CG has realized that most of his forsythia are having problems with clay-heavy soil.
A few weeks ago, he experimented with 3 different ways to win the war against bad dirt.
1. Forsythia A:
completely dug-up, rinsed all clay/dirt from root system
used 5ft of 6" edging material to form above-ground circular planter
filled planter with premium home-made dirt
re-planted forsythia and re-mulched (edging is hidden by mulch)
2. Forsythia B:
completely dug-up, rinsed all clay/dirt from root system
removed 4ft diameter circle of clay/dirt (4" deep)
back-filled with 5" of premium home-made dirt
re-planted forsythia and re-mulched
3. Forsythia C:
completely dug-up, rinsed all clay/dirt from root system
back-filled hole with top soil
packed 3" of premium home-made dirt on top of back-filled hole
re-planted forsythia and re-mulched
Each forsythia was marked with its corresponding letter. Hopefully by the end of March, the best approach towards winning the war against bad dirt can be identified and implemented before the Summer's scorching heat begins.
