That is my question.
I potted up my Xanthosoma, Colocasia and Alocasia the beginning of October when I dug them out of the ground. I put them in Potting Mix which has 3-month fertilizer.
The 3 months are up.
The plants are all growing (albeit some better than others). The temp is 62 low; 79 high and I now mist every day.
Do I fertilize? If so, with what and how often?
ROX
To feed or not to feed....Aroids
i tried to use mg on xanthosoma but it burnt them badly, so i dont advise feeding them.Hope this helps.
Thanks for the warning!
ROX
ROX, what have you got your plants in? If it has no soil. i.e. just a peat or other substitute, this will exhaust itself of food. Very little grows in pure peat naturally, I always mix up Moss peat compost (not heavy sedge peat), with leafy compost and some sharp, gritty soil or sand would perhaps suffice. The compost will provide the plant with food, even more if you have same soil mixed in. If you want to wait a little longer to pot them up again then they shouldn't suffer if not in much growth, but with the temps you have described I would imagine they are growing quite quickly. I have some inside that are growing at temps of between 16-20C (61-68F), but I wouldn't really start to pot or repot until they are growing a little quicker in March. Extra food is not much good to a plant that isn't growing quickly either, of course I mean growth rate due to cold weather and not due to lack of food!
Extra food then of course would help, but I tend to grow hard for better hardiness and just let them grow in what they have, sometimes mixing a litlte slow release fertiliser into the potting mix. The organic compost is always good for anything. A loose, friable potting mix for this type of plant is essential so they don't sit in wet and rot. If you have high humidity misting shouldn't be necessary, we have been having up to 100% humidity lately, with a dry air it will help though.
If your potting mix says 3 months fertiliser I would say it is a substitue of some sort, and meant only for seed starting. Seeds do not need much food for a start as they have it all stored in the embryo. A potting mix for annuals would usually have some extra slow release pellets in it to get them through the season. I am no expert on this type of plant, but I think these general rules will apply.
Hope this is of some help to you.
Wallaby-
The plants are in potting mix: sphagnum moss, soft bark, perlite, and continuous release miracle grow fertilizer.
I will plant them all in the ground in the Spring (mid April).
Some of the plants are growing quite a bit ( a few leaves a month); others are just existing.
Bwilliams (Brian) recommended a low dose of fertilizer, liquid fertilizer or slow release. He say to just make sure it not a acid base fertilizer. Anything for vegetables is fine.
I think I will feed the plants that are showing some extra growth with a low dose of slow release fetilizer pellets that I have for vegetables.
I'll watch them closely to make sure I don't see any leaf burn or root rot.
Thanks for taking the time to respond, ROX