I've got some vaccinium ovatum (evergreen huckleberry) plants that I am hoping to get into the ground this spring, but I am having trouble getting the soil pH right.
If I understand correctly, vaccinium ovatum are very sensitive to soil pH and won't do well except in a pH range from about 4.0 to 5.5. The site I've selected for the plants has a soil pH around 6.5.
I've been periodically treating the soil with Miracle-Gro's fertilizer for acid loving plants but the pH hasn't changed much. If I understand the way these fertilizers work, they don't put acid directly into the soil, but rather they put something in the soil that microorganisms can process into acid, thus lowering the pH. Does this mean the pH won't change until it gets warm out so the microorganisms are more active? How long will the pH take to change?
If the Miracle-Gro method takes too long, should I just mix vinegar into the soil?
I can keep the plants alive in pots indefinitely, because I am watering them with water of the proper pH, but I would still prefer to get them in the ground sooner rather than later.