Ever wonder why some plants or grass does not grow well in your soil?
Most Virginian soils that are not well managed have lower pH’s.
A common example of how acidity effects plants are the various colors of hydrangeas. Hydrangea’s coloring will change based on the acidity. If you’ve ever wondered why your pink hydrangea you bought at the store turned blue, this is why.
How to Control pH:
Getting the soil to a better pH, in the root zone, is essential for plant nutrient uptake.
Watering and more fertilizer are not the solution if the soil’s pH is not managed well because the nutrients will not be as available to the plant roots. Liming of the soil may be required to raise the pH.
Plants require 16 essential elements to grow and develop: hydrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, potassium, nitrogen, sulfur, calcium, iron, carbon, boron, magnesium, chlorine, manganese, molybdenum, copper and zinc. The table shows the best pH for plant available nutrients.
Virginia Tech Soil testing is a good idea to find what is needed to manage soil nutrients.
Soil and pH information provided by NRCS.