When To Fertilize Your Plants
Don't let your trees, shrubs, flowers, houseplants and veggies go hungry. Feed them at the right time, and they'll reward you with healthy growth.
Fertilized and Unfertilized Plants
Well-fed plants are healthier and more attractive than those that are hungry for nutrients. There are many kinds of fertilizers you can use, including slow-release products that release nutrients for two or more months before they need to be reapplied. Liquid or water-soluble fertilizers are usually reapplied every week to 10 days. Choose the product that's right for whatever you're growing, and follow label directions.
Spring Peas
When it comes to fertilizing vegetables, there are three main groups: light, moderate and heavy feeders. Peas, beans, radishes, turnips and mustard greens are among the light feeders. Give them starter fertilizer when you plant; if they’re growing in compost-enriched soil, they probably won’t need to be fed again. For best results, do a soil test before planting to determine what kind of amendments and fertilizer your soil needs.
Beets
Vegetables that need moderate amounts of fertilizer are plants like beets, potatoes, okra and carrots. Start by planting them in loose, well-drained soil that’s been enriched with compost, and mix fertilizer in the planting holes or rows. They probably won't need feeding again.
Heavy Feeders in the Vegetable Patch
Vegetables that bear heavily, such as tomatoes, corn, peppers, squash, broccoli and watermelon, are heavy feeders. Most grow well with a 5-10-10 fertilizer mixed into the soil at spring planting. Once the weather becomes warmer, these veggies can benefit from a second application, or side dressing. Follow label directions on the product you're using.
Fertilizing Shrubs
Shrubs can be fertilized in early spring and most can be fed again, more lightly, in autumn. But wait about a month after the first fall frost, so you don’t stimulate new growth that will be killed back in cold weather.
Heuchera 'Cinnamon Curls'
Fertilizing Annuals
Mix organic matter and fertilizer into your soil when you plant annuals, or use a packaged potting mix that has fertilizer in it. Make sure to water thoroughly, so the plant roots don’t get burned. Most annuals bloom heavily for several weeks before they need feeding again; then you can add a slow-release fertilizer or use a liquid or water-soluble fertilizer about every two weeks.
Fertilizing Vines
Vines and other woody plants, such as groundcovers, can be fertilized at planting and again in fall. If you miss the fall feeding, fertilize in early spring, before growth begins. Water thoroughly after feeding.
Fertilizing Seedlings
Seedlings don’t need fertilizer until their second set of leaves — the so-called “true leaves” — appear. Then give them a water-soluble fertilizer diluted to half-strength, and apply twice a week. If the seedlings are growing in potting mix with fertilizer already in it, you don’t need to feed them until you transplant them into the garden.
Fertilizing Bulbs
Fernleaf Dill
Fertilizing Container Plants
Sugar Maple in Fall
