Our soil is basically yellow clay and my lot is well-drained except for fernies and I plant them in an 8 inch raised bed for additional drainage. During the hot early summer when the plants are at their peak growing season, I use about two scoops of Miracle Gro in a 35 lb cat litter bucket with a 1/4" hole drilled in one side at the bottom to water them. That makes a weak fertilizer but it does well when applied about every 2 or 3 weeks. The Miracle Gro has numerous trace elements not found in ordinary farm fertilizer such as 12-12-12. I place the bucket so the hole squirts out water at about the normal drip line. I found that watering the leaves with a hose invariably either burns the leaves or causes leaf spots. Keeping the water below the leaves works best.
As far as amending the soil, our area tends to be alkaline and needs an acidic product for some acid-loving plants. This should be a banner year since the blossoms will be late and have less chances of frost damage.
