Hi! I have several plants in containers that require either a mild acidic or acidic soil ph. Since all are planted in Schultz Potting Soil Plus, should I use an acid-loving fertilizer on these plants? Or do I need to repot all of them using an acid -loving potting soil? To be honest, I never really paid attention to soil requirements before. I had always heard that blue, purple, and black flowers needed acidic soil or fertilizers, so now that I have so many, I thought I would ask. Thank you in advance for all help.
Should I use an Acid-loving Fertilizer????
I don't know about particular colors requiring acidity, but I also faced the same dilemma, potting in regular Miracle Gro, then realizing that the plants needed acidic conditions. I use GreenLight soil acidifier with iron on my gardenias and other acid loving plants every coupla months and they all seem fine. I wouldn't recommend repotting with a different soil because once they're planted, they do prefer to stay there until the roots get crowded. I used to be fanatical about that kinda stuff, but have even used "tea" made from used coffee grounds for acidification in the past (like grandma used to do!) and they all do fine. For me, the older I get the more I tend to fuss about things. Get Miracid, or the GreenLight product, use as directed and I think you'll be fine! ;-D
Are you basing the acidic soil requirement on the "blue, purple and black" idea? Azaleas, for example, need acidic soil regardless of the flower color. What type of plants do you have? How did you find out that your plants needed acidic soil?
Thank you Liila...I hated to think I would have to do all that repotting! Bettydee...I looked up all my plants in the plant files, so I could tag them, that is where I found the information. As far as the blue, black, purple idea, I remember when I was very little, a lady who had the most beautiful garden telling me that.... She grew everything! I remember being amazed that she had flowers in every color, just like a box of crayola crayons...the great BIG box! :)) Thank you for setting me straight on that "theory".... sometimes you never know if something actually has merit or is just an "old wives tale" until you ask.
The pH of most potting mix is slightly acidic if it is peat based, usually a pH around 6.5. If your water contains a high level of disolved calcium(calcium carbonate hardness), it can make the pH go up over time. We have alkaline soil and water, so I use Azalea food on almost everything except the native plants that prefer the alkalinity.
If the plants start getting chlorotic(yellow leaves) you can use Iron to correct the problem, but some plants are sensitive to iron(marigolds will turn black when sprayed with iron). Plants can have too much iron, resulting in iron toxicity. This happens when the soil stays too wet, there is also calcium, magnesium or potassium deficiency and/or the pH is too LOW.
If you dont' have a pH soil test meter, you can take some of your soil and put in a glass or plastic container, add distilled water and swish it around then let the soil and water separate. Dip a pH test strip(from garden supply or pool supply store) into the water and it will give you a pretty accurate reading.
I talked to a lady the other day that used pickle juice on her acid loving plants. She also used coffee grounds and tea leaves.