Plant Food for Flowering Plants

Flowering plants need regular feeding for optimum bloom.

Flowering plants need the same basic food components---nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium---as all other plants. University of Connecticut's College of Agriculture and Natural Resources advises using a mixture with a higher phosphorous content to promote flower and root development.

Primary Nutrients

Flowering plants need the three basic nutrients---also called macronutrients---in large amounts. Plant food and fertilizer packaging lists these nutrients as a series of numbers, such as 10-15-10. The numbers correspond to nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium---in that order---and they reflect the amount of each nutrient as a percentage of the total mix, which includes less important ingredients and inert materials.

Secondary and Trace Ingredients

Fertilizer blends also contain other nutrients that flowering plants need, but in lesser amounts. They include calcium, magnesium and sulfur. Trace ingredients---or micronutrients---needed by plants in very small amounts include iron, boron, zinc, copper, molybdenum, chlorine and manganese.

Flower Power

Flowering plants can do well with a balanced fertilizer, but some, such as African violets, which are grown primarily for their flowers, benefit from a different blend for optimum bloom. University of Florida IFAS Extension suggests using one-quarter of the normal recommended amount of a water-soluble fertilizer blend of 15-30-15 and applying it each time plants are watered. Excess water should be drained from the bottom of the pots to prevent root rot.

References

• Texas Master Gardener: House Plants
• Texas Master Gardener: Fertilizing Foliage & Flowering Plants
• University of Connecticut College of Agriculture and Natural Resources: Fertilizing Houseplants
• University of Florida IFAS Extension: African Violets