Landscape Solutions: Growing on north side of house is a problem

Most of us have areas of our yards that are more of a challenge than others. When I asked people to send in their landscape problems, several of them spoke of areas where nothing would grow. Such is the case for the Kirkharts of Andover. In this installment of Landscape Solutions, landscape architect Kurt Huiras of GLMV Architecture addresses their case of the dreaded clay soil on the north side of the house.

No matter what your trouble spot, Kurts guidelines likely will help you with plant choice, soil and irrigation.

On the north side of our house, we cant get anything to grow. My husband says it is clay dirt. We are in our 70s and cant do too much and dont have a lot of money. Thank you.

Lavon Kirkhart, Andover

The north side of a building can indeed be a difficult place to grow plants. Soil type, shade, bed size and irrigation can be factors that influence your choice of plant material.

Clay soil poses several problems for plants. It compacts easily, holds water, traps nutrients such as iron, and is typically alkaline. The best way to amend clay soil is to add organic material such as compost. Till the top 8 to 10 inches of soil, then cover the area with about 2 inches of compost and work it into the soil until it is thoroughly mixed.

This is a temporary solution, because soil tends to revert back to its original condition. So, soil amendments can be effective if you are planting annuals, where you can till the soil annually, but they are less effective for permanent plantings such as trees, shrubs and perennials. Its best to choose plants that are adapted to clay soil.

But that may not completely solve the problem. Your soil also may be depleted of nutrients. A soil test will help you determine the best fertilizers or amendments for your planting beds. You can contact your local Kansas State Extension Service to get a fairly inexpensive soil test that will give you recommendations.

A planting bed on the north side requires you to find plant material that will handle full shade. Your house also can act as a screen to limit the effect of the weather in both positive and negative ways. For instance, the building eaves can keep rain from reaching the plants, so irrigation may be necessary. But the building also can be a positive factor by protecting plants from hot summer winds.

Bed size is another often overlooked consideration when choosing plant material. A narrow bed such as yours will require compact plant material. You need to choose plants based on their mature spread in order to limit the maintenance and to take full advantage of their aesthetic qualities.

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Landscape Solutions: Growing on north side of house is a problem