clay too. We also lifted some areas entirely so the water would force its way from the high areas to the lower areas. We rolled the leaves and twigs together put them in the little ditches and recovered that so that there would be areas under the ground for water to drain off and were the roots could penetrate into and dig from there. We also raised some areas and put rocks around them. Thru out the year he dumped coffee grinds as well into the clay and mixed it into parts of the soil That breaks up clay as well. After we did that in the spring we planted 4 o clocks all over as they like clay and the roots dig into it. Ivy by the rocks. Everything grew like mad that very summer by the next year soil had already started to change drastically and he was able to plant flowers and other stuff. Two years later the soil is black gold wouldn't even know he had clay there. Clay soil actually is really good once you get it fluffed up.
I build raised beds for my fruit trees so they would sit shallow in the clay soil and most of the root system is located in the raised bed. So far so good!
The comment below, is not clay, probably landfill used-in construction, ours is such. At any rate beyond the gloves, the information is phenomenal and useful. Thanks for solving my frustration!
This was by far the most helpful video I have seen for planting in clay soil. My trees came today and are bare root. Our clay soil is thick and sticky... if I dig a deep hole it will fill up with water like a bowl of tree soup. I like the drainage trench idea coming out of the hole- I think that will help! Thank you.
Thanks for the info. I live in an area that has clay and very hard soil. i just lost a crepe myrtle due to excess water. I ordered a replacement, now I know how to plant properly. Thanks again, Barbara
We have clay soil but are in the high desert, so I'll do everything the same as the video but put a bank around the tree to form a basin and put a slow drip emitter on in the summer months. It's hot and dry here! Great video! thanks!
The only thing better would be too dig deeper initially and then back fill with your mixed soil so that the roots get little better shot penetrating the clay, and the water would sit below the mass of the root ball drawing the roots deeper.
Your clay appears to have a fair amount of sand - mine is hard packed and requires a pick or sharpened shovel to penetrate. At a few inches down the more moist type of clay appears and is somewhat easier to work. The method you use is right on for clay. Thanks for sharing.
So your tips about more shallow holes and loosening those roots makes so much sense to me. haha wonder why I didn't think of it on my own :P Thanks for the help!
Your kidding! That is not clay soil! Our clay is chunks that are thick and refuse to break-up. Every shovel, partly full, needs to be forcefully pried off the blade as it sticks firmly. When dried the shovel full makes a rock hard ball resisting breakage and water.
Here in Mississippi where I live ,if you want to dig a hole deeper than 7 inches deep you will need an excavator. This video was very helpful and is what a had to do to plant some shrubs
Nice roses!! Hopefully mine look like yours this year! I planted them last year in clay soil!! I don't know much about gardening but this video helped. Now I'm gonna dig them back up and do it the right way. Thanks!
I’ve seen a lot of people soak the roots in water and get rid of all or most of the soils trapped within the roots of the new plant and then putting fresh soil in the hole under the plant and finishing by adding the rest of the soil around the plant. I mix a little vermiculite in with the soil for Hostas and that keeps a little moisture storage for the plant and helps with oxygen and drainage also. I don’t necessarily have “clay” but it’s very tough soils with a lot of roots .
a couple ideas Id do to these steps is dunk the tree in water &/or wash off the soil with a hose. I'd prefer bamboo to steel usually. The slamming an anchor among roots and soil are things I like to avoid..as well as tug'n on roots..so the water would help avoid much root trauma.
I live in Clay Co MO & ours is solid clay under 2-4" of sod...golden tan color. Good for pottery too. I usually add sphagnum peat moss & composted manuer & does pretty well. Looking for plant ideas & is gypsum really good to add or not? I've heard both ways..
This makes a lot of sense. Where I live we have good loamy soil but once you're about a foot deep its very dense clay. I live right near Lake Erie. Some long time ago, this actually used to be river bed. I actually started to do that planting technique out of some common sense that the clay wasn't good to plant in so I would just pile the dirt up sort of in a mound. I didn't realize about the wound roots though. I'll keep this in mind. I'm planting some trees here soon in the yard and want to make sure they survive. They're not exactly a cheap investment. Thanks for the informative video! I subscribed.
Thanks that really helps here in Charlotte where the soil is hard and does just like you say. I should dig up some these shrubs that are struggling with root rot and replant but that may cause terminal stress doing that IDK.
