I have some heavy clay soil where I would like to plant perennials. How should I amend it?

Clay soil can be the downfall of even the most persistent gardener. Chipping away at the ground for a half an hour per plant is enough to convince even the most headstrong gardeners to lay a brick patio where they really wanted a beautiful bed of flowers! There are two approaches to this soil amendment chore. First, for the new garden bed: Rototill the area to a depth of 12 inches. Mix in an appropriate amount of sphagnum peat moss and top soil (the quantity depends on the size of the bed). Doing this will provide excellent drainage for your new perennials and it will make the appearance of the ground much more attractive. Best of all, you won’t need to use a jackhammer every time you want to plant a Shasta daisy!

Second, for the existing bed: Dig a hole as deep as the pot your plant is in and twice as wide. Break up the soil that has been removed from the hole so that it is as loose and crumbly as possible. Prepare a backfill mix of one part sphagnum peat moss to three parts of the existing soil. Thoroughly mix the peat and soil together and begin filling the hole around the root ball, packing lightly as you go. This method will increase your success rate when planting perennials, trees, or shrubs. Of course, you still need to initially chisel away to remove the clay soil for the planting hole, but once the soil is amended, your plant should thrive.

I have an eyesore that needs some help. There is a weedy, lumpy, ugly slope behind my property that is difficult to mow. I want to rototill it smooth and plant some kind of attractive groundcover. It should be able to take full sun, clay soil, a certain amount of foot-traffic, not be invasive, and not need any mowing. Can you help me find this miracle plant?

Fortunately, there are several plant choices for your situation that will stay under 2 feet tall and provide a good, ground-covering effect. The only criteria that will be difficult to satisfy is that of foot traffic, which can be solved by leaving a bit of extra space between plants along the primary paths. Once the area has been planted and covered with a 3 inch layer of shredded bark mulch, which holds the best on slopes, these foot paths will become nicely edged with the trailing tips of the plants. Even if an occasional foot lands on this growth, little, if any, damage will occur to the plant.

Here are lists of some plants that will work the best. For quicker coverage, plant on 4 foot centers, or you may choose slower, more economical coverage at 6 foot centers. In both cases, regular watering and proper fertilization will produce faster coverage. Evergreen: Siberian Cypress; Blue Chip Juniper; Blue Carpet Juniper; Calgary Carpet Juniper; Grey Owl Juniper; Sargent Green Juniper; Creeping Norway Spruce; Wardii Yew. Deciduous: Green Mound Currant; Gold Tide Forsythia; Longacre Potentilla; Magic Carpet Spirea; Gro-Low Sumac; Cutleaf Stephanandra.

I grew up in Brooklyn, NY where my parents had prolific white and black concord grape vines. Over the years, I have tried to propagate these grapes without success. I have taken the seed, cuttings, soil, etc. and yet all of my efforts have failed. It appears now that after more than 55 years, at the age of 89, my mother will finally have to sell the Brooklyn house. Before she does, I would dearly like to be able to grow these grapes here. Could you please tell me what I have done wrong in the past, what I need to do now, and where I can find more information on growing these grapes.  

Without knowing the propagation techniques used in the past, it is difficult to determine why the processes failed. Fortunately, grapes can be propagated from winter-dormant, hardwood cuttings as well as summer leafy cuttings kept under mist. These and other detailed propagation techniques can be learned from many garden and horticultural books, which are often found at garden centers, bookstores and libraries. Also keep in mind that Brooklyn has a much milder climate than we have here locally, so take great care in locating the plants in a well-protected area once you have been successful.