Ivydene Gardens Plants:
Plants for Chalky Soil M-R

Tree/Shrub Growth Shape with
Shrub/Perennial Growth Habit

The plants suitable for Chalky Soil list is sorted in the following pages under the following Name:-

• Chalky Soil A-F 1
• Chalky Soil A-F 2
• Chalky Soil A-F 3
• Chalky Soil G-L
• Chalky Soil M-R
• Chalky Soil M-R - Roses
• Chalky Soil S-Z
• Other Plants for Chalky Soils
• Plants for Chalky Soils

Surface soil moisture is the water that is in the upper 10 cm (4 inches) of soil, whereas root zone soil moisture is the water that is available to plants, which is generally considered to be in the upper 200 cm (80 inches) of soil:-

• Wet Soil has Saturated water content of 20-50% water/soil and is Fully saturated soil
• Moist Soil has Field capacity of 10-35% water/soil and is Soil moisture 2–3 days after a rain or irrigation
• Dry Soil has Permanent wilting point of 1-25% water/soil and is Minimum soil moisture at which a plant wilts
• Residual water content of 0.1-10% water/soil and is Remaining water at high tension
• Available Water Capacity for plants is the difference between water content at field capacity and permanent wilting point

Sun Aspect:-

• Full Sun: At least 6 full hours of direct sunlight. Many sun lovers enjoy more than 6 hours per day, but need regular water to endure the heat.
• Part Shade: 3 - 6 hours of sun each day, preferably in the morning and early afternoon. The plant will need some relief from the intense late afternoon sun, either from shade provided by a nearby tree or planting it on the east side of a building.
  Dappled Sun - DS in Part Shade Column: Dappled sunlight is similar to partial shade. It is the sun that makes its way through the branches of a deciduous tree. Woodland plants and underplantings prefer this type of sunlight over even the limited direct exposure they would get from partial shade.
• Full Shade: Less than 3 hours of direct sunlight each day, with filtered sunlight during the rest of the day. Full shade does not mean no sun.

When selecting plants, you should start by using what you already have in the garden; especially mature trees and shrubs. Each tree or shrub will have one of the following growth shapes:-
Columnar
Oval
Rounded/ Spherical
Flattened Spherical
Narrow conical/ Narrow Pyramidal
Broad Conical/ Broad Pyramidal
Ovoid/ Egg-shaped
Broad Ovoid
Narrow Vase-shaped/ Inverted Ovoid
Fan-shaped/ Vase-shaped
Narrow Weeping
Broad Weeping
Single-stemmed palm, cyad, or similar tree
Multi-stemmed palm, cyad, or similar tree

When selecting plants, you should start by using what you already have in the garden; especially mature shrubs and some of your perennials.
Growth Habit - The way a plant grows is genetically determined. How well individual plants grow varies with:

• availability of light,
• exposure to wind,
• and competition for food and space with other plants.

So, if you wish to see your plant at its best, rather than as a plant within a hedge effect, please give it room to grow to produce its natural growth habit. Mature shrubs and perennials will have one of the following growth habits:-
Mat-forming.
Stems densely cover the ground and the flowers extend above.
Prostrate or Trailing.
Stems spread out on the ground and the flowers are borne close to the foliage.
Cushion or Mound-forming.
Tightly packed stems form a low clump and
the flowers are close to the foliage.
Spreading or Creeping.
Stems extend horizontally then ascend, forming a densely packed mass.
Clump-forming.
Leaf-stalks and flower stems arise at ground level to form a dense mass.
Stemless.
Leaf-stalks and flower stems arise at ground level.
Erect or Upright.
Upright stems stand vertical, supporting leaves and the flowers.
Climbing and Scandent.
Long flexible stems are supported by other plants or structures.
Arching.
Long upright stems arch over from the upright towards the ground.

The overall amount of sunlight received depends on aspect, the direction your garden faces:-

North-facing gardens get the least light and can be damp

South-facing gardens get the most light

East-facing gardens get morning light

West-facing gardens get afternoon and evening light

Sun Aspect, Soil Type, Soil Moisture, Plant Type and Height of Plant are used in the Plant Photo Galleries in the comparison of thumbnail photos

Acid Site - An acid soil has a pH value below 7.0. Clay soils are usually acid and retentive of moisture, requiring drainage. The addition of grit or coarse sand makes them more manageable. Peaty soil is acidic with fewer nutrients and also requires drainage.

