On Aug 14, 11:25*am, Jangchub wrote:
On Wed, 13 Aug 2008 17:48:03 -0700 (PDT), Ivan
wrote:





Hi all

I'm about to plant a cherry tree and apparently they hate heavy soil..
I will buy the tree this weekend as they're having a bare-root sale at
the nursery I'm going to.

I'm planting it in a raised bed, so I can make the soil be as good as
the tree needs it to be, but eventually the roots will need to go into
the soil beneath the bed.. And probably won't, if it's mostly clay..

What are some suggestions?

Can I dig a hole and fill it with compost and rotted manure and
potash, or is it too late?
By the time the roots get to it, it might have aided to condition the
soil around, right?

Please advise!

Okay, so you first say you are about to plant a cherry tree and they
hate heavy soil and you have heavy soil. *My advice is not to plant a
cherry tree because no matter what you do, it will fail in several
years and you'll be back to having a bare spot with no tree and have
wasted time trying to grow something in improper conditions.

You can amend the soil till the cows come *home. *If you dig a hole
and amend that soil, you will definitely be killing a tree slowly.
Once the roots hit that wall it will start to fail. *A raised bed is
not for trees, it's for perennials, vegetables and for those who
insist on growing acid loving shrubs in alkaline soil.

Cercis canadensis or C. Texinensis (if you are in zone 7 or higher)
will do much better. *Your cherry will not live long enough to provide
fruit and it may not even flower. *- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

So basically the soil will never be able to be improved?
Nothing breaks clay soil?

If I were to replace the soil with better-draining soil, how deep
would I have to go?

It's not a very big courtyard, so I'm thinking that perhaps the whole
idea of digging a hole and amending the soil is really not that bad. .
The tree will, eventually, hit a wall, whether it be concrete or clay
soil ..