[Arid_gardener] Question from Home-Hort WWW page

[trainhr1 at cox.net]

Leslie 
85032
trainhr1 at cox.net

I hope you can help me. 

Since we have tried landscaping our yard, I have had some bizarre results. We recognized that the soil was depleted, so I have been using manure and mulch to help in a flower garden. Despite my efforts, most of the flowers die off. In checking with my gardening books and this website, I was advised to check the roots. When I do, I find the plants have no roots. Most of the flowers I have put in seem to start well and then get sickly and dry up. When I check to see what happened, the plants  seem to have a stunted root system if any roots at all. 

Most of the grass, except at the edges and in the garden has died off. If I overwater, then we get some grass growth. It's a Bermuda grass with a root system that is unbelievable often extending several feet before popping out of the ground. 

Currently, the only healthy plant is verbena. I have a couple of mum plants that are stunted, but most died. My citrus trees aren't growing as fast as they should. The cacti are doing better now that we have had all the rain. 

We have changed the watering system to a drip system recently. I was hoping that getting the right amount of water to the plants would help, and it has to a certain degree. The plants, however are still not strong or big.

I would appreciate any suggestions or ideas.

Thank you. 

Leslie