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In a marginal corner of the garden, the previous tenant had questionable bonfires, which left a very deep layer of ashes, glass, metal, plastic and ceramic bits.

I have cleaned most of the coarsest waste left, and left the ashes, and now I would like to plant something on this area. Grass roots (Elymus repens) seem to take very long to migrate from the surrounding areas.

I thought I would refill part of the area (perhaps the size of a 10-litre pot) and plant a tree that could cope with the partially contaminated soil and perhaps even remove some of the heavy metals and other contaminants from the soil. Willow is the only candidate that comes to mind, but I am wondering if there are other options.

However, whatever goes in will have to cope with the surrounding contamination/high pH.

usumdelphini
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  • Do you mean *Elymus repens* (couch grass)? If that won't grow, I would clean out the lot and refill the hole with soil. Bear in mind that all the unknown contamination will be concentrated in the ash, and *nothing* will grow in 100% ash in any case. – alephzero Jun 05 '19 at 16:11
  • Yes, surely I will refill with compost and topsoil, but it's impossible for me to remove all the ash and refill completely. So I would refill a certain amount (say 10-20 litres) and then plant something in the hole (wildflowers, tree?). However, whatever goes in will have to cope with the surrounding contamination/high pH. – usumdelphini Jun 05 '19 at 16:19
  • Which kind of soil do you have? Ash has basic reaction, E. repens like neutral soil, so maybe your soil is too much alkaline, so it will take some time. Check also humidity, if it is much different vs. the rest of garden. – Giacomo Catenazzi Jun 06 '19 at 08:28
  • Around the bonfire pit it's heavy clay, neutral pH, but there are at least 90-100cm (depth) of ashes. I will clearly dig a hole and refill with topsoil, but I wanted to know something that would grow its roots in the ash without succumbing to it. I might in fact plant lavender, as it seems to have good effectiveness against soil intoxicants and it should like the high pH. – usumdelphini Jun 14 '19 at 19:20

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