Alkaline Soil - An alkaline soil has a pH value above 7.0. Soils that form a thin layer over chalk restrict plant selection to those tolerant of drought.

Bank / Slope problems include soil erosion, surface water, summer drought and poor access (create path using mattock to pull an earth section 180 degrees over down the slope). Then, stabilise the earth with 4 inches (10cms) depth of spent mushroom compost under the chicken wire; before planting climbers/plants through it.

Cold Exposed Inland Site is an area that is open to the elements and that includes cold, biting winds, the glare of full sun, frost and snow - These plants are able to withstand very low temperatures and those winds in the South of England.

Dust and Pollution Barrier - Plants with large horizontal leaves are particularly effective in filtering dust from the environment, with mature trees being capable of filtering up to 70% of dust particles caused by traffic. Plants can also help offset the pollution effects of traffic. 20 trees are needed to absorb the carbon dioxide produced by 1 car driven for 60 miles.

Front of Border / Path Edges - Soften edges for large masses of paving or lawn with groundcover plants. Random areas Within Paths can be planted with flat-growing plants. Other groundcover plants are planted in the Rest of Border.

Seaside Plants that deal with salt-carrying gales and blown sand; by you using copious amounts of compost and thick mulch to conserve soil moisture.

Sound Barrier - The sound waves passing through the plant interact with leaves and branches, some being deflected and some being turned into heat energy. A wide band of planting is necessary to achieve a large reduction in the decibel level.

Wind Barrier - By planting a natural windbreak you will create a permeable barrier that lets a degree of air movement pass through it and provide shelter by as far as 30 times their height downwind.

Woodland ground cover under the shade of tree canopies.

In the case of some genera and species, at least two - and sometimes dozens of - varieties and hybrids are readily available, and it has been possible to give only a selection of the whole range. To indicate this, the abbreviation 'e.g.' appears before the selected examples ( for instance, Centaurea cyanus e.g. 'Jubilee Gem'). If an 'e.g.' is omitted in one list, although it appears beside the same plant in other lists, this means that that plant is the only suitable one - or the only readily available suitable one - in the context of that particular list.

Chalky alkaline soils are derived from chalk or limestone with a pH of 7.1 or above.
Clay soils swell and shrink as they wet and dry.
Lime-Free soils are acidic and without chalk.
In poorly drained soils (50 % solid materials and about 50 % pore space), most of the pore space is filled with water for long periods of time, leaving too little air.
Light sandy soils dry out quickly and are low in nutrients.

Clay soil will absorb 40% of its volume in water before it turns from a solid to a liquid. This fact can have a serious effect on your house as subsidence.
A mixture of clay, sand, humus and bacterium is required to make soil with a good soil structure for your plants.
The rain or your watering can provides the method for transportation of nutrients to the roots of your plants. Soil organisms link this recycling of nutrients from the humus to the plant.
Oxygen, Carbon Dioxide and Nitrogen as gas is used and expired by the roots of plants into a soil which has airspace in it in order for those plants to grow.
Understanding the above provides you with an action plan for you to do with your own soil.

Explaination of how soil works:-

"Plants are in Control

Most gardeners think of plants as only taking up nutrients through root systems and feeding the leaves. Few realize that a great deal of energy that results from photosynthesis in the leaves is actually used by plants to produce chemicals they secrete through their roots. These secretions are known as exudates. A good analogy is perspiration, a human's exudate.

Root exudates are in the form of carbohydrates (including sugars) and proteins. Amazingly, their presence wakes up, attracts, and grows specific beneficial bacteria and fungi living in the soil that subsist on these exudates and the cellular material sloughed off as the plant's root tips grow. All this secretion of exudates and sloughing off of cells takes place in the rhizosphere, a zone immediately round the roots, extending out about a tenth of an inch, or a couple of millimetres. The rhizosphere, which can look like a jelly or jam under the electron microscope, contains a constantly changing mix of soil organisms, including bacteria, fungi, nematodes, protozoa, and even larger organisms. All this "life" competes for the exudates in the rhizosphere, or its water or mineral content.

