"Stephen Henning" wrote in message
news
In article om,
"Nick" wrote:

Will rhododendrons and azaleas grow in clay soil?

No, because clay soil does not drain. Rhododendrons and azaleas need
three things, acidic soil, drainage and drainage. The normal remedy is
to use a raised bed. Rhododendrons and azaleas have shallow roots, so
the raised bed only needs to be 6 to 12 inches above grade. Create it by
creating a mound or berm, or a raised planting bed using a retaining
curb such as logs, timbers or rocks. It is best if the base is a
material with good drainage like gravel. Then at least 6 of 8 inches of
good acidic, well-drained soil above that. If you use a lot of peatmoss
or compost remember, the peatmoss and compost will decompose over time
to 1Z2 the original depth, so make the bed proportionately deeper.


Some thought always needs to go into designing raised beds to keep the soil
from washing away in hard rains.