To successfully grow acid-loving plants, the key factor is maintaining the correct soil acidity. While many garden plants thrive in neutral to slightly alkaline conditions, numerous plants flourish in acidic soil. This guide will identify common garden plants that prefer acidic soil and provide essential tips on how to cultivate and care for them properly.
- Common acid-loving plants for your garden
- How to know if you have the soil for acid-loving plants
- Soil amendments for acid-loving plants
- Growing acid-loving plants in containers
Common acid-loving plants
A wide array of stunning plants thrive in acidic soil, making it a desirable condition for many gardeners. If your garden has acidic soil, you can cultivate beautiful specimens like azaleas, rhododendrons, camellias, magnolias, and even blueberries. Other excellent choices for acidic conditions include ceanothus, Japanese anemones, and Pieris japonica. Even if your garden soil isn't naturally acidic, these plants can still flourish in containers filled with the appropriate compost.
Soil for acid-loving plants
Determining your soil's pH is simple with readily available testing kits. These kits, often resembling a science experiment, offer various methods for analysis. Some kits utilize probes that are inserted directly into the soil for instant pH readings, while others involve collecting soil samples and using pH testing strips, which are then compared to a color chart. A lower pH indicates more acidic soil. While most plants thrive in a pH range of 6 to 8, acid-loving plants prefer more acidic conditions.
Soil amendments for acid-loving plants
If your soil isn't naturally acidic, you can try to increase its acidity by incorporating ericaceous compost annually, and perhaps more frequently. However, this can be a continuous effort, so if you have alkaline soil, a simpler and often more effective solution is to grow acid-loving plants in containers filled with ericaceous compost, readily available at garden centres.
Growing acid-loving plants in containers
For container-grown acid-loving plants, use ericaceous compost and otherwise care for them as you would any potted plant. Maintain the compost level as needed, and consider mulching with acidic materials like pine needles or coffee grounds for added benefit.
Find a diverse selection of acid-loving plants and the appropriate compost for them at Carpenter's Nursery.
