Earlier this summer I purchased 8 ericaceous compost bags from a
well-known
supplier which subsequently caused me quite a bit of grief
when I could have
easily lost some expensive and difficult-to-replace
plants. My bags had all the
enticing pictures of healthy cammellias and
rhododendrons we are used to seeing
and the inference was obvious.
But within a week of planting, my acid lovers were showing signs of
nutient
deficiency. Over the next several weeks I added the extra
nutrients separately
in order to identify the culprit but to no avail,
by which time my plants were
looking very sick. Having exhausted all
other possibilities I eventually checked
the pH, (which I hadn't done
previously because I did expect ericaceous compost
to be acidic), at
this late stage I was simply checking to see just how acidic
it was.
The result was pH 7- neutral.
I changed my new compost immediately. But not before I had been
compelled to
remove all the newly grown roots that were embedded within
the original new
compost and trimmed the new top-growth to balance the
foliage with the root
system and thus avoid rapid dehydration.
My second new compost was tested before purchase with a simple probe
through the
bag (5.5pH). Within the week my plants were showing
distinct signs of recovery.
The first compost was 'recycled' in the veg
patch. It may have been a poor
patch, but then again it might not. So,
it might be as well to double check -
'cause ultimately, it's the
easiest option.
--
Winsford
XML site map