But I'm afraid it's not all good news: in some of the thicket areas we are losing plants due to a combination of overwatering and poor drainage. The subsoil here is a combination of fine clay and stone. This makes a kind of natural concrete which offers very little natural drainage and penetration.
It is sobering to see some of the hardiest coastal thicket plants dying - including species such as wild camphor, bietou, wild olive and Rhus. They don't like wet feet. On the other hand Myrica cordata (waxberry - below in the foreground) doesn't bat an eye. Perfectly happy! Milkwoods seem to cope better too. It is interesting that for one species - Tarconanthus camphoratus (wild camphor) - the smaller 10kg plants are fine, whereas several large 100kg plants have died. Once again it makes a case for planting small plants when establishing a garden. It is almost always better in the long run.
The good news is that the animals are settling in well. The beaded animals have acquired a rusty hue - maybe due to oxidation of the copper wire.
Who do the smaller plants do better?
ReplyDeleteUm...I meant WHY? :-)
ReplyDeleteMarie - sorry, a very late response to your question!
ReplyDeleteI think it's because the rootball of the smaller plants are sitting on top of the hard clay 'pan'. We added 300mm of well-drained sandy topsoil, so they are growing in this layer. The large plants required bigger deeper holes (say 500mm), which act like mini sumps and are always water-logged.
Vail to aspen - Thank you.
I really enjoyed reading your posts and the pictures are awesome as well.
ReplyDeleteLove the beaded dragonflies!
ReplyDelete