Hello From Georgia

[Fluff]

Hi to everyone! I'm new to this enviornment and I'm so glad there are others who cherish plants as much as I do. I would love to know - the following:

1. What are the latest plant swaps in GA?
2. I live in Zone 7 - what are the best plants for clay soil?

Many thanks to all!!

Fluff!

[zuzu's petals]

Welcome to Plant Swap, Fluff! It's great to meet you.

I'm sure there are some folks here who can give you some great ideas about what to grow in your clay,
I have a different problem in my yard it's all sand.

I haven't seen any up-coming GA swaps added to our calendar,
I do hope that if you (or any of our other members) learn of one that it will be added!

** Edited to add this seed swap that I found **

I don't know if this is of interest to you, or if it would be convenient,
but I turned it up in a search:
Quoting from The Southern Seed Legacy site

11th Annual Southern SSL Seed Swap
APRIL 26, 2008
Agrarian Connections Farm
3-8PM

Since 1996 the SSL has been hosting an Old Timey Seed Swap at Agrarian Connections Farm
near the small town of Crawford in Oglethorpe County, Georgia.

More info is available at their site - CLICK HERE

[dirtyfingernails]

Welcome to the site Fluff,
Like zuzu's petals , I too have sand to contend with in my area . Here we have no choice but to ammend our soil to have our plants flourish. I expect you will have to do the same . I do know that when the clay is wet it does'nt allow air to the roots , and when it is dry it can be like concrete. I would suggest that you go to a local nursery and ask how to ammend the soil in your area , and they can also guide you to what plants can adapt to your type of soil . When I used to sell plants , I was more than happy to help out the local residents with their soil problems . We wanted them to succeed with their plantings because it reflected on us if a plant flourished or not.
You may get more solutions from other members on this site that have solved their clay problems also . There is a wealth of information from the members here.
Happy gardening,
Bill

[Pushin-up-Daisies]

Hy I'm in zone 7 in Ga. too. I have forsythia,Mallow Hibiscus,Flowering quince,day lilies daffodils, burning bush,hostas,peony,bleeding heart,knock out roses & getting more each day. love to garden and get new stuff.

[ImaTucker]

Like 'dirtyfingernails' I live in a sandy area (SW GA)! Water/nutrients go right through the soil! Initially I used a lot of Black Kow and stuff like that to amend my soil, but I have it pretty loamy now.

When the leaves fall, I make compost and use it on the gardens the following year. I also use my kitchen scraps and newspapers on the compost. My gardens are now fun to work in and hold nutrients/water pretty good. But keep in mind it took years to get it this way!

I'm assuming the same technique would work for clay soils?

[ok_nurse]

I live in Oklahoma and I have clay (ick!). It has taken a while to find plants that will thrive here. I have three separate types of flowerbeds on my lot: Those that I have amended, those I mulch three times a season, and those I essentially neglect (only mulch in spring or throw river rock on top). The third catagory of beds is the most useful because of the ease and less effort. I usually only plant in them in the spring when there is rain and I mulch on top. Then I leave it alone until next year. We have some massive drought times here in te summer-maybe half inch of rain a month. Like Bill said-concrete.
So I plant flowering shrubs in these and other things. This is what I have in my neglected beds:
forsythia
honeysuckle
carolina jessamine (this needed some watering to get started for two years)
iris
cannas
glads
rose of sharon
holly
hibiscus (this one is great!)
hostas (they do better with less neglect-but they still do ok here)
morning glories
wisteria
ivy
If you baby lilacs-they will do ok when established. I think there are alot of things that will do ok once established. The first year is the most crucial. The plants want to live-they just need a little help to get established.
Also placing a pvc pipe along the length of the hole from top to bottom when you plant new trees will save the tree cause you can get water under the surface where it can be absorbed by the roots. Just make sure you place pea stone in the pvc pipe so it will not wash out from the flow of water when you water it. (I have a river birch I sustained this way.)
I know daisy and black eyed susan also do well in clay.-I've just started on those this year by seed. Even my opuntia cactus adjusted to the clay and is doing very well. Cactus are tricky wth clay. They rot easily so you can't let it get too much water cause the clay will hold it until the cactus rots. I throw tarps on my succulent garden whenever I hear of rain coming. The opuntia did fine when I didn't tarp it though.
Also, I know everyone says to plant on mounds-but if you have drought and clay (you probably don't in Georgia) but I always plant in a downslope so the water has more opportunity to absorb rather than run along the clay "concrete" in drought season. Our rainy season is never enough to rot the roots here (except maybe this year! Its been unseasonably rainy this spring!)
Hope it helps!
-Donna