DENNIS PLANT GARDEN
Plant Care & Information
dennis Plant garden
reativity
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Fertilizer / Plantfood
for Houseplants
Photo Credit (C) Dennis Lee Brown 2017
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FEEDING YOUR HOUSEPLANTS
Fertilizer is just as important to a healthy plant as watering and light
Do not overlook the importance of fertilizing indoor plants. Because feeding is essential to keeping healthy, beautiful plants. Indoor plants, unlike an outdoor garden, where nature provides rain and plants can send new roots searching for food. The houseplant nutrients available, they’re strictly limited to the nutrients in the amount of soil in the planter, and whatever else you give it as a supplement.
Think of fertilizer as the second half of your potting soil. When your potting soil is fresh, your plants won't need much if any fertilizer, as time goes on, the plant uses up the amount of nutrients in the potting soil and you must replenish the fertilizer for the plant to continue its health. Today, on the market, we have fortified potting soils, which have fertilizer and other enhancements mixed in, that last for several months, (check the fertilizer package for information and instructions for usage).
Too much fertilizer can kill a plant or scorch its leaves, and overuse causes environmental concerns, as these nutrient-rich solutions find their way into groundwater supplies. Do not over fertilize it is often worse than not enough fertilizer. Overfeeding, is just as bad as underfeeding, both causes damage to the houseplant.
Buying Fertilizer
All general-purpose fertilizers contain the basic macronutrients that plants need to grow, including nitrogen, phosphorous, and potash. Each macronutrient has a special function:
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Nitrogen encourages healthy foliage growth.
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Phosphorous encourages root growth.
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Potash encourages bigger, healthier blooms.
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Categories of Fertilizer
All plants, whether houseplants or outdoor garden plants, they must have fertilizer for healthy growth. The plant labeling will inform you as to what type of fertilizer (plant food) it requires, and how much to use. Of these, the two best, according some experts, suited for indoor plants use are liquid and slow-release fertilizers.
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Sticks and Pills or Tablets. Seem convenient, but they don't distribute nutrients very well through the soil and, once you've inserted a fertilizer stick into your pot, you have no control over its release. Use granular fertilizers outdoors, they’re really designed for in the yard gardening.
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Liquid fertilizer. Add liquid fertilizers to your watering container according to the product’s label instructions, you might fertilize every time you water, or every other time. The type of plant will also impact this, as some (especially those with dramatic large blooms) may require more frequent feeding. Always study up on the plants themselves to learn what their nutritional requirements are.
There are literally dozens of liquid fertilizers on the market. The advantage to liquid fertilizer is that it provides a steady supply of nutrients that you can precisely control. It's easy to suspend feeding when the plant is dormant during the winter months, for example, or step up the feeding when they are sending up new growth. Be consistence in your feeding plants as they depend on the fertilizer for health and growth. -
Granular fertilizer. These are dry pellets of pure fertilizer, mixed into the potting soil when you’re ready to plant or repot. Although more commonly used in outdoor gardens, you may use it in planters, even though it can be tricky. They will dump all their nutrients at once when watering the pot, making it hard to control how much the plants are receiving at once. They are quite inexpensive, but granular fertilizers are not a great choice for feeding houseplants.
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Slow-release fertilizers. These products have quickly become favorites for many gardeners and professional growers, both indoors and out. Slow-release fertilizers, like Dynamite and Osmocote, they’re coated with time-release shells that slowly leach nutrients into the soil as time passes. The individual pellets have coatings of different thicknesses that dissolve at different rates, so the actual release of the fertilizer is over time. A single application of Dynamite can feed your plants for up to nine months, while Osmocote lasts about four months. Their main drawback is their price, but because they last so long, cutting you plant chores and in the end, you will find it to be worth the cost.
Specialty fertilizers, such as African violet fertilizers, contain optimized proportions of these nutrients for a specific kind of plants.
In addition to these macronutrients, better quality fertilizers also contain micronutrients such as boron, magnesium, sulfur, and manganese that will encourage healthier growth. Study the fertilizer product label to determine the contains.
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