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I am hoping we have another month or so in zone 5 before we get a hard frost but it was a rough season and my flowers did not perform as usual. I am thinking of adding some bloom booster for a last blast before the end of the season. I know it won't be an issue for my annuals but will it harm my perennials? What are your thoughts?
It's very easy to burn your plants with Bloom Booster.
Most people use it because they have plants that actually require
that to bloom or produce additional arms.
I burned my dahlia earlier this season with it, I added to much to the
water in the watering can.
It is coming back and is green again, but if you must use it,
dilute it big time!
From now on, I will use diluted Miracle grow on my dahlias.
Just be careful and really dilute it.
Fall is coming soon isn't it and I remember all to well how it was in my old Zone 5, I didn't want summer to end so quickly. Obviously it is your choice but I would not do it.
True bloom booster fertilizers are usually very high in Phosphorus. Perennials are naturally winding down their growth and flower production (except for mums, asters and other "late" bloomers). Aside from providing a few additional bud and flowers. In addition it may stimulate some root growth but if there is already more than enough Phosphorus in the soil (like previous fertilizer used earlier in the season) that won't happen and it can bind up other essential micro nutrients (like Mg, Zn and Fe) right through spring, causing weakened and yellowed leaves.
On top of that, the extra nitrogen will also cause new leaf growth to be sparked just as the plant should be winding down. New leaves are very tender for quite some time. This means more of the less cold hardy portions of the plant will be exposed and will be more prone to suffer winter damage and become susceptible to diseases. So... if you go ahead and do use it you will enjoy those few extra blooms blooms but at the expense of healthy plants next spring.
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