At the bottom of the soil food web are bacteria and fungi, which are attracted to and consume plant root exudates. In turn, they attract and are eaten by bigger microbes, specifically nematodes and protozoa who eat bacteria and fungi (primarily for carbon) to fuel their metabolic functions. Anything they don't need is excreted as wastes, which plant roots are readily able to absorb as nutrients. How convenient that this production of plant nutrients takes place right in the rhizosphere, the site of root-nutrient absorption.

At the centre of any viable soil food web are plants. Plants control the food web for their own benefit, an amazing fact that is too little understood and surely not appreciated by gardeners who are constantly interfereing with Nature's system. Studies indicate that individual plants can control the numbers and the different kinds of fungi and bacteria attracted to the rhizosphere by the exudates they produce.

Soil bacteria and fungi are like small bags of fertilizer, retaining in their bodies nitrogen and other nutrients they gain from root exudates and other organic matter. Carrying on the analogy, soil protozoa and nematodes act as "fertilizer spreaders" by releasng the nutrients locked up in the bacteria and fungi "fertilizer bags". The nematodes and protozoa in the soil come along and eat the bacteria and fungi in the rhizosphere. They digest what they need to survive and excrete excess carbon and other nutrients as waste.

The protozoa and nematodes that feasted on the fungi and bacteria attracted by plant exudates are in turn eaten by arthropods such as insects and spiders. Soil arthropods eat each other and themselves are the food of snakes, birds, moles and other animals. Simply put, the soil is one big fast-food restaurant.

Bacteria are so small they need to stick to things, or they will wash away; to attach themselves they produce a slime, the secondary result of which is that individual soil particles are bound together. Fungal hyphae, too, travel through soil particles, sticking to them and binding them together, thread-like, into aggregates.

Worms, together with insect larvae and moles move through the soil in search of food and protection, creating pathways that allow air and water to enter and leave the soil. The soil food web, then, in addition to providing nutrients to roots in the rhizosphere, also helps create soil structure: the activities of its members bind soil particles together even as they provide for the passage of air and water through the soil.

Without this system, most important nutrients would drain from soil. Instead, they are retained in the bodies of soil life. Here is the gardener's truth: when you apply a chemical fertilizer, a tiny bit hits the rhizosphere, where it is absorbed, but most of it continues to drain through soil until it hits the water table. Not so with the nutrients locked up inside soil organisms, a state known as immobilization; these nutrients are eventully released as wastes, or mineralized. And when the plants themselves die and are allowed to decay in situ, the nutrients they retained are again immobilized in the fungi and bacteria that consume them.

Just as important, every member of the soil food web has its place in the soil community. Each, be it on the surface or subsurface, plays a specific role. Elimination of just one group can drastically alter a soil community. Dung from mammals provides nutrients for beetles in the soil. Kill the mammals, or eliminate their habitat or food source, and you wont have so many beetles. It works in reverse as well. A healthy soil food web won't allow one set of members to get so strong as to destroy the web. If there are too many nematodes and protozoa, the bacteria and fungi on which they prey are in trouble and, ultimately, so are the plants in the area.

And there are other benefits. The nets or webs fungi form around roots act as physical barriers to invasion and protect plants from pathogenic fungi and bacteria. Bacteria coat surfaces so thoroughly, there is no room for others to attach themselves. If something impacts these fungi or bacteria and their numbers drop or disappear, the plant can easily be attacked."

Negative impacts on the soil food web -->

Negative impacts on the soil food web

"Chemical fertilizers, pesticides, insecticides, and fungicides affect the soil food web, toxic to some members, warding off others, and changing the environment. Important fungal and bacterial relationships don't form when a plant can get free nutrients. When chemically fed, plants bypass the microbial-assisted method of obtaining nutrients, and microbial populations adjust accordingly. Trouble is, you have to keep adding chemical fertilizers and using "-icides", because the right mix and diversity - the very foundation of the soil food web - has been altered.

It makes sense that once the bacteria, fungi, nematodes and protozoa are gone, other members of the soil food web disappear as well. Earthworms, for example, lacking food and irritated by the synthetic nitrates in soluble nitrogen fertilizers, move out. Since they are major shredders of organic material, their absence is a great loss. Soil structure deteriorates, watering can become problematic, pathogens and pests establish themselves and, worst of all, gardening becomes a lot more work than it needs to be.

