Pointer plants are called that because they provide information about the soil on which they grow. The different features here in the overview.


Pointer plants are various plants that thrive exclusively on very specific soil. So you have high to very high demands on their location and the soil conditions occurring there. What seems difficult at first is a great advantage for the gardener. He can use the pointer plants to deduce which soil conditions prevail in his garden and thus adapt certain steps.


Classic pointer plant categories

The individual categories of pointer plants get their name according to the soil or the prevailing light conditions.


Acid Pointer (acid soil)

 

 

 


If sundew, cranberry or daisies grow very well, that is a sign of very acid soil.

Lime pointer (calcareous soil)

 

 

 


You recognize lime-rich soil when many stinging nettles spread in your garden.

Lime pointer (low-limestone soil)

 

 



Hundskamiile and pansies are mostly found on lime-poor soil.

Dry pointer (dry soil)

 

 



In addition to the cranesbill and the sunflower, the dyer's chamomile is an indication of dry soil.

Nitrogen indicator (nitrogen-rich soil)

 

 



French weed dandelion and the white deadnettle, grow particularly well on nitrogen-rich soil.

The pointer plants and categories mentioned here are only examples. In nature, there are a variety of pointer plants that can help the gardener in determining the soil. In addition to the specimens mentioned here, there are also pointer plants that display the following soil quality:
  • Magnesium rich soil
    Red Foxglove, Gamander
  • Humus-rich soil
    Dandelion, chickweed, broom, sorrel
  • Alkaline soil
    Ackersenf, meadow sage, cinquefoil