When to start fertilizing plants
How to Fertilize Indoor Plants | A Beginner's Guide
[Music]
hmmm should I fertilize these plants
we're gonna talk about fertilizing we're
gonna talk about fertilizing and trying
to make it as simple as possible my name
is Amanda from plant Arina sorry I
forgot to say that but I want to talk
about fertilizing and how necessary it
is and try to make it as simple as
possible so we're gonna start out by
okay you get a plant if we assume you're
getting a new plant you have this cone
Cina consignor clay Thea and it's so
cute
and you think okay well I want it to
look good forever right in order for a
plant to thrive we are going to have to
fertilize them and you have to ask
yourselves well when when do we start
fertilizing our plants well when you
first get a plant it depends where you
get it from right if you're getting a
plant from a greenhouse like ours at
planter Unicom you it's safe to say it's
been fertilized and but it all depends
right because if we're growing a plant
like this monstera a dasoni i this has
been in here probably for about six to
eight months possibly I don't remember
but it has and there is there is a
slow-release fertilizer in the soil and
it's put in the soil when they first
plant it but the plant uses the
fertilizer over time so by the time you
get this plant it could have been in
this pot for about you know say eight to
nine months maybe it's time to start
fertilizing it when you get it but don't
over fertilize it I'll get to that in a
second so let's assume that you brought
a beautiful plant home you brought home
this autumn fern and you're really
tempted to fertilize it if you are
tempted to fertilize right away I would
suggest using a very diluted complete
liquid fertilizer it can be an organic
type like fish emulsion or seaweed think
like a seaweed emulsion or you can use
like the blue type there's
many many different companies that make
complete fertilizers and with nitrogen
potassium and phosphorus and other
micronutrients which are super important
for the plants so if you do that diluted
heavily and I'm talking about using like
a quarter of a capful or a quarter of a
teaspoon to a gallon of water and you
know you can just start with that that's
that's good enough in the beginning if
you decide that you want to repot a
plant you really should consider adding
a soil amendment to the soil and it can
be any type of a compost that is sterile
and that compost like a worm casting
that I use a lot to worm poop that it
acts as a slow-release organic natural
fertilizer and that's really good for
the plants I find that that type of
fertilizer never burns the foliage I
just it doesn't so if you want to be
safe go with an organic fertilizer that
goes into the soil and if you do that
you know if you are adding oh I love
this guy this is a cute little ficus
elastica Brian T if you are if you still
okay let me go back I forgot what I was
saying if you do put a compost in the
soil you can still use a very diluted
liquid fertilizer throughout the period
of time that you're fertilizing here
here is another really important thing
to consider you might live in like a
tropical area and your plants might be
growing all year long and or you might
be like me you know I don't live in a
tropical area but my plants grow they
continue to grow so I did stop
fertilizing kind of late fall early
winter then I started again because my
plants were growing so anyway it's up to
you I mean the rules are stop
fertilizing at in the fall and start
again in the spring but I cheat I
fertilize and I've know some other
greenhouses that do that too so as long
as the plant is growing I think it needs
its nutrients that's my guess you can
say whatever you want to say anywhere
you want to say it but it's working for
me but I'll still tell you
you're not really sure you can
definitely back off fertilizing during
the winter because you could do more
damage especially if you are over
watering it and your plants aren't
getting enough light it will definitely
lead to the decline of your plant
so under fertilizing is definitely
better than over fertilizing but
fertilizing is really important okay
let's talk about the different types of
fertilizers there are the organic types
like the compost the back one o the worm
castings the what else is there there's
and you can you can also make your own
you can do a compost tea that is all
different sorts of really great
micronutrients in it or you can buy it
and you can decide on the one that you
want you can use those little those
sticks those little what are those
fertilizers sticks which I don't like
because I get moldy and I don't know I
just don't like to use them I like to
control it I don't like something
sitting so close to the roots for so
long that's that dense so I stay away
from that type and then you know there's
a foliar spray you can use too and you
know I sometimes I do that outside
during the summer when I know it's going
to dry it very quickly I'm very hesitant
to spray a foliar fertilizer on plants
inside when I just feel like it could
lead to mold and in bacterial issues so
I don't do that why do we have to
fertilize our plants because they're
just stuck in these pots they're stuck
in here and they can't get it naturally
they're not outside they're not getting
the debt reduce the leaves that decay
and become food for them over the period
of time that they need to absorb it and
you know they also they don't have like
the micro rui-zi that usually exists
outside that helps absorb nutrients that
are hard for them to absorb and that's
why we give them a diluted solution
that's easy for them to take up in their
root system so it's up to us to make
sure these plants survive and are
healthy really I'm saying that I'm
telling the truth and when something you
know we see the freaking same things
over and over again I have to like come
up with a new vocabulary but
I think I cut that off for a picture
didn't just fall off so we want this is
Dottie this is Clay Thea Dottie
we want our plants to remain healthy and
look super good for a long period of
time and fertilizing them after they
start declining is probably the wrong
time to start doing it you should
fertilize to maintain the health of the
plant so when you see it looking healthy
and pushing out new growth that's the
time to fertilize it it really is it's
not trying to bring it back from the
dead because I think by then it's
probably too late if you can if your
plant you think is dying and you can
propagate it I would go that route then
trying to completely save it because
it's usually all in the roots and if
you're a ruse or a disaster the plants
probably not gonna live sorry to break
the news to you okay so do all do plants
need do different types of plants need
different type of fertilizers yes and no
I see a lot of kind of literature on
certain plants needs certain fertilizers
like fiddly fig needs a certain type
which I took I have it but you know what
honestly I just kind of go with fish
emulsion and chelated iron and I dilute
it very heavily in a big huge watering
can and it go around and I do my thing
because I'm just not gonna do it I'm too
lazy and I have too many plants and
guess what they all like the fish
fertilizer and they all like the
chelated iron and I'm just sticking with
that so I'm just trying to keep it easy
for myself I'm trying to keep it easy
for you so you don't have to have a
million different different types of
fertilizers in your house because who
wants to collect fertilizers it's a
boring hobby to try to keep it simple
you know just just use what you have
what you can find and just dilute it
dilute it to a quarter of the strength
and make sure you water your plants
first before you add that fertilized
water or fertilizer because that is when
the burn can
all right so just let the roots soak it
up
let the vegetation get clumped up again
with moisture and then fertilize it okay
pretty easy I don't think you need to go
and research each plant and what it
likes the best because in reality if you
think about like where they're coming
from they're coming from the forest
floor they get what they get and they
don't get upset so they're gonna learn
to adapt to the fertilizer you're like
I'm just saying that I'm putting myself
out on limb a limb by saying that but I
just want to keep it super simple for
you so you don't have to spend a lot of
money on fertilizer that's it
I hope that helped I don't know I just
wanted to say that because I think I've
been holding it inside and that's my
truth that's what I do okay that's it
I'm gone I'm gonna go put my head in the
sand now all right guys thanks thanks
for listening to this one I hope it did
help and I'll see you guys very very
very very soon and thank you again take
care bye
