Wessex Ericaceous Soil
Stone Zone is delighted to announce that we now have our own Wessex® Ericaceous Soil. Our brand-new Ericaceous Soil is perfect for plants that thrive in an acidic environment, enabling you to create a vibrant, long-lasting garden.
The Wessex® Ericaceous Soil is part of our popular Wessex® Soils range which contains other soil types such as the Wessex® BS3882 10mm Soil, Wessex® Borders & Beds Topsoil, Wessex® Lawn & Turf Seeding Soil and more!
What Is Ericaceous Soil?
The quality that makes this soil ‘Ericaceous’ is its low pH level of 4 to 5, making it fairly acidic. This acidic soil creates the perfect home for plants like azaleas and camellias that only bloom when planted in an acidic plant bed.
The term ‘ericaceous’ is the proper name for something being ‘acid-loving’ or ‘lime-hating.’ This refers to the fact (as we explained earlier) that plants that thrive in acidic plants exclusively require an Ericaceous Soil to be able to grow properly.
Benefits of an Ericaceous Soil
If you have limited space or don’t want large expanses of plants, then our Ericaceous Soil may be the answer you are looking for because Ericaceous Soil is great for potted plants. Plotted plants are a great way for new gardeners to learn more about gardening and planting as you don’t have to take care of many plants simultaneously. They are also great for smaller gardens and balconies.
With our nutrient-rich soil and if you maintain your plants well, they do not need to be fed as often, making your gardening experience less tedious and low maintenance.
Ericaceous Soil is able to retain moisture much better than other types of soil, meaning you can get away with watering it less, but also means that during the summer months, it will not dry out as easily. However, this doesn’t mean that you don’t have to properly water them on a regular basis, you still need to ensure that they are watered well during the summer heat.
Which Plants Need Ericaceous Soil
There is a wide range of plants, flowers, trees and even fruit that require an Ericaceous or acidic soil to bloom and grow properly. We’ve already mentioned azaleas and camellias but there are many more plants if you want to have some more variety in your garden.
Magnolias, a favourite flower among many gardeners, thrive in acidic to neutral soil. You will see the best results when you plant them in a sunny or partly shaded area of your garden.
Another popular plant would be blueberries. If you plant them in a sunny spot during early Spring time, you will see them grow in a number of weeks and enjoy vibrant and delicious blueberries.
As we mentioned earlier, there are some varieties of trees that also need acidic soils to grow, an example would be Citrus Trees. Citrus trees grow well in slightly acidic soil making our Ericaceous Soil perfect for them.
There are some things to keep in mind when growing plants in acidic soil to ensure that they have the best chance to grow possible. Read on for our set of instructions that you can follow so you end up with the most beautiful garden.
Many Ericaceous plants can’t handle direct sunlight (please research before planting) as that level of heat may cause leaves and petals to burn off, so when deciding where to install your plants, maybe consider a slightly shaded area.
It may sound obvious, but your plants need to be watered and fed well to grow properly. Even though Ericaceous soil is excellent at retaining moisture, you will not get the best results if you don’t maintain them regularly.
How to Maintain Your Wessex Ericaceous Soil
Keep the Wessex Ericaceous Soil separate from other soils so as to avoid contamination. The last thing we need before planting is for the soils to mix and their pH levels to change, which could have a negative impact on your plants, so to be safe keep them as separate as possible.
Add a layer of mulch on top of the soil to lock in the pH level and keep it stable for much longer. The longer the pH level stays acidic, the less work you have to do to replace the soil.
Another way to retain the soil’s acidity is to add materials that will acidify the soil, substances such as citrus peels, coffee grounds or even tea bags are an effective yet straightforward way to enhance the acidity of your soil, increasing its longevity.
To ensure your plants get all the necessary nutrients, consider purchasing Ericaceous Plant Feed. Plant Feed contains vital components that will help your plant grow robustly and not die out. Paired with watering regularly there is no chance your plants will wilt.
Even though it’s a simpler alternative, do NOT use tap water when watering your Ericaceous soil. We understand that this makes life much harder, but treated tap water is alkaline, and therefore you would be completely changing your soil if you water it with tap water. There are a couple of ways you can negate this issue, first, you can collect rainwater, which is not a difficult thing to do in England, or second, if that’s not possible, you can add a small amount of vinegar to your watering can of tap water and water your plants that way. We would suggest checking your soil’s pH level regularly if you go down this route.
Creating Your Ericaceous Garden
We have already mentioned potted plants earlier and how they are a good way of utilising Ericaceous Soils, but there are other ways of creating your dream garden with our Wessex Ericaceous Soil as well.
An effective and relatively simple way of creating a great garden area is to have a raised plant bed. Creating raised plant beds can be possible using wooden sleepers – you can make this into a DIY project or hire a professional to create one for you. Raised plant beds are a good way to go because you won’t have to worry about digging up your old soil and risk contamination. Once your raised beds have been installed, the majority of them should be filled with the Wessex Ericaceous Soil, then some Mulch for added protection and then finally your plant seeds and watch your plants grow!
Buy With Confidence
- Our Wessex Farmyard Manure can be purchased as a bulk bag that contains approximately 0.6m3
- Please select the bag size you'd like to buy and add to your basket
- Our Soils & Mulches will either arrive on a HIAB lorry that can be used to lift the stone onto your garden, or it will arrive on a pallet for kerbside delivery; depending on your address
- You can choose free collection from one of our Depots or fuss-free, home delivery.
A Service You Can Rely On
- Our reliable service offers prompt delivery to any area in the UK
- Stone Zone is a family-run business that has been well-established since 1998
- Our efficient customer advisors can help you with your purchase
- We pride ourselves on offering a range of affordable garden supplies
Sample Soil is available in-store, please ask a customer advisor.
A Delivery Service you can Rely on
You don't need to be there for delivery; if you're happy to do so, our delivery drivers can deliver bulk bags to your front garden without a signature.
Alternatively, our experienced drivers can operate their lorries to deliver bulk bags over fences at the front, side or back of your property, you will need to be present for this delivery type.
Please let us know if there are any access difficulties to your road or property. If your property has very tight access and we need to use a small lorry, a surcharge of £30 + vat will apply.
Any questions? Use our live chat to speak to an advisor, alternatively, you can fill out an enquiry form or call us on 01202 874207.
