When it comes to setting your plants up for success, there are lots of little things that you can do to help, and fertilising your garden is just one of them.
But what makes for a good fertiliser, and how can you tell what’s the best fertiliser for outdoor or indoor plants? There isn’t one straightforward answer to this, as many factors can influence your plant’s growing. For specific plants, the best course of action is to find out its specific needs, from magnolia or avocado trees to frangipani, lilly pillies, clivias, or anything else you dream of growing at home.
Fertiliser Basics
While the majority of plants have unique needs, there are some basic things to know that can help you find a starting point!
What does fertiliser do?
Fertiliser provides flowers and plants with the important nutrients that they need to grow. While spreading compost and mulch are great ways to boost the nutrient content of soils, fertiliser is the ultimate answer to ensuring your plants can get what they need to thrive.
Potted and indoor plants only have access to the minerals in their pot, and once those are used up, there’s nothing left for them. Applying fertiliser helps to combat this, by replenishing the nutrient value of the soil. Outdoor plants, on the other hand, can spread their roots as far as they need to find those all-important nutrients, but still benefit from good quality fertiliser to keep them healthy.
Different types of fertiliser
There are two types of fertiliser that you can buy; organic and non-organic.
Organic fertiliser
Organic fertilisers are derived from natural products like plant, animal, mineral, and food sources. These can be things like manure, seaweed, epsom salts, and molasses. These types of fertiliser don’t offer different release speeds, as with the non-organic options, and slowly release nutrients to the soil throughout the season.
Non-organic fertiliser
Non-organic fertilisers are sometimes referred to as ‘conventional fertilisers’, and are made up of mined minerals, or ones that are created in a factory. With these, you can choose a release speed that suits the needs of the plant you’re tending to.
How to Choose a Fertiliser
As we said above, the best way to know what your plant needs is to research it specifically. As a general guide though, nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium are the key nutrients that are necessary for optimal plant growth.
In fertilisers, these are often shortened N-P-K, as they appear on the periodic table of elements. Standard fertilisers display the levels of each nutrient in the same format – for example, 10-10-10 indicates that the fertiliser has equal amounts of each mineral.
Many generic fertilisers come with this 10-10-10 level, meaning that plants will get a little bit of everything. This is better than nothing, but if you are particularly concerned about a certain plant, you can get fertilisers with different levels.
You can also get your soil tested to help you find out what your soil is lacking, therefore what you should be supplementing with. You can also find fertilisers with additional minerals like sulphur, magnesium, calcium, and others.
How to Apply Fertiliser
In order for it to be effective, fertiliser needs to be applied to plants correctly. Take care to follow the instructions on your fertiliser, as the quantities needed can vary product to product. If you’re unsure as to how much to apply, then it’s best to air on the side of caution and give less, as too much fertiliser can prevent plant roots from being able to soak up water.
Water your plants before applying the fertiliser to avoid burning, and reapply the fertiliser around every 60 days, or as needed or directed.
Contact Jim’s
Starting and maintaining a garden can be a big commitment that requires time and some expertise. If you’re finding it difficult to get your head around, contact the Jim’s Mowing team for some expert guidance and assistance with any and all of your gardening needs.
