Ok, so I'm after some advice please....
I have 4 (actually 3 now as one died) citrus plants that are currently planted with the intention of espaliering them. There's a lime, orange and lemon. The mandarin died.
They have been in the ground for around a year now I guess, and all were very healthy looking plants from a reputable seller.
The problem is that the soil is very clay where they are and they are either not growing at all or only very slowly. As I said one died, two look a little sick and one looks ok but not much growth. At the time of planting I knew it was very clay so I did put a fair bit of organic compost in the hole and fill-in dirt along with lime and fertiliser. Since planting I have put more compost on top several times, along with regular fertiliser and thick mulch. I fear they get water logged due to the bad drainage.
My question is, what should I do?
I have a couple of ideas myself but open to more...
Happy for ideas/advice.
Thanks
I have 4 (actually 3 now as one died) citrus plants that are currently planted with the intention of espaliering them. There's a lime, orange and lemon. The mandarin died.
They have been in the ground for around a year now I guess, and all were very healthy looking plants from a reputable seller.
The problem is that the soil is very clay where they are and they are either not growing at all or only very slowly. As I said one died, two look a little sick and one looks ok but not much growth. At the time of planting I knew it was very clay so I did put a fair bit of organic compost in the hole and fill-in dirt along with lime and fertiliser. Since planting I have put more compost on top several times, along with regular fertiliser and thick mulch. I fear they get water logged due to the bad drainage.
My question is, what should I do?
I have a couple of ideas myself but open to more...
- Stick with them and hope they come good. Maybe tweak the compost/fertiliser etc I'm putting on them.
- Carefully dig them out (which I dont think would be too hard), dig out a fair amount of clay and replace with a LOT of organic compost and free draining soil. Replant the same plants.
- Remove current plants, do the same with the soil in point 2 above, but buy new plants to go back into the hole.
- Scrap the whole idea and lay concrete over the whole thing!
Happy for ideas/advice.
Thanks