Recently I was asked "Is it too hot to fertilize my seasonal annual flowers like Begonia, Penta or Impatents?"
Seasonal flowering annuals make for beautiful focal points in the landscape. Whether in hanging baskets, pots, or in planted beds, seasonal flowers gives months of constant color. Some typical annual flowers for the summer are begonias, penta, lantana, impatiens, snap dragons, and potato vines. The plant food requirements are pretty basic. Nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, calcium and magnesium, plus a few micro-nutrients that our soils already contain. In general, plants are "grazers", meaning they absorb what they need from the soil. Our job is make sure the nutrients are available while the plant is growing. I'll share with you a couple of easy ways to do this.
For years I have been using Osomcote 14-14-14 about every 45-60 days in my annual beds and pots. This slow release fertilizer costs a little more than the 10-10-10 fertilizer because it is a slow release fertilizer, but it will last longer. I have used the 10-10-10 in my annuals and it works well too, but its benefit is short lived so I have to re-apply about every 21-28 days.
Annuals like to stay moist and not dry out. Watering and feeding correctly is the key to good-looking annuals. If you see your annuals getting smaller or leaves wilting, check your soil for dryness. With the warm weather you will need to water early morning on a regular basis to keep the plants happy and thriving. However, if your plants have never seemed to do well, you might have drainage issues. Click here to read more about drainage.
Recently I was asked "Is it too hot to fertilize my seasonal annual flowers like Begonia, Penta or Impatents?"
Seasonal flowering annuals make for beautiful focal points in the landscape. Whether in hanging baskets, pots, or in planted beds, seasonal flowers gives months of constant color. Some typical annual flowers for the summer are begonias, penta, lantana, impatiens, snap dragons, and potato vines. The plant food requirements are pretty basic. Nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, calcium and magnesium, plus a few micro-nutrients that our soils already contain. In general, plants are "grazers", meaning they absorb what they need from the soil. Our job is make sure the nutrients are available while the plant is growing. I'll share with you a couple of easy ways to do this.
For years I have been using Osomcote 14-14-14 about every 45-60 days in my annual beds and pots. This slow release fertilizer costs a little more than the 10-10-10 fertilizer because it is a slow release fertilizer, but it will last longer. I have used the 10-10-10 in my annuals and it works well too, but its benefit is short lived so I have to re-apply about every 21-28 days.
Annuals like to stay moist and not dry out. Watering and feeding correctly is the key to good-looking annuals. If you see your annuals getting smaller or leaves wilting, check your soil for dryness. With the warm weather you will need to water early morning on a regular basis to keep the plants happy and thriving. However, if your plants have never seemed to do well, you might have drainage issues. Click here to read more about drainage.