Azaleas and Mushroom Soil OK?

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shortcm Wilmington, DE(Zone 7b) Sep 24, 2004

Someone just told me not to plant Azaleas in a bed amended with mushroom soil, or they'll die. Does anyone know about this?

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tabasco Cincinnati (Anderson, OH(Zone 6a) Sep 26, 2004

Shortcm, I think mixing in some peat, pine bark or other acid-y amendment with your mushroom compost and topsoil mix would help achieve the correct acid balance if your planting mix is not around 5.5 to 6.5 Ph already. I also added coffee grounds to get the acid level to 6. for my azaleas that I just planted in mushroom/soil mix.

If you don't know what the acid level is in your garden, you can buy soil test kits at HD, etc. and inexpensively and quickly do a test. For azaleas, this might be worth the trouble. I did it and was surprised at the results.

Your friend might be talking about high salts level in mushroom compost...I talked to a landscape supply when I bought mine, and they said the salt level varies with each batch of mushroom compost, but most of the time it's fine especially when mixed with topsoil...

When it's time to fertilize you may want to think about using fertilizer made especially for rhododendrons and azaleas and other acid loving plants. This helps to correct the acid level too. Happy gardening. t.

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