Planting apple and cherry trees

 
I have a few apple and ornamental cherry trees to plant, the soil I have
is crumbly clay when broken up, well drained on a slight slope. When
planting should I dig a 4 foot square hole and replace all this soil
with good top soil, or should I leave the original clay soil and just
dig it over?

Thanks




--
Julian200

 
Julian200;913258 Wrote:

Hmm ... clay isn't usually crumbly (or able to be crumbled). What sort
of colour is your soil? Remember loam is (roughly) clay + humus - is it
possible your soil is better than you think?


Replacing soil with better soil can't do harm, but isn't always
necessary. Mixing in some good soil or compost at planting is good
enough. And a 4ft sq hole is quite large - you'd be better to dig a bit
small and use your effort to go deeper. You need to bear in mind that
the roots won't spread that fast, and replacing too big an area will
benefit the plants around long before the apple tree gets there.


But the trouble with digging a deep hole in clay is that you run the
risk of creating a reservoir - very wet good soil, and no way that the
water can drain through the sounding clay. I know you say it's well
drained, and on a slope, but if you dig into that slope and into
underlying clay (if you have underlying clay), will it still be well
drained?


No answers, I'm afraid, just some things to think about!




--
kay

 On 02/20/2011 06:07 PM, kay wrote:

Hi Kay,

Hm, I have to respectfully disagree with the first part: replacement
soil can do harm, and you've put your finger on it in the second
paragraph above.  I believe current thinking is that filling a planting
hole with topsoil creates a barrier to water flow, even when you don't
make a "clay bowl" to drown in.

All this said our soil here in Normandie can be pretty awful in places,
and if I don't amend some of the more difficult plants don't stand a
chance... but it does have to be handled carefully.

For apples and cherries, I'd stick with the clay soil (apples seem to
like it well enough, anyway).  I think you're right, best is to have a
small hole in clay, just the size of the roots.

cheers,

-E

 @gardenbanter.co.uk says...

  Clay is very fertile soil, and if it's well drained on a slope I'd
treat it as an asset rather than replacing it.

 When planting trees, it's a big mistake to offer them an easy "instant
dinner" inside the planting hole. That encourages the roots to stay
there. Then in a summer drought, they are vulnerable to dry soil under
the leaf canopy, and in high winds, the tree hardly has an anchor.  What
you actually want the roots to do, is spread far and wide beyond their
own tree's canopy, seeking water and soil nutrition while firmly  
anchoring the trunk. That's more likely to happen if the soil in the
planting hole, pretty much matches the soil around and beyond it.

    Janet

 

I would mix your clay soil with compost and re-use it, adding blood fish
and bone.
A 4' square hole is on the large side I think. Over the last 3 years I have
planted fruit trees with the hole just big enough for the roots and they
are doing very well.

Good luck with your project
Baz