Plant feed for flowing plants
With some of my plants heading toward flowering (dahlias have small buds forming, poppies are appearing fast, lilies forming heads and gladioli a bit behind but getting there) I'm wondering when I should be adding to the soil to help get good flowers.
I have blood fish & bone, which I mixed into the soil when I planted them all, and have sprinkled over the top a couple of times since but not recently. I have Miracle-Gro general purpose crystals that you add to water and claim to have 10 added ingredients. I have rose plant pellets with added horse manure. And I have a bottle of organic vegetable plant food.
I'm wondering if any of those will be good to use when flowers appear, as I'd like to use up whet I already have, or is some other kind of feed/fertiliser needed?
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Tomsk, I don't want to sound like Grandad, but whatever fertilizer you give to plants is not instant. The best time to apply fertilizer is spring not summer. Whatever fertilizer you use - and the best type is a balanced fertilizer that contains all the ingredients for plant growth, NPK (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium) for short - you need to add it at the start of the growing season. In UK that is mid March to early April, depending on your location. Which having said.....if you apply a liquid fertilizer now and spray it on the whole plant now it is better than neglect. Miracle-Gro is well, not quite Miracle, but good.
Hi,
I did add the BF&B when I planted things in March, and sprinkled a bit more to top things up a couple of times since then. But I thought that nitrogen was good for growing leaves, and other feeds/fertilisers are better to sprinkle into the soil when they bloom so you get more colourful and plentiful flowers?
A weak solution of Tomatorite contains potash which is good for flowers, I do mine once a week once they've started flowering. The Miracle-Gro would be fine as well.
You're right that nitrogen is good for leaves so don't use that.
Roses are greedy plants so the pellets you've got would be okay, but probably only once a month I'd think.
The experts on gardening progs I listen to on the radio all seem to favour giving flower plants Tomorite once a week, at half recommended strength. Seems to work well for me. Not suitable on plants that you are growing for pretty leaves (ie hostas) as it has the wrong nutrients for leaf growth. Mags
I knew I'd spelt that wrong
I always use up previous years tomato food on flowering plants and buy new for toms each year.
Like that idea KEF.
I use liquid seaweed 1 inner capful to a gallon of water is all you need
is great for all plants seedlings cuttings and seed soaking its organic an one £7.00 bottle would last around 1season and that's using it once a week i do not use any chemicals and my results have been fantastic