How to choose fertilizer for your favorite indoor plants

Plants require not only a suitable level of illumination and compliance with the irrigation regime, but also regular feeding. Initially, store soil contains a certain amount of nutrients, but over time (within a couple of months) they are consumed and additional fertilizers are needed for indoor plants.

When should I feed plants?

The more actively the fauna grows, the more it needs to be fed. The period of the fastest and most intensive growth and development is that in the open ground, in the home, in the spring, the plant is slightly less active in the summer and autumn, and in the winter there is a dormant period. But this does not mean that it is not necessary to feed flowers in the winter - fertilizer is required all year round, but with slightly different intensities.

When a plant lacks nutrients, it signals this in appearance:

• pale in comparison with normal coloring leaves, which often fade and fall, leaving the stems bare;
• elongated, thin and weak stems;
• fast and frequent pest damage;
• non-intense flowering or its complete absence.

Not only the lack of nutrients is bad, but also their excess. An overdose of fertilizers can lead to growth disorders, diseases, and even plant death. Cut flowers of fertilized plants are worse in water.

The first time after a purchase or transplant at home, it makes no sense to fertilize a flower. Usually, the nutrients initially present in the soil are enough for a month or two, depending on the size and growth rate of the plant. When the plant is weakened or sick, the concentration of fertilizer must be significantly reduced.

Types of fertilizers

There are universal fertilizers, useful to absolutely any flower, there are suitable for a particular group. Complex fertilizers contain a number of trace elements and nutrients, which for many not-so-whimsical colors may be enough. But a number of plants will need additional nutrition with certain substances, for which potash, phosphorus and other fertilizers are already used separately at home.

Fertilizers can often be seen not only in liquid and powder (subsequently diluted in water) form, but also in the form of sticks, tablets, etc. Although at first glance this option seems convenient to use, nutrients are concentrated in one place containers with the plant, but in general the plant may continue to experience a deficiency of this substance.

Use fertilizers at home should be according to the instructions and recommendations on the packaging. There are indicated the types of flowers for which this fertilizer is used, and how and during what feeding is carried out. Many fertilizers, although not toxic, are not good for the skin and easily cause irritation. Therefore, working with them is better when wearing gloves.

Tip

It is better to regularly use weaker fertilizer solutions at home than to use concentrated mixtures occasionally.

The main fertilizing of plants goes through the root system, i.e., by watering with fertilizers or mixing them with the soil. But a small amount of nutrients is absorbed by home flowers through the leaves - by spraying. When plants propagate, seeds, tubers or cut shoots are soaked in nutrient solutions. All this can be used only as a supplement, and not a replacement for root dressing.

Tip

Watering the plants with nutrient solutions, if the soil in the pot has dried out, is impossible. It should first be moistened with clean water.

If plants like high humidity and need frequent spraying at home, then they should generally be sprayed with clean water, only once in 5-7 days you can apply foliar application. Otherwise, there is a risk of overdose of fertilizer and leaf burns.

What substances should be present in fertilizers?

1. Nitrogen - necessary for plants to build green mass - leaves. Without it, at home they grow poorly, become lethargic, pale colored, even if there is enough light for the flower. This substance is involved in the construction of plant proteins and chlorophyll, without which plant life is impossible in principle. With an excess of nitrogen, an excessively dark color of the foliage is observed, a delay in flowering and subsequent ripening of the fruits.
2. Phosphorus - Its lack leads primarily to problems with the root system. It grows slowly, weakens, which affects the growth rate of the whole flower. Leaves acquire an atypically dark color with a slightly bluish tint. New leaves and flowers form slowly and grow small. In the case of excess phosphorus, enhanced plant growth occurs, which can lead to a deficiency of other nutrients in the soil.
3. Potassium - Helps the plant absorb carbon dioxide and the atmosphere, and is also important for the flowering process. When it is not enough, the flowers do not form at all or grow small. Leaves turn yellow or pale at the edges, begin to fall off. The resistance of the plant to fungal diseases is reduced.
4. Sulfur - its deficiency leads to a slowdown or stunting, lightening of leaves. Special sulfuric fertilizers are usually not introduced into the soil, this substance is enough in the composition of complex and phosphate fertilizers, in humus and manure.
5. Calcium - necessary for the growth of the roots and stems of the plant. With its deficiency, the tops, young shoots and leaves wither and die. Particularly poorly tolerate the lack of this substance is cacti and other flowers with dense thorns.
6. Magnesium and Iron - are important components of chlorophyll. With problems with chlorophyll, the plant cannot photosynthesize in full, as a result, its growth will slow down, it will become weaker. Leaves turn yellow and fade.
7. Boron - affects the growth of the flower when it is small, this process slows down or stops, young shoots can begin to die.

Tip

Top dressing of flowers in winter is recommended to be reduced by 2-3 times in comparison with other seasons. Naturally, this does not apply to those plants that bloom or bear fruit in winter.

If in the fall the plants drop leaves and shoots, leaving only the roots or tubers, it is not necessary to fertilize and even water them in the winter. They are cleaned in a cool place with medium humidity until the start of the growing season.

Folk fertilizer recipes

It is not always necessary to purchase special nutritional formulations. With the benefit of flowers, you can use the most common products that people regularly use at home.

1. Coffee grounds can be used to reduce soil acidity. In addition, it makes the soil lighter, airier and loose, thereby improving the access of oxygen to the roots and reducing the risk of rotting.
2. Yeast can significantly stimulate growth. For 10 g of yeast add a tablespoon of sugar and dilute the mixture in a liter of water. When the solution is infused for a couple of hours, it is still diluted with clean water in a ratio of 1 to 5 and the plants are watered. However, potassium and calcium are involved in the yeast fermentation process, and the plant will need to compensate for their consumption.
3. Onion peel is a rich source of trace elements. It is boiled in boiling water, then allowed to cool and infuse and use the resulting liquid for watering and spraying.
4. Even more trace elements are contained in ash.It can be added to the soil during plant transplantation and a solution for irrigation can be prepared (a tablespoon of ash per liter of water).
5. Nettle infusion is used to fertilize depleted soil. Take 100 g of leaves per liter of water, insist for a day, then filter and dilute with clean water in a ratio of 1 to 10.
6. Sugar is useful for plants to build complex organic molecules and as an energy source for life processes. It can be dissolved in water for irrigation or simply poured in small quantities on the ground and then watered the plant. But for sugar to be absorbed, and not lead to rot and fermentation in the soil, carbon dioxide is needed. Therefore, you need to regularly loosen the soil and use fertilizers that increase the content of CO₂ . Even better in efficiency than sugar, glucose is one of its breakdown products.
7. Outdoor plants are often fertilized with cow dung and bird droppings. The same can be done for indoor flowers. Cow humus is dissolved in water in proportions of 1 to 10 and used for watering. Bird droppings are considered even richer in nutrients, and they are bred to a weaker solution (until a cloudy greenish color is obtained). Among the disadvantages of such top dressing is primarily the smell. In addition, plants can be infected with various parasites, sometimes harmless to animals, but harmful to the flowers themselves.

Regular fertilizer of plants is the key to their beautiful appearance, stable growth, development and health. But in addition to this, it is necessary to observe the temperature and humidity regime, monitor the level of illumination, the compatibility of different plants with each other and timely treat home flowers from pests and diseases. And then the flowers at home will be sure to please the eye in winter and summer!

Check out the article: cactus care