its solid clay for as far as im willing to dig. top soil is only 3 to 4 inches. the sample i gave was of the clay... theres no lime that i can tell, but its possible that i put something in that doesnt agree with them when they were planted. i cant imagine what off the top of my head, but its possible

The high calcium can interfer with uptake of other minerals. pH is not that bad, but you could lower it and that would help.