Fertilizer recipes

[Pachrian]

I saw Jordan's fertilizer recipe in another thread. It seems that with all this info there are still many questions out there about feeding our hibiscuses. So I thought it would be nice to have a thread dedicated to how we feed our plants: what, how often, how much.

My general recipe:
1/2 tsp/gallon HVH acid blend or special blend (I alternate each day)
1/2 tsp/gallon Supernova
1/2 tsp/gallon Hydrogen Peroxide
1-2 drops dish soap (NOT anti-bacterial)

every 2 weeks I add 1 tsp/gallon seaweed extract

During the summer I feed once in the morning (I need about 2 gallon for 8 10" pots, 6 8", 6 6" and 5 4" pots) and depending on each plants needs more in the afternoon. If it is really hot I supplement with regular water.

[motherof4]

So you do this everyday?

[Pachrian]

Lynette, I do. My kids joke that I feed the hibiscuses better than them...better even than our pets. Lol, they think they're at the bottom of the totem pole 

It helps to prepare several gallon jugs at the same time.

[Charlie]

The proof is always in the results - and your photos show something good is happening with your hibiscus!

Charlie

[davidwood]

Uli,a very good thread and will be interesting to see what others do. I think the last paragraph about extra water is important, i made the mistake of adding 1/2 a teaspoon of Special Blend to every watering,i think that is the best way if you only water once a day,but sometimes i need to water 3 times a day and i found i was giving to much fertilizer,so now like you i feed at 6am,water again at midday and sometimes a top up at 4pm.
I don't understand why but i only need to top up the watering at 4pm if it has been a humid overcast afternoon,which seems a bit strange to me,i would have thought a sunny day and more water would be needed but this is not the case.Mind you Charlie writes in the CD that Hibiscus like similar conditions to people,and on a humid afternoon i will certainly drink more water so that's maybe why.
What is the reason for adding the bleach,is it to kill fungus in the soil and is it safe.

1/2 teaspoon of Special Blend 5 mornings a week.
Iron Chelate on a Saturday and a Potash feed on a Sunday. I only use the SuperNova for emergencies[which i have quite a lot ha ha].

[Pachrian]

Thanks for adding your regimen. You have no idea how many times I searched about 'Bart's recipe' without success after somebody mentioned it. I don't even know what Bart's screenname is. Hopefully we get others to join in here.

Yes, the hydrogen peroxide is supposed to prevent fungus infections, I think that was Cindy's recommendation.

[motherof4]

thanks...I do the same as you always fussing over my plants...and I am going to up my fertilizer...I will have to order more..being that I have 40+ plants...I also use about 1 gallon for every 4 plants..thanks...its nice to know what everyone is doing..thanks lynette

[Darkhorse]

Lynette, I'm answering your question from the August flowers post here because I thought it would fit better.    Yes, I use this recipe when watering every day.  I have learned which plants drink more than others, and try to use my best judgement whether or not to water them with fertilizer if it's going to be hot or if I know I will need to water again in the evening.  More often than not, I water with the fertilizer recipe every time I water.  I do flush the pots out 1 or two times a month though to help avoid salt burn.  So far so good with this routine, even on the hottest days.  I'm not really sure how many plants I can water with a gallon, maybe two or three in an 8" pot.  I just water until I have a decent amount of water flowing out from the bottom of the pot.  You can't overwater if you water all at once; soil only holds a certain amount of water at a time, so theoretically you could dump 15 gallons of H₂O into a 6" pot and not drown the plant if you did it all at once and then stopped watering.  Overwatering happens when you water again and again and again at intervals that are too frequent for the plant's needs.  Better to pour too much in at once and waste a little than not enough and risk salt burn!!



Sorry if I'm not making much sense, I've had a long day and need some sleep!!   

[Charlie]

Just to look at 2 points brought up in recent posts:

Hydrogen peroxide is better for plants than chlorine bleach, although the latter is not as bad as you might think. Hydrogen peroxide breaks down into water and oxygen gas, both good for potted plants. Hydrogen peroxide is good for killing off small pathogens like algae, fungus, and bacteria on contact.

Overwatering potted plants happens in 2 ways. First would be flooding, or driving all the air out of the potting mix. With a decent mix this won't happen as long as the pot drains well. Air in the potting mix is a critical component and a good mix provides plenty of air spaces as long as the pot drains well. Jordan is right that you can water a pot as long as you want, as long as the water that is not absorbed can drain away.

The other way to overwater is to provide more water than the plant needs but enough to encourage microorganisms like water molds and bacteria to grow out of balance in the pot. It's hard to overwater this way in the heat of summer but it can happen to a newly transplanted hibiscus in too large a pot.

Charlie

[motherof4]

thanks for all the info ...Lynette