If you’re looking for houseplants that like acidic soil then you’re in luck. There are many houseplants that thrive in these conditions and here we have some of the most popular varieties that like things just a bit more acidic.
Acidic soil is soil that has a pH reading of 0-6, with 7 being neutral and 8-14 being alkaline. If you want to check the acidity of your soil you can use a soil gauge to check this. These gauges also come with moisture and light readings like this one on Amazon. You will sometimes hear acidic soil as being referred to as sour soil so if you hear this term don’t be confused.
Houseplants That Like Acidic Soil
So what are the houseplants that like acidic soil? Let’s take a look at some of the most common ones.
Musa
Musa are beautiful tropical plants with huge green leaves that put our tremendous new growth during spring and summer. They are becoming increasingly popular houseplants and it’s easy to see why. They are the first plant on our list of houseplants that like acidic soil.
Rubber Plant
Rubber plants are incredibly popular houseplants due to their beautiful large foliage and the fact that they’ll just keep on growing until they hit the ceiling. They like to dry out between waterings and it’s important you wash their leaves as dust can gather there relatively quickly.
Cactus
As well as a well draining mix, Cactus like their soil to be slightly acidic and will thrive in this environment. They don’t need to be watered too often and like things hot and dry.
Succulents
Just like Cacti, succulents prefer soil to be more on the acidic side, in fact you could probably use the same soil for a succulent as you do for a Cactus as they have similar drainage requirements.
Fruit Trees
This might be an obvious one but many fruit trees like acidic soil, some of the most common ones being:
- Apple tree
- Lemon tree
- Orange tree
- Cherry tree
- Blackberry bush
- Strawberry bush
- Rasberry bush
We understand that if you want a full grown tree then these don’t county as houseplants but lots of people keep small orange trees in their home.
We hope you’ve enjoyed our list of houseplants that like acidic soil and found some of our suggestions useful. If you have some of these houseplants already and you’re finding that the soil isn’t acidic enough for them then you can increase the acidity of the soil with fertilisers.
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Could I get clarification on the rubber plant? I’ve heard a variety of pepperomia called rubber plant… However, the photo looks like a ficus elastica, what I’ve seen called a rubber tree. I have a rubber tree, so I just want to be at I have the right type before I start giving it coffee for acidity haha. Thanks!
A rubber tree and a rubber plant are often used interchangeably, rubber plant when it’s small and houseplant like and rubber tree when it grows really big. The picture I used is a ficus elastica (rubber tree/plant).
The Peperomia version isn’t actually a rubber plant and gets its name because it resembles the plant but like a miniature version. Type ‘peperomia baby rubber plant’ into google images and you’ll see how they look different to a rubber plant.
Hopefully this clears things up for you!