Which Garden Plants Need Lime?

Every gardener knows the feeling – you plant your garden at the start of the season imagining a lush and colorful array of flowers or large, succulent veggies, only to be disappointed by the results. Why did it happen? Should you have added anything to the soil? Here, we look at which garden plants need lime.

Science bit

Before we look at which plants need lime, first we need to have a look at the science to help you understand why we use lime. This is important when deciding which plants need lime and how much you should use.

If you think back to your school chemistry lessons, you might remember something about acids and bases – this is the relevant science here.

An acid is something with a pH value of less than 7 while a base (or an alkaline) is something with a pH value of above 7. A pH value of exactly 7 is neutral. Following on from this, soils are also classified as acid, alkaline or pH neutral.

All plants have preferences for growing conditions, which include things like temperature, sunlight rainfall and so on. These are determined by where the plant grows naturally in the wild. Similarly, plants also have preferences for soil acidity or pH level.