The Importance of Soil pH for Growing Daylilies
The Importance of Soil pH for Growing Daylilies
You should not ignore the most important part of growing daylilies this is how to manage and control the soil pH in your garden. This is an important factor to keeping your daylilies healthy and lush and not wilted and worthless. This is not an easy task but to keep the soil pH at the right acidity organically you need to acquire a pH testing kit. You also need to be patient as the pH change does not happen over night. Not many people have the perfect pH in their garden soil this is something you have to constantly keep working at. Garden soils are commonly described as acidic (sour) or alkaline (sweet). Here are some basic concepts every gardener needs to know.
The right soil pH definitely promotes the successful growth of your plants. For daylilies, it is best to keep your soil within the pH of 6.5 up to a maximum of 7. A pH of 6.5 to 7 is generally acidic to neutral. You have to make sure that you do not overpower the acidic property of the soil because this can definitely cause damage to your daylilies. For those who are not aware, you can easily control and manage the pH of the soil by adding various components. For instance, you can increase the organic matter in your soil to reach the desired pH for the daylilies. You can also use compost or other recommended organic materials by an expert florist or even your trusted gardener. Once the soil becomes too acidic, you can always normalise its pH by using ground limestone which is specifically used for agricultural purposes. One of the best types of limestone that you can use is the Dolomitic Limestone. It is enriched with several nutrients that can be of great help to maintain the healthy growth of your daylilies. On the other hand, if the soil turns alkaline, it is best to add highly recommended materials like ground oak bark, oak leaves, oak sawdust and among others. These organic materials will ensure that you will be able to reach and maintain your desired pH for the soil. A good soil pH will definitely help you produce a good set of daylilies.
Wrong Soil pH for Daylilies: The Consequences
Aside from this if you choose to ignore the importance of pH when it comes to the growth of daylilies, these are some of the things that will happen to your soil and daylily plants. If you are not able to maintain the pH of your soil, you cannot expect a good set of healthy daylilies to be grown. You have to be very careful when it comes to maintaining the pH of your soil. A pH below 7 would already be acidic while a pH of more than 7 would already be alkaline. The ideal pH for the soil is actually slightly acidic up to neutral. If you are able to keep up with that, then you are doing good with your daylilies. Never add lime until you have tested your soil and it tests 6 or below. Example Of Daylilies pH for Optimum Growth
If you keep the wrong soil pH for your daylilies, you will not promote the growth of helpful bacteria in the soil. Did you know that some bacterias are actually needed in the soil to ensure that decomposition occurs properly? Decomposition is needed to release various nutrients in the soil so that they are made available for the daylilies to use. If decomposition does not take place due to the absence of bacteria which only grows at a certain pH, no minerals will be available and this will definitely promote the stunting of growth of your daylilies. In the worst condition, this can deprive your plants of nutrients and can even lead to the death of the daylilies.
The wrong pH of the soil can also hinder the growth of microorganisms which are very essential in the conversion of nitrogen in a readily usable form for daylilies. With these explanations, you can clearly see that maintaining the wrong pH can definitely be risky and damaging for daylilies. You have to be really careful in keeping the soil pH at a slightly acidic to a neutral level.
Changing Soil pH: High or Low
If you do not have a normal pH for your soil where your daylilies are grown, you have to take the right actions to correct the problem. Acidic or alkaline soil can definitely be damaging for daylilies. If daylilies are grown in either of these conditions, they will not really grow well at all. If you really want to be successful in growing your daylilies, you have to use certain organic materials that will adjust your pH from acidic or alkaline to slightly acidic or neutral.
Organic materials are highly recommended to be used in altering your soil’s pH. There can be a lot of artificial soil pH altering products available in the market but you can never be sure about their contents. These products are generally made of chemicals that often times, are truly harmful to the environment. The chemical contents can even be damaging than helpful to the daylilies in the long run. These are just some of the reasons why you should definitely consider using organic materials to change the soil pH.
If your soil becomes too acidic, the best thing to do is to look for the best type of limestone to sweeten your soil and add it to the soil. It is best to use the Dolomitic type compared to the others because they contain important nutrients like calcium and even magnesium which are greatly helpful to promote the healthy growth of the plants. Some limestones do not have such essential nutrients and minerals. When using the limestones to decrease the acidity of the soil, you have to make sure that you grind it very well so that it will properly mix with the soil.
If the soil pH becomes more alkaline, it is best to use different types of organic materials that will neutralise the soil. You can add grounded coffee to somehow decrease the pH of the soil. You have to make sure that you don’t put too much of it because it can definitely make your soil too acidic. You can also try to use elemental sulfur or what is also known as sulfur flowers. You can also try to add oak leaves, grounded oak bark and other related organic materials.
Change of Soil pH Over Time
Through time, the pH of your soil generally will change and you have to monitor it from time to time to make sure that the pH is at the normal level for the optimum growth of the daylilies. Most people are not aware that there are actually several factors that affect the change of soil pH over time. First of all, the main component of the soil can greatly affect the pH. For example, the soil can be made from different types of stones and each stone contributes to the increase or decrease of the pH of the soil.
Aside from this, the pH of the soil can also be affected by environmental factors primarily involving weather and climate change. These conditions can definitely affect the consistency of the soil especially, its pH. Certain natural occurrences like precipitation can also affect the pH of the soil. Through time, as there is more precipitation, the leaching of certain nutrients like magnesium and calcium actually increases and this promotes the decrease of pH. The type of plant grown in the soil can also contribute to pH change. There are certain types of plants that promote the existence of different organic acids which can definitely reduce the pH of the soil and as a result promote acidity. Some plants or crops may do the other way around and cause alkalinity.
These are some of the most important things that you need to know about how to organically Increase or decrease the pH of the soil that you grow your daylilies in.
