It's just a common phenomenon known as soil compaction and will happen to all your potted plants over time ... loosen as much of the old soil from around the roots as possible.

Gardeners put a lot of effort into their landscape, and adding mulch will help reap many benefits, said David Hillock, ...

Clay soils can be challenging for gardeners ... you can end up with poor drainage and excessive compaction. These problems can put the roots of many plants at risk of poor development or plant ...

After hundreds of years of development, Philadelphia has lost much of the organic matter, minerals, sand and clay that make up natural soil ... rural trees can live. Resisting compaction can ...

I wrote a column for this Thursday’s print edition on the soggy start to the planting season. But, along with that, here’s an interesting article written by a crops educator with ...