What Is Your Favorite Bloom Booster For Flowering Periennals? (fertilizers, Hydrangea, hydrangeas)
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Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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I have used MiracleGro and MirAcid for many years with good luck, and still do some, but lately discovered a much more effective product. I only use it on my acid-loving favorite perennials and vegetable garden as it's not cheap, $11 for a 4 lb bag at the local nursery, more plus shipping online. You have to feed with more of it than the small amount added to water for MiracleGro. It's called Organobloom, by Hendrikus Organics. I have also been using some of their other products. They are based nearby, so many local nurseries stock the full line of products. I put it into the planting hole for new plants, but also work it into the soil during the growing season.
Do you use the same version of Osmocote find everything? Such as shrubs get the same stuff that you flowering items do?
Bayler makes some great products as well...love their liquid 3in1 Insect, Disease, and Mite.
Quote:
Originally Posted by gentlearts
I use granular Osmacoat around everything on the holidays (St Patrick's, Memorial, July 4th, Labor Day) and I use liquid Miracle Grow in my watering can for potted plants. I use a Bayer granular Fertilizer/insecticide/fungicide on the rose bushes on the holidays too.
It's not targeted at blooms but nutrition for the whole plant. A healthy plant is a happy plant that blooms well. Plants love fish meal.
I used to buy 50 lb. sacks of it at the feed store, much cheaper than those little containers they sell at garden centers.
About 3 days after applying it to the soil the plants would turn a deep green and start blooming like crazy.
The stuff is kind of smelly and tends to attract the attention of neighborhood cats, but wholly organic and completely safe.
Long ago I knew an expert gardener and she used fish meal. But she also used compost and bone meal. Fish oil, she said, was just a booster, not very strong, but it helped. I use good homemade compost and some bonemeal--that's all--except for roses, I've been experimenting with burying used teabags around them. My perennials do great!
I do topdress them with extra compost over the summer for their continued good health and extra blooms.
I used Jobes Rose and Flower in the Spring, but like to use liquid bloom booster in the summer months.
Quote:
Originally Posted by in_newengland
Long ago I knew an expert gardener and she used fish meal. But she also used compost and bone meal. Fish oil, she said, was just a booster, not very strong, but it helped. I use good homemade compost and some bonemeal--that's all--except for roses, I've been experimenting with burying used teabags around them. My perennials do great!
I do topdress them with extra compost over the summer for their continued good health and extra blooms.
I use the Miracle-Gro Bloom Booster on my mixed containers (annuals and perennials) once a week and am happy with it. However, the perennials have certain bloom times with little or no re-bloom so I doubt a bloom booster will do much for flowering, and any fertilizer won't change that. Annuals will bloom their hearts out all summer so a bloom booster is useful to promote that.
It's been my experience that in order to stimulate abundant blooming ( along with proper watering and fertilizing) one needs to snip off those dying flowers at their connection to the plant...It's always worked for me..and with Miracle grow..and ( I call it decluttering of the OLD blooms) voila..far less dying off of actually branch of blooms..and further development..
I could be all off..but I can only suggest another possibility. BTW~~ I only use fertilizing about every 2 weeks..versus what is suggested on Miracle Grow weekly container as weekly...Sometimes over doing it causes..yellowing which leads to death of particular branching of plant...
The biggest mistake is either over boosting..or NOT pull off dead blooms coupled with NOT watering to keep up with proper growth and feeding the root system adequately ...Happy Gardening all!!
Definitely bloom booster in combination,with dead heading.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lyndarn
It's been my experience that in order to stimulate abundant blooming ( along with proper watering and fertilizing) one needs to snip off those dying flowers at their connection to the plant...It's always worked for me..and with Miracle grow..and ( I call it decluttering of the OLD blooms) voila..far less dying off of actually branch of blooms..and further development..
I could be all off..but I can only suggest another possibility. BTW~~ I only use fertilizing about every 2 weeks..versus what is suggested on Miracle Grow weekly container as weekly...Sometimes over doing it causes..yellowing which leads to death of particular branching of plant...
The biggest mistake is either over boosting..or NOT pull off dead blooms coupled with NOT watering to keep up with proper growth and feeding the root system adequately ...Happy Gardening all!!
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