Any experienced gardeners out there???

[rachel6415]

Hello,

We have an area in the garden that whenever we plant a plant, it never flourishes. The main problem seems to be a huge ant problem that we have tried to deal with, plus the soil is predominantly clay. We have managed to grow many plants in other areas of the clay garden, it's this one area where the ants are a problem...

Can anyone recommend a hardy plant that would be situated in a sunny area of the garden but that can cope with ants?

Thank you guys

🙂

[**towery**]

i cant think of anything to grow that will not be affected by the ants

what have you tried to get rid of them?

[jillyjingle]

Don't know about ants - but we are on clay and my buddleia grow very well and attract bees & butterfies. Also I've had great sucess with plum trees as have my neighbours.

[ilovesnow987]

HI OP, try poppies,they will grow anywhere, and if you look for poppy seeds there are some lovely ones.

I had a ants nest, i put talcum powder down, they all moved home to some where else.

hope this helps.

[ilove2patch]

I use boiling water.

[wizilizi]

I'd move somewhere else if you filled my home with talcum powder

Plaster dust is bad enough :_|

[wizilizi]

Boiling water does for ants - my Dad used to douse them

I feel that that is terribly cruel though

My Dad also also fed squirrels peanut butter laced with Warfarin

I don't like the nuisance/damage ants or squirrels cause, but those actions seem tyranical 😞

[start-the-fire]

can you do containers and put a barrier around the container such as a non setting glue etc.

The soil can always be improved-

http://apps.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/profile.aspx?pid=305

Make sure it is the ants causing the problem, or are they just part of the problem-

http://www.ehow.com/how_5672630_keep-ants-off-garden-plants.html

[chickengrandma-2008]

I had a ants nest, i put talcum powder down, they all moved home to some where else.

hope this helps.

Of course they moved.  They went to OP's house.B-)

[cookiecookuk]

that was funny cg.mine must have gone to op house as well as i use boiling water as well:-)

[rachel6415]

Thanks for all your replies....it's a wall in my garden and the ants seem to have loads of nests there just behind the wall. We have tried boiling water (lots of it) and ant powder. It seems to deal with the problem in the short term but there seems to be so many of them that they come back with a vengeance.

[bidder.17]

I imagine you have concluded it's the ants that are the cause because plants grow in other areas with the same soil, but no ants.

Generally ants that tunnel and build nests, like soil which is more crumbly to the touch and doesn't require much in the way of pick and shovel techniques. Real poor clay soil is tougher to dig.

The main problem is not that they attack the plants directly, it's that their tunnelling may create air pockets around the plant roots, thus depriving the plant of food and water as it no longer has it's roots in contact with the earth.

Oddly enough heavy clay soil can achieve much the same. In very dry warm conditions it can fracture and move, and bake hard making it difficult for the plant to  take up  food and water. In very wet conditions, it can retain water to the point where roots simply rot

The point of this is that both can be damaging though unless you have many colonies, I would say mostly ants aren't such a widespread problem in general. It may be they or the specific soil type, ( it can be different even within a few feet ) is the cause of your problem

If you dig up a dead plant and around the base are many ants then quite possibly they are the prime cause in that instance, other than that its not easy to say.

Improving your soil, by adding organic matter, will improve the condition and attract worms who will add to the soil texture which will help growing conditions.

Meanwhile try to obtain a few free plants from friends who are happy to generally donate surplus stock and try to see what grows.Buying from a garden shop might be costly if you keep losing them. That way you can experiment at little cost. Most plants wont survive if their roots are made ineffective.

Turfing it over would make it more difficult for your invaders, but im surprised if it's heavy clay they are there at all without a pick and shovel. Digging up the nest will also remove them, but they may just head a few yards away.

Generally they don't dig too deep, so larger shrubs, and small trees whose root tips go deeper than they dig might be an option.

good luck

[rachel6415]

Thank you very much bidder.17 - That was very in depth & thorough. I will read it to my husband tonight and will take it from there.

I think I shall be in the garden today at least trying to turn the soil over..

