I'm feeding my seedlings (grown from seed this spring) a half-strength 15-30-15 weekly and now I'm reading in other threads here of much stronger diets. My babies are 2' high and the nodes are bursting with new sprouts. They're in 2-gallon pots. Should I boost the food? Change the mix? Can I hope for any bloom this year?
Fertilizing regimen?
No one is responding to me. I'm reading in other threads that full-strength and even more is good. I'm afraid to kill them. Please help with your advice and experience. Why are you ignoring me?
You're apt to get 20 different answers.
I use a 15-5-15 Cal Mag - twice a week, because it was recommended by someone with a lot of experience. They say they don't like a high middle number.
Mary
Mary is exactly right. Everyone does something different from what I can tell reading these threads for years. And also it seems every year someone swears by something different. I know I do. LOL
I do not think people are ignoring you as much as this has been discussed so much.
If what you are using is working great, why worry?
What I use depends on what I find to buy and how broke I feel. I love to try new things. Some plants I do not even fertilize and they still grow great and flower!! Those are the ones in the ground. In pots you have to fertilize because you flush out the nutrients and the roots are limited to where they can grow to search for food.
I have never fertilized every week much less more than once a week. I am way too lazy. I may be good for a week or 2 but then I return to my lazy ways. I have tossed some Osmocote time released once in a while but that too is hit and miss. I used the fertilizer spikes for palms last year because they had the minors and they worked great too.
I think I have used everything our there. My fall back is 16-16-16 or 20-20-20 because it is cheap. And I figure the plant can figure out for itself which it wants. In pots, make sure you do not burn them though and once in a while toss in some fertilizer with minors.
There is a movement out there to reduce the 2nd number, phosphorous in fertilizers. Miracle Grow reformulated their original fertilizer to reflect this new way of thinking I was told. Who knows if this is true. How much you really need depends on your soil and how much is there that is available to the plants.
So if your plants are doing really well, they must be happy with what you are doing! I think fertilizer matters less too when you have a big pot of good soil for the plant that is not root bound. If you use soil less potting medium, fertilizer would be more important too or if your plant is rootbound, you best feed a lot.
I like to foliar feed with MG too. It really seems to give all my plants, not just brugs, a big boost.
I guess what I am saying is I have not found brugs to be real fussy about what you feed them.
Sorry to take awhile to get to your post Andy..... I use Peters 15-15-15, and have just introduced Messenger. I don't use the bloom buster fertilizers as I think they are a little to harsh, and don't feel they gave me more blooms for my buck. I have tried granular type fertilizers and they didn't produce the blooms I wanted so I left them alone. I have also tried the Alfaha pellets and not much was good there either so I dropped that. I think those are good in a garden plots to break up soil and add some nutrients not brugs in a pot. But some swear by them.
The way I fertilize is about 1 1/2 times the strength recommended, 2 to 3 times a week during the summer months. Now if it is getting hot, hot like the month of August will be and the brugs dont' want to bloom I do cut back and only fertilize once a week. If I increase the strength or fertilize to much during the summer when it is really hot the leaves will yellow and start to fall off. I think with the extra strength and heat it is just more than the brugs can tolerate.
I pick it back up at the first of September to get ready for the fall blooming season.
Then again I change during the fall when the temps drop. I go with the same strength 1 time a week and that seems to do good for me and give me growth and blooms like I want to have.
.
Winter when we are cool I don't fertilize at all, like the month of January and Feb. I just let them rest. I start up again about the first of March and go through December with about the same routine.
Now remember my growing season is 10 months or more out of the year so I can fertilize longer and maybe stronger than others in cooler parts of the country or when you are anticipating first frost in maybe September- October.
And yes I do get caught from time to time with a lot of new growth and it is usually killed back to good wood or what ever was protected just depending on how much frost we had. This is not a bad thing to me because Brugs can rebound quickly and I dont worry about that to much.
This is not an exact science and you have to kinda play around and see what works best for you and your climate. What works for me or someone in the North may be different and you may find it does or dosent work for you.
The strength is kinda up to you. I know some growers double the strength and more and some go strictly but the directions, I think it is what you are comfortable with and what give you the results you are happy with.
I hope this has helped.
Dee
I must add that I think one of the reasons I fertilize so much is because most of my plants are in big pots and I have to water them every day almost all year.
I would start out slow when you want to increase the strength of your fertilizer and not dump a bunch of it in a one time and hope for the best, that way you won't have a surprise you don't want..............LOL....yep I have burned a few to say the least..
I to am like Kell and have tried everything I can come across so that will be something you can do and see what works for you.
Dee
Gosh Dee, after reading how good you are to your brugs, I went out and fertilized all of mine! I have been so bad this summer.
LOL.........Kell your so right but it is only because I have had alot of extra time on my hands the past few seasons. When I go back to work we will see how well they bloom.
I am good to them and they always reward me with such beautiful blooms. I am seeing a bit of decline in the amount of blooms right now because it is so hot.
I have brugs in pots and in the ground and the ones in the ground seldom get any fertilizer and they bloom profusly. The ones in the pots always need something and I am watering them everyday now and some need it twice a day. I am going to back off on fertilizing this week just because of the heat and I will see how they do.
I just harvested the first of my pods last week and another today so I am happy....
and this is Mountain Magic........this is a real beauty......one of my favorites....
:0)
Dee
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that mine are all in big pots too - which is why I try to fertilize twice a week. I've got a bad back and I wouldn't even try to dig in our horrible rock and clay dirt anymore. Only my old beds from when I was younger and stronger have plants in the ground. :-)
Most of mine are in Big pots, and I use MG at least three times a week in the summer when they need water so much.
This has been so helpful, thank you all!
When I potted my babies into larger pots (from 4" to 1-gallon) I didn't fertilize for a month, just to let them get used to the new soil and grow out their roots. Now I'm giving them 15-30-15 at half-strength weekly, but I'm going to give them full strength this week to see what happens. They are sprouting side-shoots at the leaf-nodes and bouncing new leaves at the top. No Ys yet. We've had very hot and humid weather (for here, Canada, that's 34C, 47C with the humidex).
I have one from Kell, one from 'D. Hines' (would that be you, Dee?) and eight from Susie.
These strike me as pretty tough plants. My main challenge will be overwintering. In the meantime, I'll give them lots of food. Thanks for the advice.