I only ask because my soil is very different from what most people would consider typical California soil in my area.

You have probabaly heard that California has alkaline soil. Well... not mine. You have probabaly heard that compost is always helpful. Well... not all compost, not always. At least in my humble opinion.

I intuitively knew that the soil here wasn't as alkaline as everyone usually says since there are lots of mature plants and trees in my neighborhood that do well in acidic soil. I have tested the pH with home kits (usually said somewhere around 6), but finally this year I decided to get a full soil analysis.

The raised beds where some of my roses are totally fine, no need to test those. But the soil in my front yard around my azaleas needed testing. Some of my azaleas didn't bloom last year and they had been growing very slowly this past year. I figured it was probably drought related, but wanted to test just to be sure.

The results were eye opening! Even though I ordered the soil analysis specifically for my azaleas, it's helpful for my roses that are in the ground too.

My soil pH is 5.5. I don't fertilize or compost. Just mulch. The calcium, magnesium, zinc and iron levels are very high, too high. Again.... that's without adding anything to the soil for decades. But what I need is nitrogen and phosphorus. Even so, I'm glad I checked before I just started guessing and adding random fertilizer and compost.

If you are wondering about your soil I highly recommend getting it checked before you start trying to change it. Here in CA it's expensive, but such is life. In many other states it's very inexpensive and you can have your state universities check it.

The numbers in my soil...

And the recommendations Cliff gave at Perry Labs (highly recommend if you're in CA)...

"The pH value of this soil is moderately acid in reaction and is just slightly high for Azaleas. The low electrical conductivity readings show that the concentrations of soluble salt are in a good range for this soil.

The fertility analysis shows low nitrogen and phosphorus in this soil at this time. The levels of potassium, sulfate, boron, copper, and manganese are in good ranges. The calcium, magnesium, zinc and iron levels are higher than necessary. The sodium and chloride levels are safely low.

Based on the results of these analyses, additional nitrogen and phosphorus would benefit these plants and may be a reason for some plants not flowering. It is recommended that the following fertilizers be applied per 1000 sq ft of bed area:

16-20-0 10.0 lbs

Soil sulfur (90% S) 5.0 lbs

If an organic option is desired, the following fertilizers are recommended:

Bone Meal (3-15-0) 15.0 lbs

Blood Meal (13-0-0) 7.5 lbs

Soil sulfur (90% S) 5.0 lbs

In either case above, the fertilizer materials should be spread evenly around the plants and watered in thoroughly. A mulch of redwood sawdust can be placed on top of the soils after the fertilizer is watered in."

Great advice! Helpful for my azaleas... but also helpful for the sunnier areas where I have roses. The soil may be a little different in the actual rose garden (since I only sampled soil near the azaleas), but I feel pretty confident applying the same knowledge.

The soil here is actually pretty darn great!

And very different from what people usually correlate with CA drought soil. If I just went off of what most people tell me, I would think I had alkaline soil and that I need to fertilize and compost like mad.

Why is mine different? Who knows....that's beyond my pay grade! Maybe the fault lines that run through here...maybe the rocks and mountains that are near here.... could be a zillion different reasons. But my soil is acidic. And very mineral rich.

I'm going to make the additions he recommends. I'm also adding some annuals this year to help with nitrogen fixing and conditioning the soil (I'm lazy/efficient and don't want to dig if I don't need to).

I'm happily surprised and pleased with my soil! How sure are you about your soil?