SOILS AND FERTILIZERS 
Rhododendrons and heathers, especially, produce annually a great 
mass of foliage and bloom. They can soon exhaust any soil. Nothing 
is better for them than a mulch of pure well-rotted leaf mold. Failing 
that, both as food and conditioner of soil the following mixture is good: 
10 lbs. ammonium sulphate 
35 lbs. acid superphosphate 
17 lbs. sulphate of potash 
10 lbs. aluminum sulphate 
28 lbs. cotton seed meal 
Mix this with an equal amount of baled peat and throw a few handfuls 
around each plant and thoroughly water down. (The ground should be 
thoroughly soaked before using this or any other fertilizer.) 
Many of our “miffs’” and “mimps” would persist if the soil were to 
their liking and the drainage complete. We can not all have extensive 
screes and moraines in our gardens but we can prepare small spots to 
accommodate these more grudging plants. A slope at the base of a large 
rock or bolder; the spot excavated to a depth of at least 2 feet and more 
would be better. Drop in one-half foot of medium gravel and then fill 
the hole with this mixture: 
1 part pea gravel 
1 part coarse river sand 
1 part pure leaf mold 
Many plants, especially the hairy ones and those with fleshy crowns 
like to have fine gravel crowded under the foliage. 
On this lean mixture plants can in time starve and die of exhaustion. A 
little leaf mold sifted into the ground or a judicious sprinkling of Vigoro 
or similar fertilizer in the spring will give the plants a definite lift. (Do 
not use these fertilizers on ericaceous plants.) 
The great mass of plants will put up with neutral soil. There are 
comparatively few that are definitely calciphiles and which will have 
none but limy soil. Those that are acid-loving will endure neutral soil 
but not gladly and will really prosper under acid conditions. There are 
a vast number of plants that are more or less indifferent. 

