"Cat(h)" wrote in message
...
I have two pieris in pots - they were dug out of the garden a couple
of years ago when I realise they needed ericaceous compost and were
basically languishing sadly in my border, looking burned up and going
nowhere. They are now quite healthy and lush, but potbound. I could
of course put them into bigger pots. But within two years, I'd need
bigger pots again - and the pots they're in already are not exactly
tiny. Also, I find that if I go away at all during the summer, they
get terribly thirsty.
Would it be a viable option to dig a very large hole in my border,
much bigger than the current rootball, fill it with ericaceous compost
and plant my pieris therein? Would the ph of the surrounding soil
leach into the ericaceous one over time, and damage my pieris? Or
would I need to put some kind of barrier - heavy polythene, or such -
to avoid this? Has anyone done something like this to include pieris
into an otherwise unsuitable garden?
Your views and advice would be much appreciated.

Cat(h)

Provide acidic soil (Ph6), shelter from early morning sun and cold
winds.

Best to use a simple soil tester and then, if necessary, apply CHEMPAK
SULPHUR Major Trace Element, which is an easy to scatter chip grade
sulphur that lowers the soil pH. It's box has excellent instructions.
The main purpose of this sulphur is to correct the soil acidity for
ericaceous plants.

Regards,
Emrys Davies.