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Myth 2: Clay soil isn’t good.
Most of us in Wake County (with the exception of those of you in Fuquay who have more sand) have a lovely red clay subsoil. I talk to a lot of customers that can not stand to plant in the clay and actually believe that it is a bad soil. I can understand the attitude towards clay from a planting standpoint. It can be hard if dry, sticky if wet, stain your clothes and can be a beast to work with if you have a lot of rocks (using a pick instead of a shovel to dig holes makes it easier). These negative attributes do not mean that clay soil is “bad” by any means. Without getting too in depth about soils, clay has a high CEC (cation exchange capacity). What the heck does that mean? Each clay particle can hold onto a large amount of nutrients, much more than that of sand. Basically, a well amended clay soil is a good thing. You can tell a lot about clay by its color. It is pretty easy. Red clay is good. Watch out for grey and yellow though. Grey and yellow are good indicators of poor drainage.
Myth 3: A wall of one species plant as a privacy border is a good thing.
Actually, a wall of one plant, either for privacy or any other use, is a bad idea. This is called a monoculture. Think about a row of Leyland cypress (the tall evergreen commonly used for screening). There is no genetic diversity there at all. All it takes is an outbreak of a fungus, bacteria, or an insect infestation to seriously damage or kill an entire planting. It becomes even worse when the target plant is as popular or over planted like Leyland cypress. Landscapers and gardeners are learning about the issue with Leylands and are steering towards ‘Green Giant’ arborvitae as an alternative. In the short term, this is a good move, but long term the same thing will happen again if plants are used in mass. It is not necessarily an issue with the plant, but an issue with the mindset of using one species. The better way to approach a screening border or hedge is by mixing groupings of different species. Not only is it better for the long term health of the plant, but it is more attractive and biologically diverse.
Myth 4: We can feed plants
This one is pretty simple and a bit of a pet peeve of mine. We can not really feed plants. They produce their own food through photosynthesis. What we can do is supplement their nutrition through fertilizers. Those supplemental nutrients and micronutrients can be important to plants in poor soils and very beneficial to heavy bloomers.
Part two of this article will be out in a future addition of our e-newsletter and will have some interesting (maybe controversial) topics. I have briefly touched on these few today. There is much more that can be discussed about each myth. Keep an eye out for part two!
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