ericaceous or not?? currants etc.

[mikk100]

I have just discovered that blackcurrant bushes don't require ericaceous soil. im in a bit of a panic now! Knowing that blueberries and redcurrants need that sort of soil I planted my new redcurrant, whitecurrant and blackcurrant bushes in huge holes of ericaceous compost (being as my allotment is full of chalky soil). I have watered the lot with ericaceous feed and also applied some iron (???) around the base. Now that I've found blackcurrants have normal soil....what have I done??? Will they be ok, and shall I dig them up. This is further complicated because the 3 bushes all look the same and the labels blew off over the winter so I don't know which is which....

any comments appreciated.

[SueA]

Don't worry Mikk100, I don't think you'll have done any harm, it's only really a problem if you've got a 'lime-hater' which needs an acid soil, in limey soil that you would get a problem. I would say mulch the blackcurrant with some manure but that might be difficult if you don't know which is which! The other currants will grow in much poorer soil than the blackcurrant but it probably wouldn't do any harm to mulch them (don't put too near the stems though).

[Nicos]

I grow in acidic peat and get bumper crops of blackcurrants! Don't worry!

[rustylady]

Don't worry - plants are adaptable and most will survive in less than ideal conditions. Personally I wouldn't try to grow things in a situation they were not suited to. Currant plants of all sorts are not too much problem, and I've never found that they need acidic conditions - blueberries do, but I've never tried growing them. All sorts of currants do well in ordinary soil, preferably top-dressed with rotted manure.

[Palustris]

Any way if your soil is limy and if full of chalk, the acidity of the compost will not last that long.