Think I've made an awful mistake

Area out front is horrible grey gravel. I posted in here asking for suggestions on what to plant in it and got excellent help, bought half a dozen shrubs and put them in. (Azalea, Lavender, Grass, Cistus, Veronica and a couple of others I forget.
But they are starting to look unhappy. Under the gravel is black plasticy membrane, and under that is damp horrible soil full of stones & gravel. Nightmare to dig even a small hole in it, but the husband did it and we planted them. Now I'm worrying that they won't thrive, that I was silly to expect gravel loving plants to settle in poor damp stony soil. What should I do? I don't understand how it is damp but it has rained an awful here lately, can't be poor drainage because we're in a steep cul de sac.

 

Soil under membranes is usually in a bad compacted state, if the membrane and gravel has been there for any time.

You really need to pull back the membrane and fork over where you want to plant, at the very least, in most cases.

The gravel and membrane hold the moisture in and a lot depends on the type of soil you have.

 

Husband did loosen it a bit, but he's quite frail and it was very hard going, all stones. He made a hole abit bigger than the size of the pot they came in, and lined it with good compost to cushion their wee roots. I don't know what to do for the best now - do I leave them in and pray over them hourly, or dig the poor wee things up and stick them in pots ? Gardening is bad for the nerves!!

 

As well as the Azaleas needing Acidic soil, things like Lavender and Cistus prefer free drainig soil , not cold and wet etc.

If the soil inder the membrane is so poor, might be better to put the plants into pots with some good compost and have them on top of the gravel.

Depending on their state you might be able to rescue your existing plants into pots, though plenty of similar young plants in the supermarkets and garden centers .

 

I think I'd leave them alone and see how they go.

 

I think the bigger risk, despite the damp soil under the membrane, is actually of the plants drying out.

The poor quality soil won't be damp because it's been rained on. Soil does an impression of a kitchen towel. If one end gets damp, the water is sucked further in. With the membrane over it, that water won't evaporate out, so while it might be damp, I doubt it's soggy wet. The paper towel effect is called osmosis. Without getting bogged down in science, the smaller particle size of the soil has a greater surface area by volume than the compost the plants are in, so will in effect draw water out of the compost, drying it out.

Without waterlogging the new plants, if it was me, I think I'd just make sure they get at least one good drink a day until they settle in. It's basically a matter of keeping them alive long enough that their roots will find their way beyond the compost and into the soil. Once the roots find their way into the soil, the plants should largely look after themselves but until then, they'll need a fair bit of care.

 

I don't know, but most of the gardens here have them, a neighbour gave me this one..

 

Ok pete and clueless, I think that's what I'll do. Water every night and wait and see. And even if they all drop dead on me, I can always buy more and either get somebody to clear away the gravel and membrane, or else put them in pots and planters. Nothing rare and precious in there. TY all so much Cornerers!

 

I thought you were dead set against pots and planters.

When you cut through the membrane to make a planting hole, did you cut a circle out or did you do the old cross cut strategy? The reason I ask is that there are pros and cons to each, with the cross cut approach helping to maintain weed suppression but also making watering more difficult.

 

I do hate pots clueless but it might be too much work for us to remove this bl**dy gravel and I might be forced to use pots or maybe big planters. Husband did cross cuts, but he was struggling and not well and didn't try too hard. And I kept my face shut in case he downed tools and stalked off.
As husbands are sometimes wont to do...
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> runs

 

One last pesky question gardeners and I'm sorry to be a pain. Are there any wee rockery type plants or even wee shrubby type things that will survive in there? That I could use as fillers because I don't want to buy any more fancy stuff that will be a waste of time & money. The cistus is def not happy and the new leaves are already turning yellow - I will leave it to see if it recovers but meanwhile thought maybe I could fill the spaces with tougher things. Might have to do raised beds for next year, or a few big pots. No use is trying the impossible and removing this gravel is impossible for us.
And I am always grateful for all your replies - ty!

 

Aubretia would be worth a go and I have a brilliant white Iberis in flower now, you just give them both a haircut after flowering to keep them mound shaped.