Im going down to NC in a couple of weeks (chapel hill) to visit
my dad..
and while im down there im going to plant some small trees out
around his
house to let em grow for a few years. some japanese maple
seedlings and
hinoki cypress is on my list so far. i know the soil down there
is largely
clay... and it is in a new development... so im sure much of
any beneficial
topsoil was removed. i havent dug down around the area i will
plant
before... i know it is well mulched.... as is anything that is
planted down
there. (up north here .. landscapers mulch down around the
bases of
trees..in NC.. it seems.. any tree they put in has like a
baseball mound of
mulch around it...but anyway)and lots of sod in the yards.
should i prepare
the soil before i plant them? any guidelines or tips? thanks

My son lives in Durham, also on a new lot. HIS soil is the
heaviest, muckiest, stickiest clay I have ever seen. Things seem
to grow in it, though. I suspect, however, that for several
years afterward you need to treat a plant that was put into a
hole as a POTTED plant as it has to take a while before roots can
force their way into that clay. It will be hard to avoid it, but
adding "good" soil to the hole will only make it worse because
there will be such a difference between the dirt in the hole and
the "native" soil. _I_ would dig a hole at least twice as big
around as the pot the tree or shrub came from -- and three times
would be better. DON'T make it much deeper, through, or you're
likely to drown roots, since water will just stay in the hole and
not seep into the clay.

Jim Lewis - - Tallahassee, FL - This economy
is a wholly owned subsidiary of the environment. - Gaylord
Nelson, 1995

************************************************** ******************************
++++Sponsored, in part, by Mike Page ++++
************************************************** ******************************
-- The IBC HOME PAGE & FAQ: http://www.internetbonsaiclub.org/ --
+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail +++++