THIS WEEK'S TIP FROM GARDEN GURU SUE BOTH

Sweet and sour soil!

Acid loving plants prefer a soil pH of about 5.5 or less. This lower pH enables these plants to absorb the nutrients they need to flourish and grow. The list of what type of plants grow in acidic soil is extensive.

Simply put, soil pH is the measure of how acid or alkaline your soil is.

Soil pH is measured on a simple scale that ranges from 0 to 14. The midpoint, pH 7, denotes a neutral soil, which is neither acid nor alkaline. Anything below pH 7 is acidic, and the lower the pH number, the more acidic the soil is. Alkaline soils are those with a pH above pH 7. Similarly, the higher the pH number, the more alkaline the soil is.

Some plants are adapted to growing on acidic soils, and will grow poorly on alkaline soils. Since our soil is mostly alkaline we have to create a favourable soil environment for these plants in order for them to flourish.

 

Some of the Acid loving plants are:

  • Hydrangea
  • Camelia
  • Gardenia
  • Azalea
  • Today-Yesterday and Tomorrow

 

When you plant acid loving plants make sure that you plant them with a 50% acid compost soil mixture. You would have to maintain the acidity of the soil constantly to keep your plants healthy by adding an acid supplement like Wonder Shake and Grow Blue Hydrangea and mulching with Acid compost. A mulch of pine needles could also be beneficial.

Join us this week Friday for our FREE online workshop on Acid Loving Plants, with Garden Guru Sue Both. This week’s prize will be sponsored by Efekto.

Please use the following login details to join us at 11am sharp over Zoom:

Meeting ID: 884 7918 3708  |  Passcode: 097644

or use the following direct link: https://bit.ly/3e5whCT