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How to add Ericaseous soil

susananwmssusananwms Posts: 213
in Plants
I have a heather and an acer planted in the garden and I have a blueberry in a pot.  
Know these need Ericaseous soil and have bought some compost
Do I need to remove some soil before adding this or can I just spread it around the plant in the garden
Realise it may be different for the plant in the pot
Doing my head in googling everything, and friends all have their own ideas (some think they are experts and are not haha)
I am thinking that I can just add to the base of the plant in the garden????
Have bought a dedicated book now to try and add all facts and advice in some kind of order re plants, pruning, feeding etc.  Tried before but failed miserably.  Hopefully better this time

Posts

  • Cambridgerose12Cambridgerose12 Posts: 1,134
    It depends on what pH your garden soil is anyway. Have you tested? If not, you can buy a very cheap and simple kit. Dig a hole in your garden, and take the sample from about a spade's depth down. 

    In essence--if your garden soil is alkaline then you can't correct it easily and ericaceous plants are best in containers. Ideally for shrubs and subshrubs like these, you need a soil-based ericaceous compost, not potting compost. John Innes ericaceous is the only one that has worked for me--Westland do a version. The reason is that only a soil-based compost has enough substance to allow your shrubs to grow proper roots.

    If your garden soil is acid, then the only reason you'd need to add compost is to mulch around your plants. In that case, spread about 5cm deep and keep it a bit away from the trunk or main stem, to avoid rot.
  • Allotment BoyAllotment Boy Posts: 6,774
    Unless your soil is very alkaline,  the Acer will be fine as it is.  You can mulch with composted bark. I have several Acers in my garden and I am on London Clay, they are not as sensitive as many people think. 
    AB Still learning

  • susananwmssusananwms Posts: 213
    Wow Cambridge, sorry I do not know what the PH of my soil is.  I am very definitely a novice gardener,  I have the Westland Ericaceous soil which I thought was ok to just add.
    Thank you Allotment, I have very good soil so I have been told but I do the little extras for certain plants because I do not know any different
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