Seasonal Tips for April and May - Feeding
Even though your garden plants may appear to be growing adequately, unless you have kept them well fed they are unlikely to achieve their full potential. Garden soil is quickly depleted of vital nutrients and heavy rain leeches food from the soil. To ensure that you get the best from every plant in the garden it is important to feed them. It’s not complicated, costly or difficult to do. To make it even easier, the GardenHealth experts at Westland have formulated a plant food range that will feed most of your garden plants. It’s called Feed-all and does just that. There is also a special version for ericaceous plants.
- As the weather starts to warm up many plants are bursting into growth. Early spring bulbs will already have built their food reserves for this year’s display so delay feeding until they have finished flowering. Then apply a general plant food such as Growmore. This will help to boost the bulbs and help them build up food reserves for next years’ flowers.
- Trees and shrubs will benefit from an early spring feed to support strong and healthy growth. Use Growmore Garden Fertiliser for a general balanced feed: it is granular so can be sprinkled around the base of your plants. Organic gardeners can opt for Fish, Blood & Bone All Purpose Plant Food or Bone Meal Root Builder; both are ideal for use all around the garden for established and new plants. Follow the instructions on the pack.
- For more targeted feeding choose a plant food specially formulated for your plants from the extensive Westland Garden Health range. For example Rose, Tree & Shrub Granular Plant Food is specially formulated for roses, trees and shrubs and is a particularly good choice for flowering shrubs. It’s designed to support healthy roses, encouraging plenty of rich green foliage and masses of wonderful flowers. It can also be used to feed trees. Rake in very lightly taking care not to damage the feeder roots that will be close to the soil surface.
- Toughen up existing roses and shrubs and help them to tolerate drought and disease by treating them to a tonic of Sulphate of Potash Fruit & Flower Booster. This traditional formula is well known by experienced gardeners to encourage stems to ripen and mature and also to promote healthy growth and flower production.
- Feed permanent crops such as herbs, asparagus, rhubarb and fruit in early spring with Growmore Garden Fertiliser.
- Containerised trees and shrubs should be fed using a suitable plant food such as Feed-all Slow Release Granular plant food.
- Feed the lawn when it spurts into its spring growth with Lawn Feed. Apply with a Spreader for fast and accurate application. Alternatively apply Liquid Aftercut Lawn Feed and Conditioner after mowing. Choose between the granular version available in a hand held spreader or the new Liquid Aftercut Lawn Feed and Conditioner. If weeds and moss are a problem then use the combined Lawn Feed, Weed and Moss Killer product that feeds the lawn and deals with these problems too.
- Don’t be tempted to feed newly raised seedlings and cuttings until they get a bit bigger. If you use John Innes Seed Sowing Compost with Sure Start to grow seeds and cuttings, the compost contains everything your protégés need for the first few weeks of growth. The tiny root hairs on these developing plants are very susceptible to scorching from fertilisers, so let them establish before treating them to your favourite plant food.
- Flowerbeds and borders can be fed using Feed-all Slow Release Granular plant food. This finely tuned fertiliser is designed to regulate the rate that nutrients are delivered to your plants, so that it encourages the correct rate of growth according to the environmental conditions; and it keeps feeding them for up to 6 months of the year. Simply work it into the soil around your plant roots or add it to the planting compost when you plant.
- Container plants need plenty of food to keep them in tip-top condition. Several plants growing in a container will quickly use up the fertiliser held in the compost. For the best results you need to feed them regularly throughout the growing season. Use Feed-all Slow Release Plant Food Tablets. These convenient clusters of slow release fertiliser are specially designed for pots and containers and actually regulate the rate that nutrients are delivered to your plants, encouraging the correct rate of growth according to the environmental conditions. Simply push the tablets into the compost to give your plants everything they need for a great start and ongoing support for the rest of the season too.
- Feed Ericaceous plants with Rhodo, Azalea and Camellia Granular Plant Food. Often the soil they are growing in is alkaline, so it is important to acidify their root zone and supply them with an easily assimilated fertiliser. Use Rhodo, Azalea and Camellia Granular Plant Food, it has a low pH which helps to unlock essential nutrients from the soil, and it also contains iron that alleviates plant chlorosis (yellowing leaves) and helps provide these special plants with just the right diet to suit their needs and perform to their full potential.
Other useful tips for April and May:
