Growing acid loving plants on a neutral or alkaline soil

Neutral and alkaline soil with a soil pH of 6.5 and above in most cases is not the best soil for growing acid-loving plants such as azaleas and Rhododendrons.
If you have garden soil with a soil pH of 6.5 and above you can create soil with a lower soil pH in certain areas of your garden.
This is done by adding additional elements to the soil which contain sulphuric acid and counteract the existing lime in the soil lowering the soil pH
Suitable elements are
Garden compost
Well-rotted farm and horse manure – making sure it has no weed such as fat hen or bindweed etc. Best taken from the middle of the stake to avoid any weeds that have established themselves on the outside of the stake
Well-rotted composted wood or bark – composted for over 5 years
Yellow sulphur or flowers of sulphur
Iron Sulphate – as a powder
Check with your MyGardenTeam garden for the amounts required

Once added each year you will need to apply additional compost or manures to help maintain the lower soil pH
With acid-loving plants, each species of plant has a different level of soil pH that suits its optimum growth. For example, a magnolia requires a slightly acid soil ph 6.0 and a Pieris plant requires a higher a much lower soil pH of around pH 5.5

For further advice on growing Growing acid loving plants on a neutral or alkaline soil ask your GardenAdvice gardening expert with our online gardening advice service or our MyGardenTeam service