Fertilizers for indoor plants and flowers

– All indoor flowers and plants need active feeding from April to October: in spring and summer, once a week or two, they must be pampered either with complex fertilizers, or every other time with mineral and organic, – says Tatyana Zhashkova, chairman of the Moscow Flower Growers club. – As a rule, during the winter period of rest, most plants slow down their growth and even fall into “hibernation”. And they need to be fed much less often – once a month and a half. Some succulents do not water or feed at all.

So, since April, houseplants and flowers need not only more frequent watering, but also more frequent feeding. Which fertilizer to choose is up to you. Liquid complex fertilizers are very popular, which are simply diluted in water and watered flowers, as usual. There are fertilizers for more violent flowering, to accelerate growth, etc.

In general, you should always remember a simple rule: during the period of active growth, plants need nitrogen, during flowering and fruiting – in phosphorus and potassium (1).

IMPORTANT!

Universal complex fertilizers are suitable for all houseplants. But still, fertilizers, like soil, are best chosen according to the type of plants – for flowering, for vines, for succulents, for orchids, etc.

When fertilizer is vital for indoor flowers

There are several situations when top dressing for a plant becomes extremely necessary:

• the growth of flowers has stopped abruptly, they do not throw out new leaves and buds;
• the plant began to suddenly shed old leaves, but new ones do not grow;
• you forgot what the flowers of your favorite plants look like;
• you see that the leaves have faded, the stems have become thinner, not elastic, in general, the plant has an extremely painful appearance.

Manure works very well and quickly. For indoor plants, it is used in the form of mullein – water infusion. After such watering, the plants quickly start to grow and increase a large amount of green mass. However, it must be used with caution – it is not suitable for flowers that are heavily affected by fungal diseases, as it can provoke an outbreak of diseases (2).

How to fertilize houseplants

– Whatever your fertilizer is – dry or liquid – it must be applied to moist soil, – warns Tatyana Zhashkova. – Otherwise, you can burn the roots. And besides, be sure to observe the dosage of fertilizers. The principle “feed more, it will grow better” will not work. If the plant is overfed too much, it can stop growing and even die. Too much of a good thing is also bad.

Folk recipes for feeding houseplants

There are many options for such dressings, here are the most popular of them.

Sugar

Glucose, which flowering plants adore. If from time to time you pour 1/2 teaspoon of sugar under the roots and immediately pour water, the plants will thank you for a long and lush flowering.

Chopped banana peel

Good source of potassium. But it requires serious preparation: dry the peel properly for a week, grind thoroughly in a blender. And already mix this powder with the earth in pots. It is especially good to do this during a transplant.

There is also such advice: insist a fresh peel in water until foam appears, then strain and water the plants with this “broth” once every two weeks.

Ash from firewood

Some people use cigarette ash, but there are too many carcinogens in it, especially if the cigarettes are flavored. It is best to pour ashes from ordinary firewood brought from the dacha into the pots. It fills the earth with nitrogen, which is especially necessary for flowers during the period of violent growth and flowering. In addition, ash is excellent at fighting harmful flies.

You can make liquid ash fertilizer: 2 tbsp. tablespoons of ash in 1 liter of warm water. Leave for 2 days, water once every 1 weeks.

Nettle

Fresh nettles will help the flowers not get sick and be strong. Nettle decoction fills the earth with minerals and nitrogen. This is the so-called green fertilizer, which is useful both in the country and at home. It is enough to soak the nettle shoots for a day in warm water, strain, water once every 1 weeks.

Vodka

If the plants have become sickly and have lost the joy of life, just “drink” them – dilute 3 g of vodka with 100 liters of water and water home flowers. Literally in 2 – 3 days you will notice how your pets cheer up.

Terrarium and aquarium water

If plants love liquid fertilizer made from animal and bird manure, then why shouldn’t they love aquarium water, where various nutrients are also dissolved? Of course, you should not abuse and completely transfer plants only to aquarium water, but 1 time in 2 weeks, as a top dressing, is very suitable.

Dangerous folk dressings

There are other folk tips for fertilizing houseplants, but they can harm and even kill your flowers.

Coffee grounds

Many people add sleeping tea leaves and coffee grounds to flower pots, they say, there are so many benefits in them, and the earth will be looser. And if tea brewing really at least makes the soil looser, then coffee grounds acidify the soil, which can be detrimental to flowers, especially flowering ones.

Eggshell

Firstly, indoor flowers do not actually need calcium. Secondly, the shell is best used as drainage. If crushed smaller, then as a baking powder for the earth. In this case, there really is a benefit.

What is important to consider when feeding plants

No matter what you feed your pets, if they do not have enough light, the wrong temperature and humidity, they still will not grow well. Therefore, to begin with, arrange for them the right place and lighting – be sure to buy a supplementary lamp if the windows of your apartment face north. Remember to spray them every day. And in winter – cover the batteries with a damp towel so as not to dry out the air. And then the flowers will thank you with a long life, healthy leaves and beautiful flowering.

Popular questions and answers

We also talked about top dressing for indoor plants with agronomist-breeder Svetlana Mikhailova.

Sources of

1. Tulintsev V.G. Floriculture with the basics of selection and seed production // Stroyizdat, Leningrad branch, 1977 – 208 p.
2. Visyashcheva L.V., Sokolova T.A. Industrial floriculture. Textbook for technical schools // M.: Agropromizdat, 1991 – 368 p.