Yes go ahead. It can only help. Though I am surprised that you use peat as a top dressing. Doesnt it crust up and repel water?

It's not clear if you were referring to relatively fresh manure which contain a lot of amonia. if so, it's not a good thing to add to plants in hot searing weather.

Otherwise, using well composted manure should be okay.

I too like to use manure but with triple mix as 'mulch'.. I guess you can refer to it as top dressing. Just one application and my plants appreciate it all season long.

ianna...yes composted sheep manure. What I'm doing is mixing sheep manure with peat moss and put it around the shrubs, making a ridge. Was talking to an elderly gardener yesterday who has a botanical garden to say the least and he told me it was fine in moderate quantity.

Thank you,

Anicee

Always in moderation. That's the key. Same thing with peat moss. It tends to change the ph of the soil so don't overdo it.