Of all things, I have had 3 fig trees do well in heavy clay, plus they can take hot dryish summers. And if you like figs, a bonus!

My six acres of clay soil is a native forest of Douglas firs, Black Oaks, Madrone,Toyon,Buckeye,Big leaf Maple,Ceanothus and Black Walnut. I have a orchard of 20 fruit trees some up to 40 years old. I have never thought of clay as a detriment to growing trees. Al

If I understand you post right, you are indicating that its a clay soil, but not one that crumbles, as some clay soils do.

There is clay soil that is quite heavy referred to as "massive" texture. In other words, if a moist chunk was thrown against a wall, it would not break apart, but go "thunk" and drop to the ground.

Would that be an appropriate description?

Is it near where a creek may have deposited silt and clay in the past?

Hi mdvaden:

Right. It is very hard. Just digging a hole for a tree can take hours. The thing is it was brought into the far end of our property by one of the previous owners. My husband calls it "fill" and it is not like dirt and clay mixed together but just hard, rocky, red stuff. I hope that is not too simplistic but I don't know how else to describe it.

So to answer your other question no, we are not really near water. It was put in its current location simply to raise up that area of our lot. I have wished countless times that whoever felt that needed to be done had filled it with some kind dirt but this is not the case.

Thanks.

Kate

My parents live at Lake Almanor (in Plumas County) and we spend as much time at there as possible so I think I know the "soil" you are talking about. It has tons of red/brown volcanic rocks with fine red sand. Unlike clay, it seems to drain pretty well because of the rock/sand content.

I would think you could plant any tree that can handle the heat (and the deer, if that is a problem for you.) My recommendation would be to dig as big of a hole as you can and toss the rocks aside. Mix the remaining sandy soil with lot's of compost or some other medium to hold the water (I would say at least 50% compost) and use the mixture to plant the tree(s). Then, make sure you add at least two inches of mulch to help hold the water.

Again, this is assuming that you have the FAST DRAINING soil that I am familiar with. You can test the drainage by digging a small hole and filling it with water - if it's still full in 20 minutes you have clay soil and if it drains in five minutes you have fast draining soil (these numbers are just estimates but hopefully you get the idea). If you really do have clay soil, please disregard this post although you could still probably benefit from amending the soil with compost.

Good luck.