After 2 years, I finally got round to digging the hole to plant a dwarf apple tree. The top-soil in the section I selected is in good condition but after about 2 feet down, it started to become about 50% soft clay. Does that mean I'll have to site the tree somewhere else. Most plots on the site have varying amounts of clay - some have lots, but there are other dwarf trees around the site that are producing. Do you think they just got lucky where they planted, or is clay not a problem for the rootsif the tree is either dwarf or cordon.
Many thanks for the comments.
No..clay should not be problem. Just 'bash' your fork into bottom of the planting hole few times to 'break it' a little and use soil from hole for back filling. If you use anything to 'condition' the soil, mix it into last few inches of back filling as if used near clay..you might create point where all the surrounding moisture will drain into..like a puddle and standing water doesn't do any good for roots.
Goodlife...many thanks for the helpful advice