New Garden + A Question or Two

[AdaliaStark]

Hi!

Me and my mom are trying to get back into gardening. We are looking to grow mainly plants that attract hummingbirds, butterflys and other pollinators and maybe some fruits and vegetables. We ordered 1 Tango Hummingbird Mint, 1 Bicolor Butterfly Bush, 1 Northsky Dwarf Blueberry, 1 Chocolate Cherry Tomato and 1 Pixie Crunch Apple Tree(Reachable variety from Gurney's).

We have a dilemma/problem though, our ground is clay and our backyard becomes half a lake when it rains really heavily. A tree trimmer, who is coming in a few weeks and was out yesterday for a quote, recommended we plant some Hybrid Willows to deal with all the excess standing water but we can't find anything on how deep and how far out the roots will go in the ground.

As we don't want the roots to interfere with the apple tree or wisteria nor do we want the roots to go into the sewer system. All the plants we ordered, minus the tomato plant, will go in the front yard due to all the sun it gets as our backyard is really shady; though we were able to grow a tomato plant in the backyard last yr so maybe the shade isn't as much of an issue

 

[N F C]

From the quick look up I did of hybrid willows, they are very fast growing and should do alright in your clay soil. The info I found on the roots was in regards to septic systems and read it is recommended to plant the willows no closer than 100' away to prevent roots from interfering.

Hope that helps!

 

[AdaliaStark]

From the quick look up I did of hybrid willows, they are very fast growing and should do alright in your clay soil. The info I found on the roots was in regards to septic systems and read it is recommended to plant the willows no closer than 100' away to prevent roots from interfering.

Hope that helps!

Well our sewer pipe is no more than 10 feet from the surface and the hybrid willow would, I think, be placed mere feet from it. It does help though, thank you!

 

[AdaliaStark]

So we got our apple tree, Pixie Crunch, and then found out we need another tree to pollinate it in order to get fruit. We are looking at the Gala, which will polinate the Pixie Crunch but we aren't sure if the Pixie Crunch will pollinate the Gala tree. I've seen some webstites that say it will but I'm not sure.

 

[DobieLover]

You need to keep all trees away from your septic system, both tank and leach field.
Small shrubs, perennials and veggie gardens are fine.

Your arborist recommending the hybrid willow for dealing with excess water is just not going to work. It WILL grow well in your heavy clay soil. That is what I have. Holly and winter berry also grow well in saturated soil. The only thing that will drain the area is a drainage trench.

If you are looking for something nice to plant in a semi-shaded, poorly draining area for wildlife habitat, I would plant a dappled willow or a grouping of them. It is a large shrub and grows fast but can be easily pruned to keep it in check.

What I do here is dig a much larger hole than the root ball then fill it to the top with leaf compost I get for free at the Town highway department, then mix in some of the soil I took out, plant the root ball with about 1/3 of it above ground level then finish planting with a 50/50 mix of the leaf compost/soil until the root ball is properly covered. It will help keep the roots from getting waterlogged.

Good luck with your planting! I can't wait to get going on some more arrangements.

 

[AdaliaStark]

You need to keep all trees away from your septic system, both tank and leach field.
Small shrubs, perennials and veggie gardens are fine.

Your arborist recommending the hybrid willow for dealing with excess water is just not going to work. It WILL grow well in your heavy clay soil. That is what I have. Holly and winter berry also grow well in saturated soil. The only thing that will drain the area is a drainage trench.

If you are looking for something nice to plant in a semi-shaded, poorly draining area for wildlife habitat, I would plant a dappled willow or a grouping of them. It is a large shrub and grows fast but can be easily pruned to keep it in check.

What I do here is dig a much larger hole than the root ball then fill it to the top with leaf compost I get for free at the Town highway department, then mix in some of the soil I took out, plant the root ball with about 1/3 of it above ground level then finish planting with a 50/50 mix of the leaf compost/soil until the root ball is properly covered. It will help keep the roots from getting waterlogged.

Good luck with your planting! I can't wait to get going on some more arrangements.

Hi! Thank you for the reply. Our house has no septic system, it has a sewer line going from our house out to the street behind our neighbors house.

I will look into this dapple willow tree but do you know how far down and out will the roots go? As our sewer system pipe is only about 10 feet from the surface.

I'm hoping that the Gala tree me and my mom are eyeing will actually pollinate our Pixie Crunch tree.

 

[DobieLover]

Hi! Thank you for the reply. Our house has no septic system, it has a sewer line going from our house out to the street behind our neighbors house.

I will look into this dapple willow tree but do you know how far down and out will the roots go? As our sewer system pipe is only about 10 feet from the surface.

I'm hoping that the Gala tree me and my mom are eyeing will actually pollinate our Pixie Crunch tree.

Okay. You will still want to keep trees away from that line.

As a former house flipper, I can tell you that I had sewer line problems from three of the five houses I did because someone planted a tree near the line. The roots will break open the line and clog them up so that the sewage backs up in your house and let me tell you, that is no fun to deal with.

ETA: The variety of dappled willow that I am referring to is a large shrub, not a tree. You can google them. They are quite lovely.

 

[AdaliaStark]

Okay. You will still want to keep trees away from that line.

As a former house flipper, I can tell you that I had sewer line problems from three of the five houses I did because someone planted a tree near the line. The roots will break open the line and clog them up so that the sewage backs up in your house and let me tell you, that is no fun to deal with.

Okay! Will pass that along to my dad, thank you so much!

 

[Acre4Me]

for the butterflies, we had many attracted to our Dill plant (swallowtail, maybe?). Then a friend was getting monarch (?) eggs and caterpillars from a neighbor's milkweed plant to raise inside for her kid's experience. So, these might work for you if interested.

 

[AdaliaStark]

for the butterflies, we had many attracted to our Dill plant (swallowtail, maybe?). Then a friend was getting monarch (?) eggs and caterpillars from a neighbor's milkweed plant to raise inside for her kid's experience. So, these might work for you if interested.

Sure I will look at those!! Thank you!