Each plant species has a range of soil types in which it will flourish. It is very important to choose your seeds and transplants to match your soil type. We have included the soil conditions best suited for each species in our plant descriptions and our Wildflower Selection Guide . There is great variation within these basic groups, but these categories will suffice for the purpose of describing where a given plant will or will not grow. They allow water to drain readily and tend to be low in nutrients.
Sandy soils tend to be more acid than the more fertile loams and clays.
If your soil has a pH lower than 5, consider adding lime or wood ashes to bring it closer to a pH of 6 or 7. Consisting of very small, tightly packed soil particles, clays tend to be dense and hard to work. However, they are generally rich in nutrients, have a high water-holding capacity, and can be very productive. Composed of many different sized soil particles, they combine fertility and moisture-holding capacity with good drainage. Easier to work than clays and better consolidated than sands, loamy soils make an excellent medium for growing most plants.