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What is causing the leaves of some of my plants to turn rust-colored??
Several years ago, I moved into an old house, built during WWII, in what had been a working-class neighborhood. There was neither a front nor back garden. As I began landscaping, I realized how good the front yard was. I also realized there was a problem with the back.
One section of the back yard is particularly problematic. While certain native species of plants, and other hardy vegetation like ornamental grasses, will grow fine, other plants -- including columbine, dogwood -- will not tolerate the soil conditions. Shortly after planting, their leaves begin to go rust-colored, and then the plant slowly goes "rusty" and dies.
What is wrong with my soil? It is not well drained, and was originally all clay. I keep amending the soil, and it has had some effect (at one point I could not grow feverfew in that patch, and now can). Any ideas? Advice?
1 Answer
- sciencegravyLv 77 years agoFavorite Answer
What's wrong with your soil is that it's clay and doesn't drain well.
Dogwood trees are notorious for not doing well in clay soils. If you want to try again with the dogwood, try a part of the yard that gets shade in the afternoon - same for the columbine.
Building raised beds may help too. Remember, that with clay soils, even if you remove soil and replace with good soil, you will have what is essentially a clay bowl in the ground, filled with good soil. Meaning you'll still have the drainage problem, and water will collect at the bottom of the planting hole - even if you can't see it.