For the last 4 years I have been into clematis I have always fertilized with rose fertlizer in the spring....I know you can also fertilize with tomatoe fertilizer but I have never tried that. Is one better than the other? Another sort of silly question.....there are tons of different rose and tomatoe fertilizers but I never really look at the numbers on the front - I just buy what I see. What numbers should I be better at or does it even matter as long as it is rose or tomatoe fertilizer?
Yeah I have too much time on my hand to think this morning LOL.
Fertilizer
I really don't find much difference except cost..Tomato fertilizer is much cheaper than the Rose Fertilizer...the main thing to always remember is you want the Middle number in the N-P-K ratio to be the highest as that encourages blooms..remember N=nitrogen which grows pretty leaves but no blooms if it is higher...K is for the roots and P is for Bloom power...Jeanne
This message was edited Mar 18, 2009 10:23 AM
Thanks a bunch Jeanne - that explains it perfectly. I think I am going to start buying my fertilizers and stuff soon....actually maybe today if I get out shopping. I am off the rest of the week with the kids for March Break!
the american clematis society recommends Gro Power brand "bloom and gro". i have used it for 3 or 4 years now, mail order from high country gardens since it is not sold here in my area. it is a lot more than a fertilizer as it adds microbes to the soil and has other benefits.i am sold on it. it may not be cheap 13.95 for 8 pounds. i just ordered 32 pounds of it, which will last me a year (remember i have a lot of clems).
i have been very happy with this product and would not switch. they also have other formulas with less "p" to be used at times other than spring.
the american clem society is a great resource by the way.
Thanks for the info Guru - however I will only purchase things if I can find it around here - as you already know LOL.....Not to say I wouldn't try it but if they don't have it here I will be sticking with rose or tomato food.....
Dawn - here's my 2¢
I use Miracle Grow Rose Plant Food (18-24-16) Food for 2 reasons...
1 - I have mini roses & other flowering plants I feed
2 - clems love this stuff!
I found this at wally world for like 4 bucks. The box is 1.5 pounds.
all you do is use a scoop it comes with in a watering can and viola! Clems are fed.
Here is a couple pics to see the difference.
this pic is from 3/12
here's a pic from this morning
growing like crazy!
I've never tried tomotoe fert, but if the analysis is good, I don't see what it would hurt. If you just want to "experiment"? lol
I'll let you do that. lol not me! ;)
This message was edited Mar 19, 2009 7:15 AM
Thanks....
I have also seen they do have a Clematis granular ferilizer in a box as well......I guess it is strictly for clematis needs? I was thinking of maybe trying that one too? Ahhh decisions decisions...I hate when there are too many decisions.
I have both the tomato and the rose fertilizers and it really depends on which one I grab first as far as what my clems get. One thing that I do make sure I do, is when I am planting them out, I always use bone meal.
Yes good point Carolyn - I always use the bone meal as well when moving a plant or putting a new one in. Thanks :)
I have a dog and nosey neighbor dogs.
I don't use bone meal.
They may or may not bother it, but I'd rather not even deal with digging dogs so I just avoid it.
I do know it is better to use it though.
Debbie at Silver Star Vinery suggests you don't use bone meal if you have moles. I do have moles so there are spots that I won't use it. Mostly in the front. The back has more clay soil. I haven't seen any tunnels back there ever. Just wanted to pass that on in case anybody has moles.
I also have started using Spray N Gro with my Miracle Grow and the plants are very happy.
Texas - spray N gro you get online?
I've been asking about that stuff since I don't know when on another forum!!
My MIL orders all that stuff from QVC or HSN & now I have a ton.
She swears it works but I have never seen the results myself.
I looked at the feedback from customers & a lot of them had negative comments about the product.
I think mine is the micronutrients or something. I have several large bottles with the sprayer kit.
How long have you used SNG?
I bought it from the company thru their catalog. I've used it for about 6 wks. My plants have responded with greener leaves and more growth. Of course it's spring and they are going to be growing anyway, but my azaleas improved greatly with this stuff. They ahave hardly grown since I put them in and had very little bud production. But now they have a lot of new healthier leaves and buds galore. There are other Dgers on various forums that really liked the stuff so I got some.
What is some of the negative feedback? I guess I better go see huh?
I just went to the Garden Watchdog and SNG had 13 positive comments and no negatives. Where did you find the negative feedback? This SNG is out of Rockport Tx. The product is not a fertilizer or hormone. They say it is made up of nutrients. It is foliar feeding, and meant to be used with fertilizer. I also use the "recipe" for my brugs and the SNG. They perked right up.
here's the page with the feed back. Some is good, but as I went thru more pages there seem to be a lot of not so good comments.
http://www.qvc.com/qic/qvcapp.aspx/view.2/app.detail/params.item.M7459.desc.SprayNGrow-Micronutrient-Concentrate-20-oz#reviews
(click towards the bottom where it says more reviews.)
Kristy
This message was edited Mar 19, 2009 9:59 PM
I just went there but the link to customer reveiws says void when I try to click on it. It won't let me read reviews.
hmm, that's weird.
I just went there again and I went thru like 6 pages with no problem.
http://www.qvc.com/qic/qvcapp.aspx/view.2/app.detail/params.item.M7459.desc.SprayNGrow-Micronutrient-Concentrate-20-oz#reviews
It got a 4 star overall rating. I think what has happened to these folks, after reading their comments is this; I think they may have sprayed in the sun. One lady said she did spray in the mid-morning sun, not good. That will burn the leaves. They may have added too much baking soda. I did that at first and spots developed on some of my leaves. They may have not added enough of the product to the water. It is not hard to mix. I put mine into my sprayer with water right from the hose. It turns amber and in 15 mins I'm good to go. The change of color only has to be slight. I don't need the baking soda afterall. So I will keep using it until I don't get positive results. You might try it on a plant you have that is stunted or you don't really care about. Do an experiment with it, that is if you can get some from your m-i-l.