"Nick Maclaren" wrote in message
...

In article ,
"Bob" writes:
|
| Is it really a sign of acid soil? I've been puzzling about my soil for
a
| while now - the surrounding gardens have lovely magnolias (acid?), and
my
| acers and rhododendrons seem to do fine (acid) but my hydrangeas always
come
| out pink (alkaline) - even the ones that were blue when I bought them.
The
| soil testing kit said slightly alkaline, but I have huge areas of moss
| spreading across the lawn, and the paths always get a thick spongy coat
in
| the winter...

Some mosses are, but the real reason is that alkaline soils in the
UK tend to be well-drained. As far as I know, there are mosses
that will grow vigorously on any soil in the UK (including 'soils'
so poor that they count as hardcore), subject only to sufficient
damp.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Well they certainly grow well enough on my asphalt path, and I'd class that
as a poor soil!

I didn't think the lawn was badly drained, though. There are two chusan
palms that don't seem to mind living in it (even though there is clay about
a foot down)

It never seems squelchy, and there are plenty of ants and worms keeping
things nice and airy. Half of it is shady though, and that is where most of
the moss seems to be - the sunny half is all clover (I wish I knew of some
nice chemical that would kill that off!)

Bob