If the salt-based chemical fertilizers don't kill portions of the soil food web, rototilling (rotovating) will. This gardening rite of spring breaks up fungal hyphae, decimates worms, and rips and crushes arthropods. It destroys soil structure and eventually saps soil of necessary air. Any chain is only as strong as its weakest link: if there is a gap in the soil food web, the system will break down and stop functioning properly.

Gardening with the soil food web is easy, but you must get the life back in your soils. First, however, you have to know something about the soil in which the soil food web operates; second, you need to know what each of the key members of the food web community does. Both these concerns are taken up in the rest of Part 1" of Teaming with Microbes - The Organic Gardener's Guide to the Soil Food Web by Jeff Lowenfels and Wayne Lewis ISBN-13:978-1-60469-113-9 Published 2010.

This book explains in non-technical language how soil works and how you can improve your garden soil to make it suitable for what you plant and hopefully stop you using chemicals to kill this or that, but use your grass cuttings and prunings to mulch your soil - the leaves fall off the trees, the branches fall on the ground, the animals shit and die on the land in old woodlands and that material is then recycled to provide the nutrients for those same trees, rather than being carefully removed and sent to the dump as most people do in their gardens leaving bare soil."

The following is from "A land of Soil, Milk and Honey" by Bernard Jarman in Star & Furrow Issue 122 January 2015 - Journal of the Biodynamic Association;_

"Soil is created in the first place through the activity of countlesss micro-organisms, earthworms and especially the garden worm (Lumbricus terrestris). This species is noticeably active in the period immediately before and immediately after mid-winter. In December we find it (in the UK) drawing large numbers of autumn leaves down into the soil. Worms consume all kinds of plant material along with sand and mineral substances. In form, they live as a pure digestive tract. The worm casts excreted from their bodies form the basis of a well-structured soil with an increased level of available plant nutrients:-

• 5% more nitrogen,
• 7% more phosphorous and
• 11% more potasium than the surrounding topsoil.

Worms also burrow to great depths and open up the soil for air and water to penetrate, increasing the scope of a fertile soil.

After the earthworm, the most important helper of the biodynamic farmer is undoubetdly

• the cow. A cow's digestive system is designed to make use of roughage such as grass and hay. Cow manure is arguably the most effective and long lasting of all the fertilizing agents at the farmer's disposal and has been found to have a carry over effect of at least 4 years. It is also one of the most balanced and it contains no grass seeds, since they have been completely digested.
• Pig manure is rich in potassium, attractive to earthworms and beneficial on sandy soils.
• Horse manure increases soil activity and stimulates strong healthy growth, but it does contain grass seed and other seeds."

To locate mail-order nursery for plants from the UK in this gallery try using search in RHS Find a Plant.

To locate plants in the European Union (EU) try using Search Term in Gardens4You and Meilland Richardier in France.

To locate mail-order nursery for plants from America in this gallery try using search in Plant Lust.

To locate plant information in Australia try using Plant Finder in Gardening Australia.

a

Columnar
Tree/Shrub Growth Shape

Soil:-

AN = Any Soil

Soil Moisture:-

Sun Aspect:-

Plant Location:-

Common Name

with link to mail-order nursery in USA

Flower-ing Months

Flower-ing Colour

Plant Type
(Per = Perennial) with link to
Plant Description Page,
Companion Plants to help this plant Page,
Alpine Plant for Rock Garden Index Page
and/or
Native to UK WildFlower Plant in its Family Page in this website

