Acidic Soil

Every plant requires specific conditions to grow. Be it the temperature range, amount of sunlight, amount of water, soil nutrients or the pH of the soil! They all have a set of requirements for proper growth. Some plants require a fairly acidic soil to grow, while others grow well in alkaline soils. Soil pH is actually the measure of its acidity. Soil having a pH of anything below 7 is considered as acidic. Soil acidity is one of the most important factors that decides the growth and overall health of the plant. The pH of the soil greatly affects the availability of nutrients in the soil. A number of diseases that affect plants also tend to thrive in soil that has a particular pH. This is the reason why determining the pH of the soil is an important part of gardening.

How to Make Acidic Soil?
Certain plants like blue hydrangea or azalea thrive only in acidic soils and hence, knowing how to increase the acidity of soil becomes very important for gardeners who intend to grow such acid loving plants. The pH of the soil can be determined with the help of kits available in your local nursery or you could get it checked by sending a soil sample to the lab. If you find that the soil is alkaline you will have to lower its pH, to make it acidic. You can do this by adding certain elements to the soil. This is how you could go about it:

• Adding sphagnum peat to the soil is the easiest way to lower the pH of the soil. Just add a pinch of peat moss to the soil around the plants. You could also add it during planting.
• Another inexpensive way of increasing the acidity of soil is by adding sulfur to the soil. However, this may take a few months to make the soil acidic as sulfur is one of the slowest acting options.
• Watering your plants with two tablespoons of vinegar mixed with a gallon of water, twice a day can be an easy solution to fix soil alkalinity. However, this is a temporary method and will last only till the vinegar is absorbed and depleted.
• Putting a layer of sawdust or wood chips on the soil around plants can also help in lowering soil pH.
• There are several organic fertilizers available that help in increasing the acidity of soil. Fertilizers containing ammonium nitrate, ammonium sulfate or sulfur coated urea serve as a good choice for lowering the pH of the soil.

Plants that Grow in Acidic Soil

• Heather - Calluna vulgaris
• Azalea - Rhododendron kaempferi
• Wintergreen - Gaultheria procumbens
• Bayberry - Myrica pensylvanica
• Daphne - Daphne cneorum
• Mountain Laurel - Kalmia latifolia
• Silverbell - Halesia carolina
• Holly - llex opaca
• Oak - Quercus palustris
• Sweetbay - Magnolia virginiana
• Summersweet - Clethra alnifolia
• Fothergilla - Fothergilla major
• Blueberry - Vaccinium corymbosum
• Bear's breech - Acanthus mollis
• Kiwifruit - Actinidia deliciosa
• Red buckeye - Aesculus pavia
• Wild sarsaparilla - Aralia nudicaulis
• Sweet fern - Comptonia peregrina
• Winter hazel - Corylopsis pauciflora
• Chinese cucumber - Cucumis melo
• Star magnolia - Magnolia stellata
• Royal fern - Osmunda regalis

Almost all the evergreens prefer this soil type. Rhododendrons, hydrangeas, azaleas, lilacs and most varieties of roses are some more examples of acidic soil plants. Hope you found this information useful!