How to Feed Your Plants

1. How to Feed Your Plants CONSIDERATIONS: • Type of plant. • Volume of soil (pot size). • Light intensity.

2. How to Feed Your Plants • Many indoor gardeners have the same problem with fertilizer than they have with water. They want to give their plants too much. • The danger from overfertilization occurs because any fertilizer used (whether liquid, powder, or tablet) will dissolve in soil water and will form “salts” in the water. • If you continue to add more fertilizer when plants haven’t yet used the fertilizer already present, the water in the soil becomes so “salty” that it “burns” the plant’s roots by removing water from them.

3. How to Feed Your Plants • The secret to fertilizing plants indoors is to apply small amounts of fertilizer as the plant grows. Without new growth, the plant has only a limited need for more fertilizer. • During winter when light levels are reduced, a plant’s need for fertilizer is reduced. • During summer when light levels increase, and the plant is growing, its need for fertilizer is increased. • How often should you fertilize your plants? “Less is better than more.”

4. How to Feed Your Plants • As a starting point, you could use about ¼ the label rate for monthly applications. • If the overall plant color becomes lighter green, fertilize every two weeks. • If the new growth is dark green but leaves are small and distances between leaves seem longer than on older growth, decrease the fertilizer rate. • If you do overfertilize a plant occasionally, immerse the plant and its container in a pail of water. The water line should be higher than the soil line. Remove when bubbles stop emerging from the pail.

5. Forms of Fertilizers Used Indoors • LIQUIDS • POWDERS • TABLETS • SPIKES • GRANULES

6. Soil • Any well-drained and aerated soil mix is good to use for your houseplants. • Make sure the soil mix has good water and nutrient holding capacities. • Professional mixes should provide adequate water and nutrient holding capacities, support for the roots, and good drainage and aeration. • coarse sand, processed bark, sphagnum peat moss, perlite, vermiculite, leaf mold or other ingredients • avoid heavy muck soils.

7. ACCLIMATIZATION: Adaptation of a Plantto the New Environment of Your House Favorable environment for maximum growth high light high nutritionhigh water supply high temperature low lightlow relative humidity Interior environment

8. The Two Sides of Acclimatization Light Acclimatization low light Soil Acclimatization • less growth • less need for nutrients • less water need • reduce nutrient application • reduce water frequency

9. You Can Never Go Wrong if You Remember To: • Learn as much as possible about the extent of acclimatization of the purchased plants. • Provide necessary conditions: Light is the most important factor! • Apply fertilizer and water at reduced rates.

10. The Cheapest PlantTo Buy IsAn Acclimatized Plant

11. How To Buy A Winner ? Plant Appearance • Use only healthy-looking plants with medium to dark green foliage (unless foliage is supposed to be of different color). • Examine undersides of foliage for pests. • Light brown or dark brown spots, as well as long brown rows, found on the underside of fern leaves are not sign of a disease! • they are fruiting structures, which contain spores.

12. How To Buy A Winner ? Plant Appearance • Examine the root system: • healthy roots are generally white • roots should be visible along the outside of the soil ball • roots have a healthy, earthy odor.