Planting according to soil type

You're dreaming of peonies, camellias and japanese Maple, but despite your best efforts, it's a failure. None of them survive more than a few weeks. A real curse. What if it's not your fault, but the soil's? I'm not talking about the remains of an Indian burial ground haunting your garden and home, but about the type of soil. Depending on the composition and texture of the soil, certain plants are to be preferred and others forgotten.

Soil is the result of the long and complex evolution of the earth's crust over thousands of years. The parent rock degrades over time and is enriched by the action of living organisms (plants and animals). In your garden, soil supports your crops. It provides them with the water and nutrients they need.

Soil is made up of five elements: clay, limestone, sand, silt and humus. Their proportions vary according to region, climate, age of the soil... Depending on the predominance of a particular material, soil is identified as clayey, calcareous, sandy or humus-bearing.

Soil composition influences its pH (hydrogen potential). If you've been skipping physics classes, it's time for a refresher. PH measures acidity. It is expressed by a number, between 1 and 14:

7 equals neutral pH;

Between 1 and 7, the pH is acidic;

Between 7 and 14, the pH is basic or alkaline.

Plants like a neutral pH, between 6.5 and 7.5. Some, such as azaleas, camellias and rhododendrons, are acidophiles and thrive in acid soil. Limestone soils often have a basic pH, while humus-rich or sandy soils are generally acidic.

In the wild, the various plants grow naturally in the soils that are right for them. This is logical, since plants cannot grow in the wrong soil. To avoid seeing your shrubs, trees, flowers and vegetables wither, you need to select the varieties you grow according to the soil you have to offer them.

There's no need to enlist the services of a geologist to conduct a soil survey and find out the nature of your soil. By observing the soil and spontaneous vegetation, you can determine your soil type.

Is your garden overrun with daisies, buttercups and bindweed? Is it cracking on the surface? Then it's probably clay. To find out for sure, take a handful of soil from deep down and mix it. If it feels like the modeling clay of your childhood, you're looking at clay soil. The more you can shape the soil, the more clay it contains.

Rich in nutrients, clay soils retain water and always remain moist deep down. This property, appreciable in times of drought, proves problematic for roots in times of repeated heavy rainfall. And bad news for lazy gardeners: these types of soil are difficult to work.

With a little effort, clay soil is suitable for all plants except root vegetables. Tomatoes, beans, peas, cabbages, artichokes and eggplants all thrive here. Roses, peonies, marigolds, hellebores and forget-me-nots will flourish here, as long as organic matter is added. Poplars, birches, pear trees, plum trees and small fruit trees are also welcome.

Experts identify sandy soil by its brownish hue, and the sagebrush, mallow or quackgrass that invade it. Common gardeners, on the other hand, identify it by its texture: crumbly and inconsistent, sandy soil is very light.

Sandy soil is easy to work. However, since it doesn't bind water or nutrients, you'll need to pay extra attention to watering and fertilization. Permeable to water and air, it warms up with the slightest ray of sunlight and won't freeze. This characteristic offers protection to less hardy plants and early flowering.

In the vegetable garden, this soil is ideal for root vegetables such as carrots, beets, turnips and potatoes. But you can also plant fennel, lettuce, strawberries, parsley or tarragon. For flowers, opt for Mediterranean species and drought-resistant varieties such as agapanthus, sedum, lavender and rosemary. And climate permitting, why not try cacti and succulents? As for trees, ash, mimosa, poplars and acacias are recommended.

Among soil types, limestone is not the most common, but it is the most easily recognized. Fine-textured and whitish in color, it contains pebbles and bits of chalk. Poppies, white clover and cornflowers grow spontaneously here.

Chalky soil is permeable to water and prone to frost. It retains minerals rather poorly, and its composition leads to chlorosis in the plants that make it their home. But calcareous soil can be improved. With a little organic matter and fertilizer, you can grow almost anything.

Start by planting an herb patch with savory, thyme and rosemary. You can also create a vegetable garden with carrots, beet, salsify, cabbage, onions, eggplants, radishes and tomatoes. For flowers, perennials such as primroses, columbines, clematis, anemones, carnations and even peonies will stand up to this soil. Finally, to provide shade, lilac, Judas tree, hornbeam, lime and chestnut will grow there without difficulty.

