I ordered a number of new plants this spring and they have all arrived but will have to wait several days as the weather man has predicted rain for the next 7+ days. With the clay soil I have that means I won't be able to get them planted until it dries up. They are all sitting under my patio roof for now. Some of them are pretty crowded in their pots so I'm wondering if I should transplant them into bigger ones?
I'm sure they will be okay if they only have to wait a week, but if they are going to have to remain potted for much longer, it might be worth potting them on.
EJ may well be right about this. Clay soil is such a challenge to work with. I hope that you will be able to add some structure to your beds at some point so that gardening will not be hampered by structural issues.
Sjoerd, I have spent the last 4 years dumping compost and manure in the gardens and the top 5 to seven inches (12.7 cm to 17.78cm) are pretty good but anything deeper is sticky clay. I've got lots of worms though so hopefully they are helping to spread it deeper.
Shucks 2OF--that sounds pretty darn good then. I hope that they are spreading it all a bit deeper too. If you have lots of worms, then it is going quite well then, isn't it. Sticky clay is what is beneath my soil too, if you dig down a bit. It is nasty stuff to deal with. BTW--what are some of the plants that you ordered?
I went a little overboard but I do have a few empty spots. I ordered: 2 Astrantia, 2 Campanula 'Summertime Blues, Astilbe 'Fanal', Aquilegia Candadensis, Spigelia Marilandica, and Salvia 'Purple Knockout', and Sedum 'Vera Jamison', and Ajuga 'Burgundy Glow'. I'm trying to get a few more blooming plants in my shade garden. Some new ones have been recommended by Stewbies and some are old friends that I have had to leave behind elsewhere.
That is a great shopping list, 2OF. I know and have had a number of those. Because I am such a big Astrantia fan, I am further curious to know which two you have. They are such special flowers. The name that we have for them is the name of a special type of jewellery that is made in Zeeland and had been brought over when the Spanish ruled our land. check out this web page: https://www.google.nl/search?q=zeeu...TzhPDMAhVEAsAKHfRgChIQsAQIPA&biw=1051&bih=705
I have worked with enough clay soil to fill twelve attics. When I plant Spring bulbs in the Fall, sometimes the clay soil is still partially wet. If we wait for it to dry out completely, it just may get even wetter with further rain.