If they are fertilized regularly and planted in well-drained soil in a sunny location, they have the potential to bloom for six weeks or more. No matter what time of the growing season, we get lots of questions about changing the pH of soil. Before anyone takes a step toward acidifying or increasing the alkalinity of soil it is important to have an accurate test done to measure the pH. This can be done by the Soil Testing Lab at the University of Minnesota or by a number of other labs. Once you have a base-line measurement, the home tests can be useful to monitor the soil pH, but we suggest starting with a lab test. The best product to acidify soil is elemental sulfur.
Lime is the best product to increase alkalinity.
Since so much of our soil is more alkaline than it should be for healthy plant growth, you'd think we would sell lots more sulfur than lime. Unfortunately, too many gardening and lawn care books routinely refer to liming your soil. Now is the time to do any needed pruning on spring-flowering shrubs that have just finished blooming. Each year about this time we begin getting questions about moldy cocoa mulch and this year is no exception. Luckily, the mold is only a temporary condition that can be quickly resolved by stirring up the mulch.