Thread: poor soil

hi ....hope someone has some suggestions for me....just purchased a home and the front entrance is the problem. it faces the East and has full morning sun but clay soil....i recently planted azaleas there but i don't know if soil isn't acid enough or too much sun but they aren't doing well....i water them and use miracle gro for azaleas to know avail.....is there shrubs and plants that do ok in this soil or should i try to build it ....my neighbors all have beautiful landscapes with nice plants and shrubs. so i know there's potential. your advice is greatly appreciated.....thank you!

There is a good chance that you have a drainage problem in the clay and are drowninging your plants. This can be helped by amending the soil. If you do this, with peat, good native soil or whatever, don't just add to the planting hole. Spread it evenly in thin layers 2-3" deep and work each layer in so you get smooth transitions between soil textures.

One other thing to check. If the contractor just spread the clay from the basement over the top of the ground to even it out, a hole dug somewhere in the yard should eventually hit the native soil line. If this is the case there is probably good drainage below. Try digging a planting hole extra deep to check this out, but be sure that you don't plant the plants extra deep. If you find this to be the problem, a 2" auger bit, a large electric drill and considereable time spent drilling holes in you landscaping area will improve drainage. If these are backfilled with compost and the process becomes an annual rite of spring for several years, great improvement may be noticed.

Just some ideas. Bob Underwood

Everything he said and Azaleas are shade plants, so they will probably have bug problems being in that much sun too.

Eastern exposure shouldn't be a problem and all of what Bob said may be the issue.

Were azaleas there before?

Uuuh yeah, what he said too, didn't catch that East part of the post