Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
cindyrn1

Boiling hot spot with clay soil. Can anyone help?

cindyrn
14 years ago

I have a bare spot between the house and the driveway that looks pretty bad. The soil is pretty much dry clay-hard as a rock and the area is full sun-hot as an oven for about 10 hours a day.

Any suggestions of what would actually survive here? I would like something that is evergreen, blooms almost constantly, and requires very little care. HAHAHAHA!

Okay, seriously I would be happy with anything that would be able to survive and look decent.

Maybe some kind of evergreen something next to the house and some kind of flowers in front of that?

Comments (5)

  • Iris GW
    14 years ago

    For evergreen, consider a japanese holly (Ilex crenata) - there are many forms including dwarf ones. Basically it looks like a boxwood. No blooms to speak of though. Dwarf forms of Abelia ('Rose Creek') might do OK there too and would give you more blooms.

    I would dig up the whole area and add some amendments to the soil(composted pine bark, sold as "soil conditioner" is good). Do keep most of the original soil, you're not trying to replace it, plus clay holds moisture very well.

    After you plant your new plants (and consider doing this in the fall to spare yourself and your new plants), cover the area with a generous layer of mulch to help keep the soil cooler and retain moisture. A critical step in the South that many people overlook.

    For flowers, consider daylilies, especially the reblooming ones like Stella D'Oro and others. Tough as nails.

  • Donna
    14 years ago

    esh gives excellent advice on soil prep. Successful gardening is not so much about the plants. It is all about the soil! And I say a hearty AMEN to her observations on mulch.

    It is, of course, entirely too hot to do major soil prep right now. It is also not the ideal time of year to plant shrubs. Why don't you do some reading on lasagna gardening and plan to get started on that this fall? (There's a forum here.) Then, next spring when the garden centers are full of shrubs of all kinds, you'll be ready to plant.

    As far as plants, here are some suggestions (in amended soil): Encore Azaleas which blooms twice a year, Indian Hawthorne blooms in the spring, Loropetalum blooms spring and fall and has purple foliage, Camellia sasanquas bloom in the fall, Foster Hollies have loads of red berries in the winter, so do Burfordii and Dwarf Burfordii. All of these are evergreen and will thrive in full hot sun, if they have good soil and adequate moisture. Depending on how long your area is, you could do a mass of several types of shrubs that all bloom at different times of the year. Then you would have something to look at nearly all the time.

  • louisianagal
    14 years ago

    In my hot clay soil in full sun I grow nandina (domestica and dwarf) and I love the one Firepower which is very colorful. I have a plant called Mophead which is yellowgreen and kinda juniper like. Not sure what it is and don't have the tag handy. The aforementioned are evergreen. I love cleyera it thrives in full sun. Also successful are black eyed susan and coneflower, lantana, knockout roses, a little dwarf conifer (don't have the names, sorry, looks like a Christmas tree and grows very slowly but looks great and I'm neglecting it. I don't water any of these much. I do mulch.) Daylillies. Veronica. Dianthus. Iris. Good luck.
    I agree with lasagna gardening. Very helpful in clay. Also if you dig in clay wait til a day or two after a good rain or a good soaking with the hose, the ground will be like moist chocolate cake, and not gooey like you're making pottery.

  • Donna
    14 years ago

    Lgal, I believe your mophead might be a chaemycyparis? It would be a bright golden yellow color right? I love chaemycyparis, but have not tried that one. How long have you had it?

  • louisianagal
    14 years ago

    I think that could be it. It has some green but the yellow is prominent. The one I have is supposed to grow to like 4x4 ft. I've only had it less than a year. But it looks very good and I only water when it's really dry and no rain expected. It's in full sun, southern exposure.

Sponsored
Ed Ball Landscape Architecture
Average rating: 4.8 out of 5 stars30 Reviews
Exquisite Landscape Architecture & Design - “Best of Houzz" Winner