Comment

b

Oval
Tree/Shrub Growth Shape

AC = Acid Soil

c

Rounded/ Spherical
Tree/Shrub Growth Shape

AL = Alkaline Soil
 

d

Flattened Spherical
Tree/Shrub Growth Shape

AN = Any for Acid, Neutral or Alkaline Soil

e

Narrow Conical/ Narrow Pyramidal
Tree/Shrub Growth Shape

FA = Grow for Flower Arrangers

f

Broad Conical/ Broad Pyramidal
Tree/Shrub Growth Shape

FB = Front of Border
/ Path Edges

RB = Rest of Border

SP = Speciman

RG = Rock Garden

WP = Within Path

CL = Climber or Shrub grown against a wall or fence

g

Ovoid/ Egg-shaped
Tree/Shrub Growth Shape

h

Broad Ovoid
Tree/Shrub Growth Shape

j

Narrow Vase-shaped/ Inverted Ovoid
Tree/Shrub Growth Shape

BE = Bedding

k

Fan-shaped/ Vase-shaped
Tree/Shrub Growth Shape

GP = Grow in Pot / Container

m

Narrow Weeping
Tree/Shrub Growth Shape

HB = Grow in Hanging Basket

n

Broad Weeping
Tree/Shrub Growth Shape

HE = Hedge
SC = Screening

TH =
Thorny Hedge

p

Single-stemmed palm
Tree/Shrub Growth Shape

q

Multi-stemmed palm
Tree/Shrub Growth Shape

BG = Grow in Bog Area

1

Mat-forming
Shrub/Perennial Growth Habit

BA = Grow on Bank / Slope

2

Prostrate or Trailing
Shrub/Perennial Growth Habit

SE = Seaside / Coastal Plants

3

Cushion or Mound-forming
Shrub/Perennial Growth Habit

CH = Chalk

EX = Cold Exposed Inland Site

4

Spreading or Creeping
Shrub/Perennial Growth Habit

CL = Clay

DP = Dust and Pollution Barrier

5

Clump-forming
Shrub/Perennial Growth Habit

LF = Lime-Free

D = Dry

S = Full Sun

SO = Sound Barrier

6

Stemless
Shrub/Perennial Growth Habit

PD = Poorly Drained
PE = Peaty

M = Moist

PS = Part Shade
DS = Dappled Sun

WI = Wind Barrier

7

Erect or Upright
Shrub/Perennial Growth Habit

LS = Light Sand

W = Wet

FS = Full Shade

WO = Woodland

8

Climbing and Scandent
Shrub/Perennial Growth Habit

AN

CH

CL

LF

PD

LS

D

M

W

S

PS

FS

AC

AL

AN

FA

FB
RB

BE

GP

HB

HE

SC

BG

BA

SE

EX

DP

SO

WI

WO

9

Arching
Shrub/Perennial Growth Habit

SP
RG

Tree/Shrub Growth Shape

Shrub/Perennial Growth Habit

PE

DS

WP
CL

TH

a

b

c

d

e

f

g

h

j

k

m

n

p

q

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

CH

AL

Papaver orientale e.g.
'Marcus Perry'

30 x
(75 x )

Herbaceous Per

CH

AL

Papaver orientale e.g.
'Mrs Perry'

Oriental poppy

36 x
(90 x )

Herbaceous Per

CH

AL

Papaver orientale e.g.
'Perry's White'

Oriental poppy

36 x
(90 x )

Herbaceous Per

CH

AL

Perovskia atriplicifolia

48 x
(120 x )

Deciduous Sub-Shrub

CH

AL

Pinus mugo pumilio

54 x
(135 x )

Ground-cover Conifer

CH

AL

Pinus nigra
 

Austrian Pine

960 x (2400 x )

Columnar Conifer

Aleppo pine

CH

AL

Prunus e.g.
'Amanogawa'

240 x
(600 x )

Deciduous Tree

CH

AL

Prunus e.g.
'Kiku-shidare Sakura'

180 x
(450 x )

Deciduous Tree

CH

AL

Prunus e.g.
'Tai-Haku'

Great White Cherry

360 x
(900 x )

Deciduous Tree

CH

AL

Malus floribunda

Crab apple

CH

AL

Malus 'John Downie'

Crab apple

CH

AL

Malus x purpurea 'Royalty'

Purple-leaved crab apple

CH

AL

Malus x zumi var. calocarpa 'Golden Hornet'

Crab apple

CH

AL

Morus nigra

Black mulberry

CH

AL

Paulonia tomentosa

Foxglove tree

CH

AL

Prunus cerasifera 'Pissardii'

Purple-leaved cherry

CH

AL

Prunus lusitanica

Portug-uese laurel

CH

AL

Prunus padus

Bird cherry

CH

AL

Prunus sargentii

CH

AL

Prunus serrula

Tibetan cherry

CH

AL

Prunus x subhirtella 'Autumnalis'

