Hello, I'm cursed with soil that it very clay-y. Will the following trees do OK or would it be a waste of time to plant them? I am in zone 8, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Please check out my introduction post to give you some background vis a vis Gustav. They Are: Kieffer & Bartlett Pear Fragrant Snowbell Tree (Styrax japonicas) Plum trees of any variety Papaya I hope these guys can make it OK here as I'd love to have them. Also, my gingkoes seem to be having a great deal of trouble establishing themselves. As many as half die off. Could it be the intense heat that we have in late summer and finding more shade for them would do the trick? They are far and away my favorite type of tree. Sincere Thanks from an Amateur, Jeremy EDIT: Late last Fall, I bought a Crimson King Maple (Acer platanoides) bare root. It did fine, keeping it's leaves even through a couple of hard freezes (a hard freeze for us is if the nighttime temp gets into the 20's). Last week, when it was decidedly NOT cold, it's leaves began to do what they should normally do at Fall. Is all well? I mean, we planted it with it having no leaves, it sprouted several and I've described the rest. OK? Also, I've been told the best time to plant trees is in the Winter. Is this true?
I would suggest you contact your local http://www.lsuagcenter.com/en/administration/about_us/extension/ they will know what will and will not do well in your area. I garden in heavy black clay and am in zone 8 but my growing conditions are very different from yours I am sure . I know Peach trees grow in our soil but not sure about the others.
