[Guenther]

One problem at my garden on the island of Losinj is:

The garden is only visited at the hot months June, July, August, September. At this time the guests can pour out water on the thirsty land. The rest of the year the plants have to grow on ist own power or water.

This year I started to place more plants (there are old ones of Laurus nobilis, Ficus carica, white Jasminum(?), Bougainvillea, Eriobotrya, Lemon tree). I choosed flowering plants (flowering between June and September), who originate from desert climates or I've seen it at gardens on the island: Adenium obesum (Desert rose)), Aloe, Agapanthus, Buddleia, Sempervivum, summer flowering Mimosa, Campsis, Passiflora, Ficus carica, Nerium oleander, a species of Sansevieria, Opuntia (a cultivar with delicious fruits and less spines) and a fragant climbing plant (an agressive weed in Australia, I've forgotten the name)

The second problem is the soil. One part of the area is filled ground, a mixture of soil, gravel and bigger stones with many small cavities. When I make a hole there, 1 am digging with a hand shovel or by hands. I remove a stone with a crowbar and suddenly the hole is about 10 centimeters deeper. At the second part of the area coffee-brown soil is like loam or laterite, but baked until hard by the sun and dryness. After soaking 24 hours such soil isn't muddy, it has the same crumble hardness like 24 hours before. There I have to make the holes at August with hammer and chisel and crowbar, true! centimeters for centimeters. Crazy!

So my method to place new plants is to make a  hole, about 30 cm deep, I put the root-ball deeper than in the pot. So the height of a 50 cm shrub is reduced to 20 cm. I take young plants „with long necks" and I remove many leaves. Then I place a 40 cm long part of a water tube (or electrician tube) on the deep root ball, to bring water later better to it. Then I fill the hole with a mixture of origin soil and potting soil 1:1 and at the top fine natural gravel. And then I give water and make a prayer.

Do you know a better method to place plants under such conditions?

Which kind of plants you can recommend? Lagerstroemia? Abelia?

On holidays at Santorini, Greek, I've seen tropical Hibiscus,  Lantana camara and Cortaderia selloana, planted out at such gardens. Should I try it?

[ritamax]

I can't say much to your unusual cultivation method, never heard of it, but for the choice of plants, as you don't have irrigation and your soil is probably alkaline, stick better to unfussy, fasti-growing plants like Coronilla, Teucrium, Perovskia, Vitex agnus-castus, Polygala myrtifolia and Plumbago, all the drought-loving herbs like Helichrysum, thyme, rosmarine, lavender and salvia. Hibiscus chinensis needs water, feeding and pruning like roses. Lantana camara and Cortaderia selloana are internationally largely considered as invasives, not advisable to plant them. Lagerstroemia and Abelia will need some water, but your climate is more temperate and there should be enough rain fall in the winter, so perhaps they will survive without extra water. Claye soil is best amended adding only sand. Mulching the surface will improve the soil structure in time. If you add organic matter in the plant hole without double digging the claye soil around it, the clay can act as a bassin, and the water stays in the plant hole rotting the roots. My experience is, that if your plants are not level, there will be problems. The plants may well sink even more, if they are in a mix with organic matter. Advisable to read Olivier Filippi's book The Dry gardening handbook. 

[Guenther]

Now, 2 years later I can make a resumee:

95% of my plants survived the winters ans summers. The Passiflora looks dead and dried up (Passiflora is there weed at the walls).

At a visit in November, the soil was soft ground, good to dig.

My method of planting deeper than normal was good.

Next November I want to plant more flowers.

Guenther

[Alisdair]

Guenther, Thanks for letting us all know. 95% is a great survival rate! Sounds very successful. 

[JTh]

Your soil sounds very much like mine, and the tools you use are familiar. I am very impressed by your success rate, much better than mine.

[Guenther]

A part of the plants are plants we found walking around the island. Wild plants. The rest are plants, originated from desert regions, like south africa or from grassland. And some sensitive plants with leaves (Campsis, Buddleia).

Cortaderia (grassland), Campsis radicans (I've seen it at the village, sensitive), Buddleia (sensitive), Thymus (wild plant), Yucca (desert), Senecio (wild plant), Mimosa (gardener from the village), Ficus carica (weed there), Opuntia ficus indica (weed there), Lantana camara (sensitive), Aloe vera (desert)
2 Euphorbias, Salvia, Lavandula,...

I'm happy because of no rain between March and September and 30°C hot in summer. But it is on a slope of a hill (about 400 m), my niece founded cold springs in the sea (sweet water running down the hill in the underground?), But the soil is very very hard in summer (digging holes with hammer, chisel and crowbar...).

The Campsis have only 2 leaves and I am happy like a small child.

The Ficus lost 8 leaves, but its wood is green and it has one new leaf (planted in rubble waste).

Tropical Hibiscus died (too wet in winter?).

Planting Mimosa. I buyed it 30 cm tall. After planting i've seen only 5 cm. It lives. Yeah.

[Alice]

Our experience with planting deeper is similar to yours, Guenther.
In a couple of areas of the garden we planted as normal but later added low walls (about 50cm high) around these areas and over the years back-filled with soil and compost. The plants ended up with an extra layer of about 30cm of soil around their trunks. This has not led to any rotting and the plants are thriving.
Interestingly when I spoke to our Iris germanica suppliers they suggested that we bury the rhizomes completely and not plant them with the top above soil level, as is usually recommended.  I must add, though, that our conditions are exceptionally dry.

[Guenther]

Every year in late autumn I bring new plants to this garden.

2014 was very wet (much ash in the clouds from the Mount Sinabung volcanoe eruption, North Sumatra, Indonesia, February 2014, Kelud volcanoe, Java Indonesia, February 2014, Sangeang Api volcanoe, Indonesia, May 2014) and many of the plant session of 2013 survived and growed and growed. I was sooo happy.

Lantana camara is gigantic (up to 2 x 2 m), Perovskia survived, Vitex agnus castus survived.

This year in October I planted 2 Campsis (yellow funnel with red maw and one deep red), a second and third  Lantana, a climbing rose ("Sorbet-Fruité" from Meilland roses), a second Lagerstroemia indica, a small sweet lime tree from the tree nursery of Losinj (amelie-losinj.hr) , Callistemon, more Perovskia and much more.  And sent a prayer to the Roman God Vulcanus §;o))

[Alisdair]

Guenther, do your new plantings get any watering in summer?

[Guenther]

Our next visit is at Easter holidays.

An then next visitors at July.

[Guenther]

Guenther, do your new plantings get any watering in summer?

The summer 2014 was soo wet (every month rain, in July and August too). I believe, nobody gave water to the plants.