It often happens that some plants have yellowish leaves, the general condition declines, and we do not know the reason. It is important to know the pH of both the water and the substrate that we use, since one of the reasons why a plant begins to regress for no apparent reason is precisely the use of inadequate irrigation water, or a substrate that is not the right one. appropriate for her.
There are several meters on the market, in different ways, depending on what we use it for; that is, we have pH meters for the water, and pH meters for the substrate.
Some plants that require an acid pH are the following:
- Acer palmatum
- Camellia
- Heather
- Rhododendron
- Fuchsia
- Hydrangea
- Gardenia
- liquidambar
There are some plants, such as Chaenomeles japonica (Japanese quince) that, although they prefer an acidic pH, can adapt to an alkaline one.
And some of those that require an alkaline or neutral pH are:
- Ceratonia silica
- prunus
- Rhamnus
- Quercus ilex
- palm trees in general
- dracenas
- yuccas
What if I don’t have the right irrigation water or substrate, what can I do?
To lower the pH of the water you can do several things:
- Add a few drops of lemon or vinegar to two liters of water.
- Boil it and let it rest overnight.
To upload it:
- It will suffice to add a little baking soda, with caution .
To lower the pH of the substrate you can mix it with acid peat. But it is important to emphasize that it will be useless to have mixed it if we do not use irrigation water with a low pH (acid).
To raise it, it is mixed with ground limestone.
We will know if a plant may have problems with the pH when we see yellowish leaves, with very marked nerves, or when we see it grow more slowly than normal, without force.
