Most fruit trees are greedy, commonly referred to as heavy feeders, and plums (Prunus spp.) are no exception.
Horticulturalists have bred modern plum trees to bear an abundance of fruits, and that means the plants need plenty of nutrients to feed all this production.
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In our guide to growing plums, we cover how to cultivate these fruit trees in your landscape.
And when it comes to fertilization, there’s a lot more to it than just tossing out some granules occasionally and calling it a day.
In this guide, we’re going to discuss when and how to feed your plum trees for maximum production and healthy plants.
Here’s what’s coming up:
Before you even think about buying a bag of fertilizer, I highly recommend that you test your soil.
Here’s why:
Test Your Soil
When I started out gardening, I was always told I should conduct a soil test every year but I skipped this step for a long time, assuming that if I simply applied fertilizer regularly my plants would have everything that they need.
Then, one year, I decided to take this excellent advice and test my soil.
And it was only when I saw the results that I realized that I had been wasting money by adding a bunch of nutrients to my soil that wasn’t needed.
Not only was I wasting money, but I was inadvertently harming the environment because a lot of that extra stuff was being washed off into local water resources.
Soil tests are cheap and easy, so there’s really no good reason to skip them. You can purchase reliable at-home test kits at your local garden center or online.
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Fiddle-leaf fig plants (Ficus lyrata) are loved for their large, green, glossy foliage, which makes them beautiful houseplants. However, caring for this plant can sometimes be tricky, mainly in fall and around the onset of winter when many gardeners notice their plant starts dropping leaves.
Andrew Bunting is vice president of horticulture at Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS), where he promotes gardening for the greater good. PHS supports healthier neighborhoods through horticulture by cleaning and greening vacant lots, planting and maintaining street trees, partnering with community gardeners to share resources and conserve productive open space, and demonstrating ecologically sound gardening practices in public gardens throughout the greater Philadelphia area. Andrew’s extensive public gardening career includes time spent at Chicago Botanic Garden, Chanticleer, and 27 years at the Scott Arboretum of Swarthmore College. His Fine Gardening articles have covered topics like autumn-flowering trees, shrubs for shade, and selecting trees for structure. In this episode, he discusses the evolution of his home garden, the lessons learned from the many gardens his hands have touched, and the potential for making our shared landscapes more sustainable and inclusive.
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