"Chris Hogg" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 04 Aug 2003 12:38:58 +0100, Retired_Paul
wrote:

On Sat, 02 Aug 2003 18:24:12 +0100, Chris Hogg wrote:

On Fri, 01 Aug 2003 13:56:30 +0100, Carl Warnell
wrote:


I've put some coffee grounds around it and watered it with a solution
containing a couple of teaspoons of vinegar, to try to get the acidity
back up. Any other ideas? The plant must be at least 10 years old (I
acquired it from a relative) and is about 5 feet tall.

Much depends on where the water came from. I don't think the coffee
grounds or the vinegar will help much.

On the same theme just how would you "Acidify" soil to make
Rhododendrons etc more comfortable.

TIA

Paul
'Acidifying' soil as such is quite difficult. If it's chalky, you've
no hope, because the chalk holds the pH high, and the only way to
acidify it is to dissolve all the chalk. If the soil is only very
slightly alkaline or neutral, then adding acid compost regularly over
a period of years may increase the acidity slightly. But your best bet
is to water on sequestered iron and trace elements.

Using "Miracid" gives you the best of both worlds. It sontains both
phosphorus pentoxide and sequestered iron. The former slowly forms
phosphoric acid when reacting with the soil moisture. I do grant you that
if the soil actually is largely chalk or limestone, you will not be able to
acidify it without dissolving away all the soil.

These don't change
the acidity (contrary to what the labels imply) but they do provide
the nutrients not available in alkaline soils. Look for 'ericaceous'
fertilisers, or those containing sequestered iron and trace elements.

[Franz Heymann]