My yard's pretty small (120x90), but I'd like to plant holly and some rhododendrons & possibly mountain laurel along the border for privacy, but I'd also like to plant 3-4 semi-dwarf old fashioned apple tress such as Russet, Yellow Transparent, & Northern Spy or possibly Pippin & Greening. I was planning to possibly plant them within 20 feet or so from the evergreens. Presumably the apples do better in higher Ph soils. I know some conifers such as hemlock produce tannins to further acidify the surrounding soil, but I don't know if that is the case for these other evergreen plants. If I acidify the soil in the area directly around the evergreens, how far away must the apples be to maximize their chance for success?

Hi Dan, Sounds like you have the spring planting bug. The rhodos etc. do like a low pH of 4.5-5. If you use your acidifiers such as sulfur in the root zone of the rhodos etc and its 20 feet or so away I think that would be fine plus I would think we are only talking about changing the pH on one side of the apples not all sides. Plus its good to keep clear access aroung the apples so you can prune and harvest and not have to worry about an understory of shrubs. Happy Planting! Sandy