Dang, your clay is nicer than mine, has some loam or sand in it at least. Mine is 98% red clay here in Oklahoma. It doesn't break apart at all. I have done the jar tests and always have a big lump or red clay in the middle of the jar no matter how much I shake it, and once anything settles, it's straight up clay the whole way through. 😧
Well, crap. I just planted ten 24" box trees two months ago. I have machinery so I dug huge 4x4x4 holes and amended my clay soil with a pick up bed full of compost/fertilizer. I didn't know the roots would continue to grow in a circular fashion. Well, I aint gonna dig them up :) My clay in AZ isn't as bad as Georgia clay. It's biggest problem is the lack of organic matter. Also, I dont like berms around wells so I plant everything low and the wells are as wide as the tree canopy will be in a few years.
Good information but I wouldn’t call that clay soil… I’d be thrilled if that was all I had to deal with. My place would be described as a “brick pit” by comparison. A pick axe is absolutely an essential tool for gardening here. Success has been mixed. I also mound (raise plants) and create wide, low mounds encompassing many plants including trees. I still dig down 30 to 40 cm then build up the same above, mixing good quality soil with the excavated clay soil, both above and below ground. And loads of “clay breaker” and organic matter is essential too.
Hey doc, I’m new here; just seen your video. First thing I noticed was you have a very different idea of clay, I know the definition but my yard is too tuff for a 45 horse Kubota with a 6’ tractor tiller!! Any help would be greatly appreciated
I watched you loosed round roots. You dont seem gentle. Do you ever have to worry about being too rough or overdoing it? I have always loosened a bit but never to the degree you showed. Luckily most of the time all goes well. Just curious. Or when hitting the metal pole through root ball this is safe for plant? I do occ have a leaning tree guess this is a cure. Just checking on any potential downside. Thx. Apprec your suggestions.
Breaking up the roots is probably a good idea, but you can't let them sit there and dry out in the sun. The fine root hairs will die back within minutes in that situation. At lease wet them down as you go or cover them up temporarily as you work.
Best video ever! We just moved into our new home and I just discovered (after uprooting 100+ perennials from our old house) that we have clay soil! I already dug 2 holes that took all eternity lol but have 9 more to go and I will definitely be following your advice. Did you plant your perennials and rose bushes using the same method of shallow wide holes? Again, great video and information!
We are going to move to Jackson /Madison area and I wanted to learn about how to plant in the clay soil 😊Do you need to have automatic sprinklers there, or does it rain so much you don't need to? Thanks
We have some Skip Laurels we just planted. We have 2 that are not going to make it. Afraid they didn't drain with this technique work for those as well. We are in Middle Tennessee
If we are encouraging the roots to grow more outward, how much extra distance would you add when planting near pavement? I don’t want the roots to grow underneath our patio area and crack it...
Dig a hole twice the width of the rootball and one inch less the depth. Slice the roots vertically if it a container plant if balled a burlaped then just leave as it. Gte a couple bags of humus and mix with the native soil and then backfill and pack the soil nicely.
!yes! Same in kane county illinois, had moved out of Chicago, with nice dirt, to a reshaped subsoil housing development which I found to be a "hardpan" yard. Slope away from house and towards water retention drainage hole. That tree is way too close to fence. I planted my trees ten feet away from fence and trunks are one foot diameter. Just saying. You do have great info for folks.
Wonder if I can apply that in here west of Canada , Alberta , our soil is wet dark clay , 95% what we planted over the last 4 years doesn’t do well, absolutely at the end of my wits here
I just found your Channel after killing about 10 trees and shrubs in my yard. I live in El Paso Tx. Heavy clay. Very heavy and super sandy on top. The only things that have thrived are Oleanders, which I love but they are highly poisonous and toxic and kind of annoying. I want things like Texas mountain laurel and rose bushes to thrive. I’ve also tried about 5 honeysuckles and they all died. It’s heartbreaking as they have grown fine at another property. Any advice and directon is so appreciated
Hello Doc, have you done a drainage test in your yard, to see how long it takes for your soil to drain water? I'm sure you know the test, you dig a whole about 12" deep and 12" Wide and long, and fill the whole with water and time how long it takes the water to drain. I live in southern California and I have clay soil. When I did the test it took about an hour for the water to drain. That length of time isn't too bad. Now we don't get nearly the rainfall you do in Ga, but I would be curious to know the outcome of a drainage test from you.
Wish my soil was that easy to dig in. We have a lot of compacted silt and lime. With lots of rocks. That hole would have easily taken more than an hour in most spots.
Just bought 3 Yoshino cherry trees. Two to line our driveway and the third in front of the house. Excited to get them in the ground. Should I wait until all the hard frosts are gone before I plant them? I'm in Mississippi.
i live in burr ridge illinois famous for its clay native soil. yours do not appear to have much clay at all. do you add sand to really clayish soil sometimes(among other amendments)?
Your soil looks awesome compared to my clay. I can't even call mine soil as it's brick hard and I can't even dig a hole without some major tool. So, this won't even work for me.
