favorite fertilizer?

I hope this is the right forum...

What is y'alls favorite fertilizer for outdoor flowers and flowering shrubs? I read alot here about messanger and mighty plant, and may go with that. I have a bottle of shultz 10-18-10 (I think) from last year, and if it's still good I may use it.

I have tried organic ferts but most of their NPK number seem a bit low for me, especially for flowering annuals.

I appreciate all opinions, the more detail the better! ☺

Thanks,

Maureen

I really like 14-14-14, its a 100% slow release granular fert. You just put it in the ground, plant and walk away. It releases when the soil gets wet- and it releases at 45 degree soil temp unlike Osmocote which doesn't release until the soil is at 70 degrees. It generally lasts about 5 months and you can use it on everything-annuals, perennials, shrubs and trees. It has all the micro nutrients that Osmocote has but is a third of the price. I pay $ 20/40 lb bag.

I use Osmocote its a time release. I do use some others through the season but rely on it mostly I buy it in 50lb sacks at the nursury. Roses, hydranga's, & bulbs I fertilize with the ones marked for it on top of the osmocote. I also use alot of cow manure.
Kim

I am big on fertilizer- when I initially plant I always give a good dose of Osmocote- but after that I don't give outdoor, unpotted plants Osmocote. I do pick up specialty fertilizers for Roses, Gardenias, Hydrangeas, Camellias- our soil is naturally alkaline here. For other plants I have been really happy w/ Fertilomes (sp?) general or lawn fertilizer- it's a balanced 14-14-14 I think, cost about 30.00 per 40 lb bag and I toss it by the handfull on everything that's green in my yard. It's not slow release- one benefit is that I can add large amounts in my efforts to grow really big trees. Because it's not slow release it could burn, but I always, or almost always, water it in well and have never had it burn anything. Occassionaly I give everybody a bucketfull of Superthrive- say 3 or 5 times in the growing season, occassionally I give some plants some epsom salt. This year I added some Kelp Meal to my rose beds and WOW! It could have been coincidence, but I don't think so. For my roses I like Bayer Rose and flower, one is liquid and very good, the other is granular which makes it convenient- though I think I like the liquid for it's versitility. Also this season I used Messenger both the spray/foliar type and the plant food type and have noticed some very significant results.
Well I do tend to get carried away, hope some of this is helpful.

April! Good to hear from you on the forum!

Bat guano girl here--just a trowel full when I transplants anything.....then water with fish and seaweed emulsion....and then over mulch everything!

organic here. :)
Debbie

Thanks all; and April, your info is very helpful. I think I am going to order some Messenger and mighty plant.

But what is Epson salt for?

I'm too much of a control freak to use time release granules. I have used fish emulsion before but it doesn't seem strong enough. I really want to get lots of blooms out of the annuals I'm planting. Do any organics have high numbers?

Does anyone have an opinion about miracle grow or Peters 20-20-20?

Thanks again,

Maureen

I use miracle grow. Admitting that, I feel like a dork. I like to apply it with a sprayer in solution with a tablespoon of liquid soap per gallon (for bugs and because somehow everything seems cleaner, is that OC or what?). I also use chicken poop compost in the fall.

My mother waters all her vegis with a bathroom cup (those little ones) of miracle grow solution once a week and her plants get HUGE.

mlm.....if your annuals are healthy, and planted in the right spot and getting the proper amt of water, you should have no problem with getting blooms. Most of the annuals can only process so much phosphorus-they don;t need that much. Better to have a higher number for the potassium. I use a liquid fert when I grow them-20-10-20. Or if I want to raise the PH I use 15-0-15. Once they are in the ground, a balanced fert is better.
I don't know of any organics that have high numbers, you have to keep reapplying them.
The Epsom salts are for magnesium, a micronutrient. Some plants need it in higher numbers than fertilizers provide. The rate to apply it is 1lb/100 gals of water.
Its important to look at the Nitrogen on the back of the bag of liquid fert. Most of the liquid fert are used by growers that are growing in a soiless medium-like promix etc that is made up of peat moss. perlite, and vermiculite. Soiless mixes process nitrogen better in the nitrate form, so we look for ferts that have a higher concentration of nitrate nitrogen instead of ammonical or urea (which has to convert to ammonical before the plant takes it up). So if the fert has a higher rate of nitrate-over 50% then I use it.
Once the plant is in the ground and is in soil, then the ammonical/urea fert is better.

Renwings,

I know what you mean about feeling like a dork. So do I! but I have a garden sprayer of miracle grow I bought last and I’m gonna use it on everything today as their first feeding, your mother’s story encouraged me!

Tigerlily,
That info you gave is great, I always wondered the significance of different types of nitrogen. It’s gonna be very helpful to me in picking out fertilizer.

In the past I have used Earth Juice for micronutrients, but I’m not sure how well it worked.

Thanks again everybody,

Maureen

Peters is good and I'd use balanced on most things- but I am pretty much a trial and error person.

Using liquid organics as a foliar fertilizer rather than watering the soil with it makes all the difference. If you foliar fertilize in the morning, when the stomae are open (when the birds are singing, or if using a greenhouse or indoors, play music with high-pitched tones, like flutes, which trigger the opening), then you will get really good results. It is also much more economical to feed the leaves than it is to feed the soil with these liquid fertilizers, and I have heard of research that shows that foliar fertilizing with liquid kelp solution decreases attacks by insects. I am sold on liquid kelp, Omega 6-6-6 for putting on vegetative growth, and Omega 1-5-5 to induce flowering. I have used the latter to induce flowering in Mandragora autumnalis, which is no easy feat in my climate, let me tell you.:) If you use too much of it, though (way more than the label says), you will get lots of flowers but they will be smaller. I found this out by experience. Guess each plant only has X amount of energy to put into reproduction, and it can either be in a smaller number of large blooms or a larger number of small blooms. At least, that is my take on it.

Thanks April, I may blast them with some peter's 20-20-20 later this summer. I had some miracle grow so i used it and I must say, I had some noticable growth!

Very interesting about the foliar feeding paracelsus. Maybe that's why some people say messanger is so effective?

I have ordered some mighty plant and messenger and will do the messanger this week. I plan to fertilize every two weeks this summer.

Has anyone tried maxicrop products? I want to mix in a nutrient supplement with the fertilizer and was going to try maxicrop liquid seaweed this year. I hope mixing mighty plant and maxicrop and mighty plant is ok, what do you all think?

I'm not much help with indoor plants but with my outside tomatio plants I am a big believer that Cow Manure. Check out last years plants on by blog at www.twylightman.blogspot.com
Some of those plants reached the power-line. Jerry

Wow you've been busy!

Very nice tomatoe plants!

I got some humus and manure from lowes by accident--they gave me the wrong bags--I'm gonna try it and hope it works as well. ☺

Maureen

My job is dealing with "people problems" all day long. I escape to my garden for a few moments each day for balance, sanity or just to be with friends that don't complain (just as long as I don't forget to water, that is...) Thanks ! for checking out my blog... Jerry