If your garden, even when fallow, looks like an undergrowth dotted with heather, foxgloves, ferns, broom and nettles, then you're dealing with humus soil. To confirm this, look at the soil: it's black, almost brown and very light.

This type of soil is rich in humus and fertile. Gardeners appreciate its qualities, notably its ability to retain water and its ease of working. Its only drawbacks? It dries out in summer and becomes impoverished after a few years.

In humus-rich soil, almost anything will grow. So lilies, periwinkles, irises, azaleas, anemones, cyclamen, rhododendrons and camellias are all yours. Say hello to Japanese maples, magnolias, willows, bamboos, liquidambars and eucalyptus. In the vegetable garden, make way for potatoes, cucurbits, peppers, rhubarb, carrots, tomatoes, leeks, celery and strawberries.

Silty soil contains silt, particles deposited by alluvial deposits and found in river beds. It's a typical soil profile on the banks of the Loire, where chiendents and chénopodes appear. The silty soil is dark in color. Soft to the touch, it is light and easy to work.

Fertile and permeable, loamy soil warms up quickly in winter, protecting less hardy plants. However, it becomes depleted and, in the absence of regular watering and maintenance, a crust of loam forms on the surface. Water then penetrates the soil less well.

With regular gardening, loamy soil offers many options. All types of roses, peonies and carnations will flower without any problems. Ornamental trees such as ash and lilac will also flourish. For the vegetable garden, opt for cabbages, leeks, eggplants and melons. Finally, there's no need to choose between fruit trees: they all adapt to loamy soil. For best yield, opt for strawberries, raspberries, persimmons, plums and apples.

At first glance, peat soil could be confused with humus soil. Like humus, it is black and spongy. But it's much more acidic and contains few nutrients. To find out if the soil in your garden is peaty, measure its pH. Pour white vinegar over the soil. If you observe no reaction to this test, not the slightest sign of effervescence, your soil is acidic and therefore peaty.

Peaty soil absorbs water and remains moist for months on end. But once it dries out, it struggles to absorb water again. To work peat-rich soils, mix in lime. Add pebbles or gravel to optimize drainage.

When amended, peaty soil is ideal for artichokes, eggplants, cucumbers and pumpkins. You can plant acidophiles (heathers, hydrangeas, camellias, etc.), certain ferns and foxgloves. Cranberries, raspberries and mulberries will also produce good harvests.

Unless your home is in the Massif Central or Brittany, you're unlikely to encounter siliceous soil. This porous soil, as its name suggests, contains silica, a natural element found in sandstone or quartz.

Siliceous soil heats up quickly and becomes a furnace for plants in hot weather. And since it retains little water, it's best to plant drought-tolerant species.

It's the ideal support for a rock garden with sedums, saxifrages, cacti, aloes, agaves and why not a yucca? For flowers, consider hibiscus, lavender, rockroses, broom and even roses. Add a laurel, ginkgo, chestnut, oak or privet to give a little relief. In a siliceous garden, conifers are your best allies: maritime pine, umbrella pine, cypress and cedar will grow without asking for anything. Finally, complete your seaside ambience with a tamarisk.

Let's face it, the answer is no. Your soil type depends on the region you live in and the soil activity of thousands of years. But, thanks to chemistry and gardening, you can correct its defects to make it more hospitable.

Your soil is clayey, but you'd like to plant tulips? Improve drainage by mixing sand with your soil, hoe to fill in cracks and mulch to keep moisture on the surface.

To plant a hydrangea bed in a chalky garden, add humus, heather soil and even manure on a regular basis. This will increase the soil's capacity to retain water. And don't forget fertilizer to compensate for low nutrient levels.

Despite these solutions, there's no miracle on the horizon. You'll never be able to turn siliceous soil into loamy soil, or clay-rich soil into chalky soil. If you want your plants to flourish, it's best to select your crops according to soil type. The list is long and unlikely to be memorized. Fortunately, the Monstera application is here to help. In our various cultivation sheets, we show you the soil types recommended for your trees, shrubs, fruit trees, flowers or vegetable plants.

If you don't want to give up your favorite species, there's always a trick up your sleeve. Some varieties are more tolerant than others and acclimatize to less rich or less well-drained soil. This is the case with tomatoes, for example. Last resort: pot cultivation. By choosing the right potting soil, you can plant without having to worry about your soil type.