Re: Arisema sikokianum (and others) under maple trees?/SoilMixes?

Thank you, Pat.

I've been thinking about your 'affordable' soil mix that you can buy.
To me, 'affordable' and soil don't equate when you go to buy it.
Anything in bagged quantities ends up fairly expensive in the long
run and most of the 'soil' in bags is garbage.

I can't remember how much area you're trying to cover nor what kind
of time and energy you have to devote to your 'mix', but if you can
handle it, physically, I'd suggest checking with your locality for
composted leaves and hauling that in for starters....usually free for
the hauling, at least in my part of Maryland and think N. Va. also
has leaf pick up and composting.

Your SIG says you're in N. Va.  If so, go to Merrifields Garden
center on Gallows Road (or probably any of their other locations) and
get as many bags of pinebark fines as you can afford and mix that
with the composted leaf material.  To that, add some bags of
composted steer manure and, if your soil is typical VA clay, add a
couple bags of coarse builder's sand (not play sand ...you want
coarse - you could also use fine granite grit).  Mix it up as well as
you can.  Add your compost, too.  I've even used bagged fine chip
mulch as part of the mix.

This will work just fine.  It will be very light and will dry out
fairly quickly when the heat of summer hits, so you will need to
water the bed, but your plants will like it and so will the maple
roots.  By end of summer they will have started into it and will have
done a good job of infiltrating by next year...but by that time, what
you plant this spring should have been able to get established.

If you can disturb the native soil - fork it a bit - before you add
the mix, all the better as it will permit plants to move roots into
it more easily.

Now, OTOH, if you have a few hundred dollars to spend, you can look
in the yellow pages under 'topsoil' and call around to find a company
that will certify its mix and order in a truckload or two of any mix
you want.   You'll just have to spread it where you want it as they
only dump it in a nice big pile.

Marge Talt, zone 7 Maryland
mtalt@clark.net
Editor:  Gardening in Shade
-----------------------------------------------
Current Article: Online Nurseries 2001 - Completely Clematis
Specialty Nursery
http://www.suite101.com/welcome.cfm/shade_gardening
------------------------------------------------
Complete Index of Articles by Category and Date
http://mtalt.hort.net/article-index.html
------------------------------------------------
All Suite101.com garden topics :
http://www.suite101.com/topics.cfm/635


----------
> From: John R. & Patricia A. Ball <johnrball@EROLS.COM>
>
> Thanks to all who replied to my inquiries on planting under maples.
 I'm
> sorry to be so slow in saying thanks, but only just got around to
catching
> up on reading e-mails.  I will certainly take the advice of piling
up 6-8"
> of  a light soil mix and plant into that in the future.  The bed
starts
> quite far away from the trunk of the maple (maybe 10-15'), but I
find the
> fine feeder roots anywhere under the tree's canopy, which is quite
large.
> Whenever I dig, I cut and pull them out but of course they grow
back.
>
> I probably won't invest in the arisema right now, but will try one
if I am
> lucky enough to trade maybe some daylilies for it.  This is a
relatively new
> bed so I was aware of providing extra moisture to it during dry
spells.
> Unfortunately, one section of it where I chose to plant newly
acquired baby
> or miniature hosta is closest to the tree trunk.  I will be
planning to dig
> it all up, pot the plants and add 6-8" of soil mix on top as soon
as I can
> this spring.
>
> I do have a limited amount of compost to put there, but can anyone
recommend
> an affordable type of soil mix that I could purchase?
>
> Marge Talt, I skimmed a few of your articles and am keeping the
address so I
> can read them all at leisure.  They look very interesting.
>
> Thanks again everyone for being so helpful.
>
> Pat Ball
> Northern Virginia, Zone 6/7
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index