About The Long Island Gardener Expertise Do you know the wrong fertilizer will keep your plants from blooming?
Do you know that too much Nitrogen can kill your grass, even if it does not burn the roots? Do you know that Roses need a LOT of Nitrogen to bloom -- and why is that?
There's some complex chemistry in those plant foods. The secrets behind N-P-K are the key to the ultimate lawn, the the biggest flowers, the most fruits and vegetables. And if you don't get it right, you could be sorry.
I'll show you what you did wrong, and how to fix it.
Experience Homeowner with gardens indoors and outdoors, lawns back and forth. I wrote my first gardening column for our college newspaper, teaching roomates about the right way to feed those windowsills gardens. Today I look for challenges. Organic Fertilizers are the key to proper feeding of all our plants. Can you make your own fertilizer? Some people think so -- but there are side effects. I have been there, done that for 54 years and there is nothing like the voice of experience when it comes to Horticulture and Fertilizers.
Publications Numerous and sundry but only in college did I write about plants.
Education/Credentials B.A., Botany and Mass Communications.
Question When do I need to fertilize daffodils and iris, so that they will bloom well?
Answer If your Soil is nutrient rich, you should not fertilize your Bulbs. Too much of certain nutrients will block the uptake of others, no matter how badly they are needed. Fertilizer companies won't tell you this because they want you to buy their fertilizer, but they are creating a need where there is none.
In addition, certain Bacteria thrive on Nitrogen in the Soil; these certain Bacteria cause bulb rot when temps cool down and moisture levels rise. Unless your drainage is absolutely perfecto, and even if it's not, the Bulbs will turn to mush that way.
Healthy levels of N P and K are always good to have. But too much of any of them potentially destroys your Bulbs.
