Question
Dear Sijka,
I wonder if you can help me,
I live in the hills south east of Florence in Italy,as I can't tell you a zone i can tell you that the soil where I live is clay. Other plants that live here well are accacia, cyprus, box, broom, jasmine, bignonias, snap dragons, sun flowers, wisteria, roses, olive trees.
My garden is generally sunny with shaded areas.
My question is; I have bought some heather plants to fill in a gap in a flower bed, the temperature here at the moment is around 20癈 with lots of sun and some showers, so it should still be ok to plant things outside ( no frost in sight), but does heather need a peaty soil? What can I do to help them grow in my clay soil?

Thank you very much

Meryn

Answer
Hi Meryn,
   Mix some peat moss, sand, gypsum and cedar mulch if you can get those into your soil.  If you compost, add some of that in also.  Make it so it is porous.  Take a little of the soil and put it in a jar them slowly pour water over it.  The water should be able to seep into the soil easily.  Too much peat moss and it won't be as porous, so don't overdue.  Don't forget to fertilize also.

Sijka