Vinegar

[Moose]

If vinegar mixed with water was applied around a croton's root zone, would this lower the Ph of the soil?

Would it be harmful or beneficial to the plant?

If vinegar was mixed in with water soluble fertilizer and applied as a foliar spray, would this be of any benefit?

My Ph level is around 7.0 and crotons reportedly prefer a slightly acid soil.

 

[Phil Stager]

yes, it will lower the pH of the soil - how much is another question. Your county Extension Service can probably give you a lot better ways of ammending the pH of the soil - and more economical also.

I doubt if a slightly acidic solution would harm the leaves - but remember acid rain.... The soil should be slightly acidic. Most nutrients are available to a plant within a rather limited pH range; a quick Google search should turn up a chart showing availability of various elements (N, K, P, Mg, etc...) as a function of pH.

...and don't forget that pH is a logarithmic scale.

 

[William Case]

Homedepot sells a soil acidifer I use to keep hydranges blue.I have used it on blueberrys and aeae banannas but not crotons yet.

 

[Jeff Searle]

William,

Welcome to this croton forum. Have you become addicted yet like most of here?

 

[Moose]

Homedepot sells a soil acidifer I use to keep hydranges blue.I have used it on blueberrys and aeae banannas but not crotons yet.

Mr. Case - welcome to this forum. If you are growing AeAe bananas you must be in South Florida or have a very tall green house. I am a fan of AeAe bananas and I know a few others from this forum that are cultivating them.

Do you know what is in the soil acidifer from Home Depot? I brought up this thread because we just finished a jar of pickles. My intention was to just pour it around a croton. Figured, why not seek if anyone has any experience with vinegar. I know if the lower th Ph level, the more difficult it is to render potassium and magnesium availability to the plants.

I heavily mulch and use a 7-4-5 for acid loving plants.

 

[William Case]

Please call me Bill, Thanks for the welcome . Jeff yes im addicted to all exotic plants, but I have been watching many forums so I may take it slow. I have many plants palms crotons bananas. I just do have the names down pat but the crotons are great, It seems to me they maybe trouble but watching the forum this appears to be informative so thanks for welcomeing me.

 

[Crotonologist]

If vinegar mixed with water was applied around a croton's root zone, would this lower the Ph of the soil?
...
My Ph level is around 7.0 and crotons reportedly prefer a slightly acid soil.

I don't think vinegar will lower the soil pH, but it will lower the pH of the solution around the roots which is what really matters...
If you are using tap water, most municipal water is adjusted to come out of the tap at around a 7-8 pH range, so installing an injector to add vinegar every time you water can make a really big difference to a lot of plants, not just crotons.

To adjust the pH of the soil you'll need to treat the soil with sulfur, and if I remember right this process takes some time to occur...

Or you could use raw untreated sphagnum peat moss which usually has a pH in the 3.5 to 4.5 range - when you plant a croton in the ground, simply mix the soil about 50/50 with the sphagnum peat moss and you should get a desirable soil acidity range for crotons. Untreated bales of Canadian sphagnum peat moss are usually available at Lowes or Home Depot - just make sure they have not been treated with lime type additives already (the label should tell you).