Our Ericaceous Compost is specially formulated with a low pH of 4-5 to create the perfect growing conditions for acid-loving and lime averse plants. Its fine, consistent texture promotes strong early root development, enriches the soil and retains moisture without water-logging. Perfect for:
This balanced, peat-free mix helps prevent nutrient lock-up, supports vibrant foliage and flowers, and makes an excellent low-maintenance alternative to standard compost for ericaceous species. Ideal for renovating your outdoor space, pots, borders and raised beds.
Price range: £147.00 through £404.00 inc. VAT
Tap a job to fill the depth in. For a raised bed, use the depth of the bed, usually 200 to 300mm.
Key Features
Product Composition
| Quantity | Builders Bag (approx. 700L), Bulk Bag (approx. 1000L), XL Bag (approx. 1200L), Micro Pack (5 x 70L), Mini Pack (10 x 70L), Small Pack (15 x 70L), Convenience Pack (20 x 70L), Midi Pack (30 x 70L), Value Pack (40 x 70L) |
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Specifications, Inspirational Ideas & DIY Guides
Why Professionals & Homeowners Choose, Applications, DIY Guides & Inspirational Ideas, Maintenance, Purchasing Tips, FAQs, Related Products
Our Ericaceous Compost is supplied at pH 4 to 5, screened so everything passes 25mm, and at 62% moisture it turns up damp and open. The low pH keeps iron and other nutrients available to the roots, and the open texture holds moisture without going waterlogged. It suits lime-hating plants grown in pots or raised beds, where the garden soil can't reach the roots.
The job of this compost is to give acid-loving plants the right pH and a mix that rainwater and a yearly top-up can keep there.
The plants that genuinely need this are the lime-haters: rhododendron and its evergreen azaleas, camellia (Camellia japonica), pieris (Pieris japonica), heather (Calluna vulgaris) and blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum), which only crops properly between pH 4.5 and 5.5. Japanese maple (Acer palmatum) and magnolia are the two worth separating out: both are happy from acid through to neutral, so this sits at the acid end of what they want rather than being a requirement. It is the wrong material for a vegetable bed, for brassicas (which want lime) for lawn topdressing, and for seed sowing (where a 25mm screen is far too coarse).
I measured our own bulk bag, so this works out the Type 1 you will actually spread.
I laid play bark under swings and frames for years. This works out the depth and the bags for you.
I lost count of the jobs I found short of bark. This works out the litres and the bags for
Ericaceous compost holds its acidity for roughly one to two growing seasons in a container. Rainwater from a butt is what these plants want because in a hard water area tap water carries enough calcium to take the pH up (although a month or two of it through a dry summer does no harm). Top-dress pots each spring with fresh compost and repot every two or three years, blueberries in late winter. Keep the pot wet from June to mid-August, when camellias and rhododendrons set the buds that flower next spring. Two things to keep away: mushroom compost, which contains lime, and unwashed limestone gravel as a pot topping which can alkalise the soil over time.
A 45cm pot takes roughly 60 to 70 litres, so one 70L sack does a blueberry or a camellia. A raised bed 2m by 1m at 30cm deep needs 600 litres, so the 700L builders bag with a bit spare. Top-dressing runs to about 20m² per 1,000L bag at 5cm. You cannot judge a compost from a photograph, so read the stated pH and particle size on anything sold as ericaceous; the word alone is not a specification.
If you would rather talk your ericaceous compost order through with a person, ring Outdoor Aggregates on 0330 043 7585. The office is open 7am to 7pm, seven days a week.
Ericaceous compost is an acidic growing medium, typically pH 4 to 5, made for plants that cannot tolerate lime. The name comes from Ericaceae, the heather family, and it covers rhododendrons, camellias, pieris and blueberries.
Rhododendrons, azaleas, camellias, pieris, heathers and blueberries all need lime-free root conditions, and those are the plants this compost exists for. Japanese maples and magnolias grow in it happily enough, but neither actually requires it.
Ericaceous compost will not permanently acidify a border, because the soil around it pulls the pH back within a season or two. On chalk the free lime neutralises anything you add. A pot or a raised bed of lime-free material is the route that works.
Blueberries grow well in 100% ericaceous compost, which is the most dependable way to hold the pH 4.5 to 5.5 they fruit in. Pot on to a final container 40 to 50cm across, and grow two varieties near each other for a heavier crop.
Ericaceous compost holds its acidity for roughly one to two growing seasons before watering and decomposition lift the pH. Rainwater slows that, a spring top-dressing helps, and a repot every two or three years resets it.
One 1,000 litre bulk bag of ericaceous compost fills a 3m by 1m raised bed to 30cm deep, with a little spare. The same bag top-dresses about 20m² of border at 5cm, or fills fourteen 45cm pots.
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