limestone pea gravel
Hello Everyone, I'm new to this site and really enjoying reading all you extrememly useful tips and advice, so I know this this the best place to get advice ... I'm totally new to gardening so I hope I dont confuse you with my basic terminology .. I have heavy clay and last year I planted a few rhododendrons and azaleas and theyve grown lovely with no problems that I can see. As the garden was uneven, bluebell ridden with bindweed etc, we just did a quick fix by throwing down the membrane and adding the pea gravel and just planting thecouple of rhododendrons. We had the house to decorate so a quick fix like this was the best option for us at that point. However, things are more settled now and I wanted to redo the garden properly, and therefore have been doing a lot of reading on my soil type and the plants Ive recently purchased. All was going to plan, Ive levelled the garden, added compost and manure and had some lovely stones delivered just now to add some interest so it didnt look so flat and the membrane has been put back down. My plan is to just slit the membrane and plant. The pea gravel sits on top of membrane (entire garden). However, the chappy who delivered our stones has just informed us the we have 'limestone pea gravel' and althouh Im a beginner I know limestone is a no no with acid , loving plants. Could you tell me, will it affect my plants as the garden is covered with membrane (the gravel wont sit directly on the plants) or am I doomed and have to buy different gravel. Much much thanks in advance for your time and advice, Ness
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...what's done is done and I wouldn't bother trying to change it now but adapt to living with it and see how things go....you've only planted a couple of Rhododendrons and a few Azaleas by the sound of things..if you notice any yellowing on the leaves over time, then I would treat with some liquid feed suitable for these plants, and to keep up that regime...once a month or so...during the growing season,... but for now you will just have to monitor the situation.... for any further planting I might avoid acid lovers and just plant more easy going plants until you see if your Rhododendrons are suffering at all...
..if your soil is naturally acidic then I wouldn't worry about it too much, personally...
Hi Both .... Thank you so much for the replies!!!!
Ive bought all the gravel last year for the front garden, it was all removed recentlyand not put back on yet as Ive been levellingthe ground, Ive added ericaceous compost, manure etc and in process of planting the plants ive bought. The plants choosen are mostly acid lovers, I could use the gravel in the back garden as I would prefer not to risk the plants. My budget is small and the garden is rather open to the elements so I want to avoid the bark route. So if
I didnt use the limestonegravel, could you suggest something similar (non limestone) .... Told you I was a beginner .... Big thank you again for helping, Ive never gardened before but Im loving the last few weeks of mynew learnkng curve, its now become an addiction...thank you. Hope youre all having a good day!
Hi as your clay is a natural PH buffer that should help the lime will eventually effect the soil ph. could you not create a clear space around your plants and fill it with crushed hard stone/slate/bark you could make it an interesting shape even edge it with some of the lawn edging to stop it mixing.Also feed your plants with ericaceous feed. you can also water with PH adjusted water using a PH meter or litmus strips to make the water acid you adjust the PH down. if your plants start to yellow it is because they cant absorb iron in the wrong PH for them so a feed of blood may help