How Often Should You Fertilize Your Plants? We Asked Garden Experts
26.07.2024 - 03:39
/ southernliving.com
/ Arricca Elin SanSone
Plants need a certain amount of specific nutrients to grow well. Most of the time, garden and houseplants do fine without any help from you. But fertilizing actually gives plants a boost that helps them flourish. “Photosynthesis is how plants make food,” says Stacey Hirvela, horticulturalist withSpring Meadow Nursery andProven Winners Color Choice Shrubs. “But fertilizer is like giving them vitamins.”
Fertilizing your plants keeps them strong and able to stand up to whatever nature throws at them during the growing season. “The best defense against pests and diseases is a healthy plant,” says Hirvela. “When growing vigorously, a plant can outpace pests and diseases and are naturally more resilient to various environmental stressors.”
- Stacey Hirvela is a horticulturalist with Spring Meadow Nursery and Proven Winners Color Choice Shrubs.
- Justin Hancock is a horticulturalist with Costa Farms.
- Josh Kirschenbaum is the vegetable business and portfolio manager at PanAmerican Seed Company.
Before you fertilize, it’s also a good idea to do a soil test of your garden or landscape beds to identify what nutrients are lacking—or those nutrients of which you have an excess amount. Your local university coop extension service can help (find yourshere).
How To Test Soil pH Do You Have To Fertilize Plants?
Most residential soils contain the nutrients plants need to sustain healthy growth, and you can have a beautiful landscape filled with perennials, shrubs, and trees without fertilizing. “But when you fertilize, you add additional nutrients that the plant can funnel into bigger, more abundant flowers, faster growth, or darker foliage,” says Hirvela.
Houseplants also benefit from fertilizer. “If you’ve had a plant in the same
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