Turns hydrangeas blue. Lowers the pH of soils for optimum growth of acid-loving plants. Derived from Elemental Sulfur & Gypsum.
Acclaimed for turning hydrangeas blue, Espoma® Soil Acidifier is ideal for acid loving plants. Its highly pure organic soil supplementation safely decreases soil pH for months. Controlled-release formulation of 30 percent sulfur safely increases sulfur levels.
Acidifying materials
Two types of material can be used for soil acidification: elemental sulfur, which yields relatively rapid results, and nitrogen fertilizer, which acts more slowly. If soil acidification is needed, most homeowners want quick results, so elemental sulfur is the best option.
Some people say Epsom salt will make soil more acidic because of its sulfur content, but field tests usually show it has miniscule to no effect on pH. Unless you really overdo it, you probably won't do any plant damage by adding the suggested amounts of Epsom salt.
Save those coffee grounds and sprinkle them around your garden or add them to your compost pile. As coffee grounds break down, they will also contribute to making your soil more acidic.
Adding organic matter every time you plant, in the form of compost will lower the soils pH over time. We can't say enough about compost!
Alkaline soils can be acidified with a solution of 1 tablespoon white vinegar per gallon of water used as a soil drench.
Improving acidic garden soil isn't difficult, but it will take a bit of time and patience. Whether you choose lime, bonemeal, wood ash, compost, or a combination of them to help improve your soil, you'll have a healthier garden and stronger plants as a result.
If your hydrangeas are pink (meaning your soil is alkaline) and you want them to turn blue, make the soil more acidic by adding aluminum sulfate or a soil-acidifying treatment, which can be purchased at any garden center. Adding pine needles, compost, and even coffee grounds to the soil can help, too.
Gently work acidifying soil additives into the top layer of the soil around the root zone whenever you'd normally fertilize your hydrangeas, usually in early spring.
Some gardeners report success in turning their hydrangeas blue by applying coffee grounds to the soil. The coffee grounds make the soil more acidic, allowing the hydrangea to more easily absorb aluminum. In addition, fruit peels, lawn clippings, peat moss and pine needles, are thought to have a similar effect.
Adding aluminum sulfate will tend to lower the pH of the soil. Another method for lowering the pH is to add organic matter to the soil such as coffee grounds, fruit and vegetable peels, grass clippings etc.
You can use vinegar to lower the pH of your soil, but be aware that in order to achieve blue blooms, you will need both an acidic environment and aluminum ions. The acidic environment will also need to be a sustained over a period of time, which could be hard if rainwater is washing the vinegar away.
Soil pH can be reduced most effectively by adding elemental sulfur, aluminum sulfate or sulfuric acid.
To Make Soil a Little More Acidic
If you have neutral soil, add one full cup of ACV to a gallon of water and add this mix to the soil around acid-loving plants.
Continue the vinegar fermentation by adding alcohol. By adding alcohol to a fermenting vinegar the final acidity of the fully fermented vinegar will be increased.
Two materials commonly used for lowering the soil pH are aluminum sulfate and sulfur. These can be found at a garden supply center. Aluminum sulfate will change the soil pH instantly because the aluminum produces the acidity as soon as it dissolves in the soil.
The most common practice is to add a material that contains lime, however other methods such as using baking soda or eggshells will also increase the pH in soil.
Coffee grounds can be beneficial to your soil. However, they have not been shown to consistently lower soil pH. Cultivating a robust and diverse population of soil microbes is the foundation for healthy soil and healthy plants. Soil organisms then transform these nutrients into chemicals that plants use for growth.
As it happens, eggshells can provide all the calcium carbonate the soil needs, which helps to lower the soil's pH level and make it more alkaline as opposed to acidic. This is incredibly beneficial for plant growth because many plants prefer to grow in soil that has low acidity.
How does Epsom and healing salt work? Epsom Salts were first named for a saline spring in Surrey, England and have the chemical composition of Magnesium Sulphate which is an Alkaline chemical compound.