I watered some clematis with epsom salt solution, and the leaves turned brown and dried up.I waited awhile and tried a acid fertilizer.(31-11-11) I've been giving them a weak solution every week and they are gradually turning green. We have to water so much I think all thefertilizer is washed away.

thanks for the response! I did try the Epsom Salts on the dahlias but i dont see much improvement after 5 days, i will try a diluted general fertilize as well, they just arent as green and healthy looking as some in another bed.

whqat i have found to work better than Epsom salts is Dyna-grow Foliage Pro! its 9-3-6 at 1tsp/gallon as well as 2tblsp of vinegar. every other watering i use just vinegar and this mixture i made( i put 1/3 cup of garden lime mixed wtih vinegar, the reaction releases the calcium/magnesium in the lime and i use 1tblsp of the liquid/gallon) and i have at least 2 flowers in bloom at all times with 10+ coming in.

My plant only gets sun from 3-sunset and seems to love it! in 2 months it is 10X bigger than when purchased!

Eric

I asked one of the board veterans a similar question (further down the threads) and Teddahlia gave this answer below. You can read the previous questions by going to the thread regarding "Question for Ted(dahlia)".

Epsom Salts has been call a "folk remedy" for gardeners for over a hundred years. One scientist at WSU believes that ES is effective only on plants that have a magnesium deficiency. My soil was tested and was deficient in Magnesium. In hanging pots, the use of liquid fertilizers can create excess salts and phosphorus in the planting mix and a decline in growth. Greenhouse plant growers use ES to "revive" the plants. I believe in this case the magnesium ties up the excess phosphorus and allows the plants to use nitrogen and iron to produce green leaves. It worked for my hanging pots last year. I had tried additional iron, additional nitrogen and the plants did not respond. When I used ES they turned green again and put on lots of new growth.

Thanks for the responses Re Epsom Salts, i still havent seen much improvement in the plants i was concerned about. The plants are "growing" but the foilage is just not what i hoped it might be..i will look for "Dyna Grow" as well. Of course what i will HAVE to do is get a soil test..

Clematis like a sweet soil, so one should definitely not use an acid fertilizer.

Well, maybe I shouldn't have used an acid fertilizer, but it greened them right up anyway!!