Winter flower-ing cherry

CH

AL

Ptelea trifoliata

Hop tree

CH

AL

Pyrus salicifolia 'Pendula'

Willow-leaved pear

CH

AL

Quercus cerris

Turkey oak

CH

AL

Quercus ilex

Holm oak

Shrub for its foliage

CH

AL

Robinia pseudoacacia 'Frisia'

False acacia

CH

AL

Robinia pseudoacacia 'Umbrac-ulifera'

Mop-head acacia

CH

AL

Rosa e.g.
'Stanwell Perpetual'

Burnet Rose

54 x
(135 x )

Deciduous Shrub

CH

AL

Metasequoia glypto-stroboides

Dawn red-wood

Conifer

CH

AL

Picea glauca var. albertiana 'Conica'

Conifer

Shrub with Fragrant Flowers

CH

AL

Picea likiangensis

Conifer

CH

AL

Pinus bungeana

Conifer

CH

AL

Pinus mugo

Moun-tain pine

Conifer

CH

AL

Pinus sylvestris

Scots pine

Conifer

CH

AL

Mahonia aquifolium

Winter Flowering Shrub
from Plants recommended for Alkaline Soils in Chalk and Limestone Gardening by Sarah Coles (ISBN 1 86126 738 X)

CH

AL

Mahonia x media 'Charity'

Winter flowering shrub

CH

AL

Mahonia x media 'Underway'

Winter flowering shrub

CH

AL

Mahonia x media 'Winter Sun'

Winter flowering shrub

CH

AL

Rubus cock-burnianus

White-stem-med bramble

Winter flowering shrub

CH

AL

Osmanthus heterophyllus

Shrub for its Foliage
from Plants recommended for Alkaline Soils in Chalk and Limestone Gardening by Sarah Coles (ISBN 1 86126 738 X)

CH

AL

Philadelphus coronarius 'Aureus'

Shrub for its foliage

CH

AL

Phormium tenax 'Purpureum'

Shrub for its foliage

CH

AL

Photinia x fraseri 'Red Robin'

Shrub for its foliage

CH

AL

Photinia davidiana

Shrub for its foliage

CH

AL

Pittosporum 'Garnettii'

Shrub for its foliage

CH

AL

Pittosporum tenuifolium

Shrub for its foliage

CH

AL

Pittosporum tenuifolium 'Purpureum'

Shrub for its foliage

CH

AL

Rhamnus alaternus 'Argenteo-variegata'

Varie-gated buck-thorn

Shrub for its foliage

CH

AL

Rhus typhina 'Dissecta'

Cut-leaved stag's horn sumach

Shrub for its foliage

CH

AL

Ribes sanguineum 'Brocklebankii'

Shrub for its foliage

CH

AL

Myrtus communis subsp. tarentina

Myrtle

Shrub with Fragrant Flowers in Summer
from Plants recommended for Alkaline Soils in Chalk and Limestone Gardening by Sarah Coles (ISBN 1 86126 738 X)

CH

AL

Osmanthus delavayi

Shrub with Fragrant Flowers in Summer

CH

AL

Perovska atriplicifolia 'Blue Spire'

Russian sage

Shrub with Fragrant Flowers in Summer

CH

AL

Philadelphus 'Beauclerk'

Mock orange

Shrub with Fragrant Flowers in Summer

CH

AL

Philadelphus 'Manteau d'Hermine'

Shrub with Fragrant Flowers in Summer

CH

AL

Poncirus trifoliata

Japan-ese bitter orange

Shrub with Fragrant Flowers in Summer

CH

AL

Prostanthera rotundifolia

Austrian mint

Shrub with Fragrant Flowers in Summer

CH

AL

Ribes odoratum

Golden currant

Shrub with Fragrant Flowers in Summer

CH

AL

Ribes sanguineum

Flower-ing currant

Shrub with Fragrant Flowers in Summer

CH

AL

Ribes sanguineum 'Pulborough Scarlet'

Shrub with Fragrant Flowers in Summer

CH

AL

Ribes sanguineum 'Tydeman's White'

White flower-ing currant