Chicken manure can benefit lilac bushes (Syringa spp.) By providing nutrients, preventing or reversing soil depletion and might boost blooming. The key is to prepare the chicken manure properly before applying it into the lilac bushes. Fresh chicken manure can burn plant roots. Lilacs grow in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 3 through 9, depending in species and cultivar. A few commercial poultry operations use arsenic in chicken feed. Get your chicken manure from trusted sources. It is ideal to perform a soil test before applying any fertilizer.
Lilac Bush Preferences
Lilacs thrive in well-draining, rich soil with an abundance of humus. They desire a pH near 7.0. Deficiency of fertilizer is not usually the culprit if lilac bushes are not blooming or so are blooming sparsely. Heavy pruning can diminish thriving for many years, but the bush will recover and bloom entirely eventually. Although lilac bushes do not require heavy feeding, they still do require fertile soil, and the soil may become depleted of nutrients over time. Including a layer of composted chicken manure improves infertile soil. Chicken manure also improves soil structure.
Chicken Manure Nutrients
A crucial issue with feeding lilacs would be to avoid excess nitrogen. Too much nitrogen encourages leaves at the expense of lilac blooms. The mineral content of chicken manure may vary widely. It may average as low as 1.1 percent nitrogen, 0.8 percent potassium and 0.5 percent potash or as high as 4.5-6.0-2.4. Some providers say the mineral content of their chicken manure on the packing or in their catalogs.
Preparing Chicken Manure
Composting reduces the nitrogen content of the chicken manure, making it less “hot .” The chicken manure’s nutrient balance improves and the nutrients become stabilized through composting, notes University of Georgia Cooperative Extension. This means the nutrients become more available to the lilac bushes and there’s less mineral reduction. Composting also kills most weed seeds which might be found in the manure. Garden centres and other providers sell composted chicken manure.
Applying Chicken Manure
After the lilac bushes bloom is a good time to apply rotted or composted chicken manure. Wear gloves when you’ve some contact with manure to avoid direct contact with germs and any parasites or viruses. Spread a thin layer, up to 1/2 inch heavy , out to the drip line of each lilac bush. The drip line is in the outer circumference of the lilac’s divisions. For overall application to the garden area of the lilac bushes, use up to 3 lbs per 25 square feet of dirt. Always wash your hands thoroughly after handling manure, even if it’s fully composted.