Watering/ Fertilize

[Brenden]

Transplanting is done in the parts shown below. My question is why does the Hibiscus booster as well as the supernova in house plant formula lower my ph this bottle water ironically enough is 5.9 which is perfect for me so I got a stock of it and I did just as the website directions have said I added 1 to 2 teaspoons of the Hibiscus booster as well as 1 teaspoon of supernova in one teaspoon of a houseplant formula in the water I shook it up grab a cup to see what it shown. The pH of the water has now 5.2 I am so going to use it but I am just wondering if the fertilizers somehow make the pH go down.

[Brenden]

And it IS safe to have all fertlizers incorporated in 1 watering right?

[Charlie]

Brenden, I'm not quite sure what you did here. All the fertilizers we offer are safe and all have some acidifying effect in order to counter the upward pH drift that often happens in potted hibiscus.

The Houseplant Formula already has the correct proportion of Supernova and Booster in it - no need to add more of either. If you do so it probably will be fine but you are venturing into territory that you have to figure out for yourself since we don't intend for the HF to be mixed with more of what is already in it.

As a general comment, its the pH of the soil that ultimately matters, not the water. Soil acts as a buffer to the water pH so adding water with a lower pH than the soil will not have much effect, assuming the water pH is not way low.

Finally, the proof is always in the result, so if you get the results you want then all is well.

Charlie

[Brenden]

O god. So I only needed the houseplant formula?

[Kathleen]

Charlie - I have been using the HVH Fertilizer, Super Nova, and Booster (1tsp. each per gallon of water) three or 4 times per week.  Should I not be using all three of these together?  I haven't had an any blooms yet this summer and some of the leaves look like they could have fertilizer burn.

Kathleen

[Brenden]

I am thinking that this is the case Kathleen haha.

[Charlie]

Kathleen, that combo should be fine. If you are concerned about leaf burn then don't use the Booster until the plants are ready to start blooming. Not sure what size or age your plants are but blooms come from lots of sun and warmth (but not too much) so think about where the plants are located. Ideal conditions are highs in the low 90's, lows temps around 60, and several hours a day of direct sunlight. If the temperatures are lower than try to give them even more sunlight. If the temperatures are higher then they may need more shade but still a couple of hours of direct sun will give the most blooms.

Brenden, yes, all you needed was the Houseplant Formula. That's what we designed it for - no hassle with calculating and mixing the various ingredients - it's already done for you in the Houseplant Formula!

Charlie

[Kathleen]

Thanks Charlie.  I appreciate you clearing that up for me.  My potted hibiscus range in ages and sizes.  Some are in one gallon containers and are a few years old and several (the one's I just got from you in 4" pots in April) are obviously very young.  The 4" pots have now been repotted into 6" pots.  The location where I have them gets about 3 hours of direct sun each day and shade from the house the rest of the time.  I could move them to another location under trees where they would get filtered sun all day, but no full sun.....or, I have an area that receives full sun all day.  Right now, the temperature here in Florida is running about 93 degrees most of the day and I am afraid that intense sun will just burn them up.  What do you think?

Kathleen

[Charlie]

Hi Kathleen,

Sounds like you are doing it just right already. The 3 hour sun with the rest of the day in shade is about perfect. If the temps go over 100 regularly you could move to all dappled shade but for now the location sounds great.