What kind of plants can I grow in acidic soil (I have a big pine tree over my garden)?

Question

I have a big pine tree over my garden, pine needles all around, what kind of plants are suitable? and also, are there convienient ways to de-acidize the soil??

Thanks in advance

Answer 1

since you do not identify the existing Pine it is difficult to determine the effect you are attempting. I agree with the advise not to change the soils Ph level. do that and you are asking for trouble via disease and insects.
Rhodos and Azelea (same family) will do well, however, they must be at least three foot outside the drip line of the pine and it's needles. I would consider placing a border of either a semi-circle or full-circle around the pine. Dead front and to dead opposite center of the tree I would plant a Rhodo. Making the circle, or semi-circle, complete I would plant both Cotoneaster and Dwarft Holly or Dwarft Holly and the Hosta.
The Cotoneaster and Holly will survive nicely with the pine and feeding the tree will feed all the plants. The Hosta may not like so much acid, however, it is cheap and can be divided yearly to provide a full circle if desired. Make sure you do not disturb the pine needles. They are the food the tree needs. The other plants can use a Mir-Gro Treatment every now and then. Hope it helps. [e-mail]

Answer 2

Rhodies and azaleas are excellent flowering shrubs for areas of high acidity, like around pine trees. I wouldn't recommend de-acidizing the soil, since the pine tree needs it. Lime is a good mineral to use to de-acidify soil, if you decide to, but I'd work with the pine tree rather than against it. There are other plants which thrive in the high acid soil, most are evergreens. Blackberries also like it.

Answer 3

I have pine trees also and Azaleas are the best thing to plant around them. My yard has about 75 azaleas in it since it is 2 acres. I also planted hosta in and around in small groups since they multiple. Go to a nursery and they well help you find stuff to plant I did and then bought everything to get started while I was there. Good Luck

Answer 4

Blueberries...wish I had some pine needles. I'm currently side-dressing with coffee grounds.

Answer 5

The trees and shrubs on your new home site are growing poorly, so you take samples to the Extension office and the agent suggests a soil test. Test results show that your soil has a pH of 4.5, which is rated as strongly acid. The agent suggests you either take corrective action to raise the pH or grow different plants.

What do the test results mean? What are "acid soils" and what does pH measure? Why does this matter to your plants? How can you correct the situation or what alternative trees and shrubs can you grow?

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Acid soils
Acid soils are all soils that test lower than pH 7.0, which includes most soils east of the Mississippi River. In reality, most of these soils do not have significant acidity problems. Soils with pH's below 6.0 may need special treatment or plant selection. When soils become very acid, however, with pH's below 4.5, problems develop for many common landscape trees and shrubs. These strongly acid soils need either amendment to raise the pH or careful plant selection.


Interveinal chlorosis often develops when soil pH, that is either too high or too low for a particular plant, makes an important nutrient unavailable for plant absorption.

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pH
pH measures the available hydrogen ions in a solution, and describes the relative level of acidity or alkalinity measured on a scale of 1 (acid) to 14 (basic), with 7.0 as neutral. Vinegar is a mild acid; battery acid (sulfuric acid) is a strong acid. Baking soda is a mild base when mixed with water; lye (Drano) is a strong base. Pure water is neither basic nor acidic, and has a pH of 7.0.

The pH scale is logarithmic, with 14 gradations. Each increment of 1.0 actually represents a difference of ten times either more basic (alkaline) or acidic (i.e., 6.0 is ten times more acid than 7.0, 5.0 is a hundred times more acid than 7.0, and 4.0 is a thousand times more acid than 7.0). Acid soils are often called "sour" soils and basic soils are often called "sweet" soils.

Soil nutrients are available to plants for uptake and use only when they are dissolved in water as ions. Nutrient availability differs depending on the pH of the soil solution. A soil pH range of 6.0 to 7.0 provides the greatest compromise of nutrient availability for plants. Moving away from the pH 6.0 to 7.0 range makes some nutrients more available, while decreasing the availability of others. A decreasing or more acid pH not only makes some nutrients less available, but it may also cause others, such as Al and Mn, to become available in toxic concentrations.

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Causes of acid soils
Acid soils may be due to natural conditions or human disturbance of the soil. The same methods for adjusting acidity are recommended for either situation. The primary difference is that naturally acidic soil will eventually return to that state after pH adjustment, while pH adjustments to disturbed soils present a more long term change. Naturally acid soils occur when bedrock from which the soil evolved provides the natural elements for acidity, when rainfall leaches or washes away basic elements in the soil, or when land has been naturally forested. All of these situations are present in Virginia soils.

Virginia soil pH's range from 4.0 to 8.0 with most in the 5.1 to 5.5 range. Virginia rainfall is high, averaging 40 to 45 inches per year. Over time this rainfall has carried away water-soluble basic elements (i.e., Ca, Mg, K, NA), thus resulting in acid soils. High rainfall has also supported Virginia's forests. In contrast, low rainfall tends to produce natural grasslands with minimal leaching and thus alkaline (basic) soils.

Manmade acidic soils occur as a result of mining operations, farming, construction site development, and similar events that remove topsoil and expose the naturally acidic subsoil, or that deplete the soil of basic-forming elements. What is left is usually lacking in organic matter and available nutrients. While pH recovery can occur naturally, it will be slow, as will be plant reestablishment.

Landscape fertilization practices can also affect soil acidity. Repeated use of high ammonium or urea fertilizers, especially to turf areas that cover tree roots, can compound acidity problems. In situations where the soil is too acid, it may be better to use more basic fertilizers, many of which are nitrate based. Water used for landscape irrigation can also contribute to acidity problems and, therefore, it is valuable to have both your soil and your water tested before taking corrective measures.

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Answer 6

I've had luck w/hast as in soil like that

Answer 7

Azaleas, rodies, hydrangea (if you like the blue blooms) and if you are in the right climate zone, gardenias.

Answer 8

cucumbers love acidic soil and lime will sweeten it