Plant Food for Blooms
All plants require the necessary minerals and nutrients to grow, produce blooms and reproduce. Plant fertilizer is plant food, containing the three main nutrients for most plants: nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. Fertilizer containing a low nitrogen level and a high phosphorus level encourages the production of blooms. Does this Spark an idea?
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Decoding Fertilizer Ratio
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Fertilizer is labeled by ratio according to nutrient content in this order: nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium. A fertilizer labeled as 1-10-5 contains one part nitrogen to 10 parts phosphorus to five parts potassium. Nitrogen is essential for foliage growth; phosphorus is necessary for flowering and bloom production; potassium strengthens the plant from disease.
Different Needs For Different Plants
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Not all fertilizers are created equal. Bulbs require an evenly distributed ratio of fertilizer with a high phosphorous content such as bone meal or 10-10-10 soluble fertilizer. Perennials prefer light fertilization every six weeks or so with a 5-10-5 ratio.
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Using Fertilizers
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Plants readily absorb liquid fertilizers, and therefore produce blooms more quickly than with the slow-acting granular fertilizers. Never fertilize late in the plant's bloom season, as the burst of growth may interrupt the plant's preparation for dormancy. Too much fertilizer can burn a plant's stems or roots, so always moisten soil before and after the addition of fertilizer.
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References
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