Best Fertilizer

Please forgive me for the multiple new threads....I live in a very small town. We have the big box stores, but they do not carry a wide variety of fertilizers, only miracle grow, fish oil and the like. Will Super Bloom work for buzzing the most blooms out of my Hibs this summer? If so how much how often? Thank you ;)

What's the NPK #'s on Super Bloom? I'm not familiar with it, but from the name I suspect that it's one of the "bloom booster" types of fertilizer that has a high middle number (phosphorus). If so definitely don't use it--phosphorus may work as a bloom booster for other types of plants but for hibiscus it's actually counterproductive and they'll likely bloom less. Right now I'm using fertilizer that I bought from Hidden Valley Hibiscus http://www.hiddenvalleynaturearts.com/acatalog/fertilizersnutrition.htm but you don't need to buy anything special--just look for something where the middle number is lower than the others and it would work fine.

Definitely do not use super bloom...

Here is a link to the thread discussing fertilizer. It is one of many threads linked in the " Hibiscus helpful information and links -- [Sticky]". This information is very interesting reading if you have the time.


Fertilizer advice. http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/831930/

Echoing ecrane's sentiments. I personally use the HVH brand too, as well as their bloom booster :-)

Im no expert, but I have also heard not to use miracle grow. So to be safe I bought all the ingredients to make HVH's exact fertilizing recipe. This was copied and pasted directly from HVH's website. I have only just gave my hibiscus their second dose of a weekly regimen yesterday, so I can't tell you about results.


HVH fertilizer recipe:

"We have found that our hibiscus do best when they receive a weak solution of these nutrients every time we water. We add in a few household ingredients to help prevent fungal infections and to acidify the water to the slightly acid level that hibiscus like. This is the exact formula we use on our house hibiscus every time we water:

Put in a one-gallon watering pot:

* 1/2 teaspoon HVH Special Blend Hibiscus Fertilizer
* 1 teaspoon Super Nova Growth Enhancer
* 1/4 teaspoon HVH Hibiscus Booster
* 1 teaspoon vinegar
* 1/2 teaspoon hydrogen peroxide
* 1 drop hand soap or plain dish detergent

Fill about half full with hot water and stir until all is dissolved. Finish filling with cool water, and water your hibiscus. This formula also works well for all the tropical flowering plants we've tried, as well as non-flowering tropical plants like philodendrons and dracaenas.

If you prefer, you can buy our HVH Houseplant Formula pre-mixed and ready to use from our Online Store."

I alternate between Miracle Gro and HVH fertilizer. Also do a once a month treatment of epsom salts on top of the soil around the plants for greener/healthier looking foliage.

Miracle Gro can be fine as long as you pay attention to the middle number on the particular one you buy--some of them have a middle number that's too high but others are fine.

It's just your basic Miaracle Gro 24-8-16. Sometimes I use the old HVH Timed Release fertilizer 18-6-8 (now they sell 15-7-15) and sometimes I use HVH Custom Fertilizer 18-5-23.

Can you tell me a little about the epsom salt? I was reading about it this morning, but dont know the actual dose for each hibiscus.

They just promote greener healthier foliage on just about any plant. I apply them monthly at the beginning of each month (easier to remember that way). For plants in the ground I just toss 2 tablespoons on the ground around the plants. For potted plants 1 tablespoon for 10" pots or larger. For 8" pots 1/2 tablespoon. For 6" pots perhaps a 1/3 tablespoon. For 4" pots, or smaller, I don't use them until the plants get larger. When it's less than a 10" pot I just do a rough estimate.

I use osmocote and fish emulsion.
I'm thinking of using milorganite. I like what I've read about it. Anybody have experience with this? The numbers are 5-2-0.
http://www.milorganite.com
Barb

I think that hibiscus do want a decent amount of potassium, so if you use something like that you may need to supplement with some potassium from another source.

That's what I was thinking. I could use it with something else.
Barb