🙂

[hightara]

sorry to hijack your thread rachel

i only have a long piece of soil.....bordered with flagging......but its always in the shade

used to have a lovely hedge.........but elderly next door neighbour wanted to put a wall up.

is there anything that can grow in about 6 inches of soil....... i have a trellis put up the wall

😐

[bidder.17]

Im assuming the measure is width tara

If so,as mentioned before the soil space you have to dig and plant in is not a lot. As mentioned getting spade or trowel in to any depth given narrow confines can be a bit limiting. I f it's a brick wall there will also be footings a bit further down.

The other point apart from shade is that walls usually soak up moisture, so tend to be dry next to brickwork, just check the side of the house. The residues from any recent building may  mean your soil is a bit alkaline, so worth bearing in mind if you spot an azalea ,  which normally likes the opposite conditions

All that said, you might like to break up the pattern of the wall with a few climbers
Those mentioned previously included honeysuckle, and various clematis.

There are a variety, some prefer their heads in the sun to flower well
There is also a climbing hydrangea which does ok in shade but may be too big for the space unless you are willing to train it into submission.

Several roses would also do, as well as chaenomeles though the latter flowers best in some sun.

As for plants, you could go for foliage and make it a slug diner and chose hostas there are many different sorts.


Plants like Bergenia , alchemilla mollis which is easy to split and im sure many would give freely, digitalis if you want a bit of height, mahonia.

bulbs, daffs, crocus, cyclamen.

As much as can be done to help improve the soil and any building effect will help.

RHS do different sections for shade loving plants, or woodland plants which may be similar conditions, which you can look at as do many others just to help you visualise.

[hightara]

oh wow bidder.........thank you so much

no the depth is about 6 inches....concrete underneath...... width is not much more

but i can grow weeds for ireland in it.....just out yesterday pulling them up

[bidder.17]

I had a lingering feeling you might say that ......

Well, certainly bit more challenging. For climbers and larger plants, it would have to be containers if there is no way to get beyond the concrete. Some smaller plants listed above like cyclamen, and alchemilla mollis, and quite a number I didn't get to mention would probably still manage. That said for any height you would need some containers.You can still look in said guides, but look for smaller lower growing plants whose roots wont run too deep

Anything you can aquire from friends relatives etc would give you an inexpensive start, and you could offer the weeds in exchange.

[10phizz]

Those flowering nettles do well in poor soil. There are pink ones with varigated leaves.

Campanula would thrive

.Any sedums, stonecrop,sempervivum

If you buy flowers in the same growing family as the weeds you can`t go wrong !

We are on heavy clay but have turned it into fairly decent soil with the addition of 3 tons of sand (kids large sandpit ) and several tons of manure...........mind you, it HAS taken over 40 years !!

I leave my ants...all creatures have a purpose in life.

They did destroy most of a new alpine last year but I will buy another.

Their natural place is outside and in 45 years I have never had one in the house but we do have to use the back door only for 2 days a year when the queens fly. !!

[captainbovine]

oh campanula will thrive alrightX-( it's taken over the top half of our garden, we didn't plant it, but I've had to weedkiller over 2/3rds of it, it it s a beautiful plant though.

if your soil is only 6" deep then it has to be annuals I think, but at least you can plan how you want it to look each year, and you can have a different theme each year.:-)

[10phizz]

Capt`n , you should have potted some up and sold it to the regulars !!!

Way back in the day when I was free to do a table top sale or car boot I always covered my rent with the volunteers I found in the pavings  and grew on  or stuff I weeded out !

There was often a story sprang from it.........one lady asked how much the violets were and bought 3  and then told me she wanted them for her grandsons grave. Needless to say , there were none left for anyone else !

Another time  a lovely Jamaican girl asked the price, bought a few and then said they were for an inner city school project.......we loaded them all into her car along with the refund !

Many still comment on the snowdrops which flourish year after year, Anyone want a few ? Now there`s an MDCC listing ! Please let me know and I will do  a late listing !