The 8 most common fertilizing mistakes in home flower care

1. Fertilizing newly planted specimens

Newly planted specimens have many wounds on their root systems. If they are exposed to outside stimulation, the wounds heal poorly, which causes root rot and can even kill the plant. Therefore, cuttings and seedlings that have not yet rooted after sowing must not be fertilized.

2. Fertilizing sickly or weak specimens

Should you fertilize right away when a plant shows yellowing leaves or wilting? Wrong! Sickly, weak specimens grow poorly, photosynthesize less, have slower metabolism and a low capacity to absorb nutrients. Fertilizing them carelessly easily causes fertilizer burn instead.

3. Fertilizing during the flowering period

Fertilizing during the flowering period pushes vegetative growth too strongly, easily causing leggy growth and leading to dropped buds and flowers. Neither too-low temperatures nor hot periods are suitable for topdressing; topdressing should be done when the weather is neither too cold nor too hot, and the suitable temperature for topdressing is between 15 and 30 degrees.

4. Fertilizing during the dormant period

Flowers stop or slow their growth during the dormant period. Applying fertilizer breaks dormancy, pushes the plant to keep growing, and affects next year's blooming.

5. Roots touching the base fertilizer

When planting flowers, never place the plant's roots directly on the base fertilizer; cover the fertilizer with a layer of soil first. Otherwise it not only hinders the absorption and use of the fertilizer but also damages the roots. In addition, when topdressing, apply it in holes at a suitable distance from the roots according to the plant's growth, so the roots can absorb it easily.

6. Applying concentrated fertilizer

When fertilizing plants, you must strictly control the amount; avoid too high a concentration or too large a dose, or the plant's roots will be burned and, in severe cases, the plant will die. In general, apply dilute fertilizer frequently.

7. Applying raw fertilizer

Applying organic fertilizer that has not been fully composted to plants not only easily spreads pests and diseases, but the organic fertilizer also ferments and generates heat during decomposition, burning the plant's roots.

8. The difference between heavy feeders and tolerant-of-poor-soil plants

Plants also differ in habit: some are heavy feeders and some tolerate poor soil. Heavy feeders such as citrus, heavenly bamboo (Nandina domestica), pomegranate and Epiphyllum should be fertilized more; plants that tolerate poor soil such as azalea, black pine and five-needle pine should be given dilute fertilizer.