An ericaceous bed is a bed (or garden) with acidic and often nutrient-poor soil such as

ericaceous compost Ericaceous may refer to: * Ericaceae, the heather family * Calcifuges, all plants which dislike alkaline (chalky) soil – including heathers, rhododendron and camellia * Ericaceous bed, a bed with acidic soil typically having a pH between 4.5 and 6 ...

and different types of peat. The pH of the soil is typically between 4.5 and 6. The purpose is to grow a number of garden plants which require (or thrive best in) acidic soil. Such plants commonly include heathers (''

Erica Erica or ERICA may refer to: * Erica (given name) * ''Erica'' (plant), a flowering plant genus * Erica (chatbot), a service of Bank of America * ''Erica'' (video game), a 2019 FMV video game * ''Erica'' (spider), a jumping spider genus * Eric ...

'', ''

Calluna ''Calluna vulgaris'', common heather, ling, or simply heather, is the sole species in the genus ''Calluna'' in the flowering plant family Ericaceae. It is a low-growing evergreen shrub growing to tall, or rarely to and taller, and is found wide ...

'',

rhododendron ''Rhododendron'' (; from Ancient Greek ''rhódon'' "rose" and ''déndron'' "tree") is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are nati ...

s and

camellia ''Camellia'' (pronounced or ) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Theaceae. They are found in eastern and southern Asia, from the Himalayas east to Japan and Indonesia. There are more than 220 described species, with some controversy ...

s. Another group of plants common in ericaceous beds are those belonging to the boreal coniferous forest, e.g. ''

Vaccinium ''Vaccinium'' is a common and widespread genus of shrubs or dwarf shrubs in the heath family (Ericaceae). The fruits of many species are eaten by humans and some are of commercial importance, including the cranberry, blueberry, bilberry (whort ...

'' (blueberries). A number of orchids also grow well in nutrient-poor soil. Ericaceous fertilizer can be applied to plants that require acidic, but not nutrient-poor, soil. Botanically, plants with ericoid mycorrhizas grow successfully on mor humus soils in which low pH and high organic acid levels combine to exclude many other species. The mycorrhiza facilitates the growth of the ericaceous plants, mainly by selectively de-toxifying the environment.

References

{{Reflist, refs= {{cite journal, author=J.R.LeakeC.ShawD.J.Read, url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/016788099090282I, title=The role of ericoid mycorrhizas in the ecology of ericaceous plants, date=February 1990, website=ScienceDirect, access-date=2020-06-07, url-status=live Types of garden