Planting shrubs

[jayzee]

I recently bought a 5-gal (or maybe 7-gal) shrub to plant in my back yard. Following instructions I have seen in HG books for planting trees, my husband dug a hole, filled it with water, and then waited to make sure it would drain. To our surprise, it didn't completely drain. Drat.

I know that we need to either fix the drainage problem at that place or find a different one. Frankly, adding a drain to that site really isn't an option for us, but I'm concerned about whether anyplace in our yard will be any better.

Does the fairly large amount of rain we've had recently change anything? I'm assuming that if the hole can't drain even when the soil is fairly wet, it's not a good idea to plant the shrub there (if we want it to live, of course).

If we want to choose a different site in the yard, are there any guidelines for doing so? Supposedly, the house was built so that all water would drain off in 24 hours, but I'm sure they only meant that for surface water, and it has been true for surface water even with heavy rains. Still, I had no idea what to expect with water below the surface.

Our soil is very heavy, black clay that seems to be topped with nothing but construction trash and some pretty horrible sod. Project after project...

Thanks...
Jen

[Tony M]

jayzee-
There are different solutions to this situation. First I would dig another small but as deep test hole in another part of your yard where this shrub might be planted. Do the same test. If it drains you have your solution. If it doesn't there is a good chance your yard might not drain well anywhere or you have a "bottom" that needs to be breached. In the original hole, take something that will poke holes in the earth about 10 inches. A big piece of steel re-bar will work or a garden fork. Poke some holes to see if this breaks the bottom and improves the drainage. If this does not work I would suggest planting the shrub high with tapered sides or in an earth berm with some other plants.
Tony M