Plant Nutrients and Fertilizers Explained
Do you want to know the secret of healthy plants? It’s simple. All plants need three things to grow well: sunlight, water, and nutrients. Each of these items work together to help your plants grow healthy and strong.
Check the Light Level
Sunlight is essential for plants to grow well. All plants use light for photosynthesis, which is the process that gives your plants the energy that they need to grow. However, the amount of sunlight a plant needs varies from species to species. This is why it’s so important to place your trees, shrubs, annuals, and perennials in their recommended light location. Too much or too little sunlight can place stress on your plant making it challenging for them to fight disease or insects.
Not All Soil is Alike
Plants get the majority of their nourishment (water and nutrients) through their roots. This is why it’s so important to plant in the right foundation including healthy, nutrient- rich soil. Products like Garden Gallery’s Organic Triple Mix provides your plants, trees, and shrubs, with the perfect combination including rich black earth, composted manures, and composts. If you’re planting in a container, look for a mixture high in peat moss (to help retain moisture) or a soilless mixture, like Garden Gallery Organic Container Mixture so that the roots have a healthy space to grow in. For best results, add a new layer of soil (two to three inches) each year so that your roots get a fresh boost of nutrients.
Sunlight Guideline
| Shade | Less than Four Hours. (morning or late afternoon sun is best) |
| Partial Sun | Four to Six Hours |
| Full Sun | Six or More Hours of direct sunlight |
Just Add Water
Did you know that water carries nutrients throughout the plant providing each part with the energy that it needs? This is why plants may droop or wilt when they are water deprived. They truly do not have enough strength to stay upright!
Tips for Successful Watering
- Check the soil with a moisture metre before watering. Don’t just check the surface.
- Water in the early morning so that your plant has the energy it needs throughout the day.
- Water right at the roots
- Spend a few seconds at each plant, just enough time so that the water seeps into the soil and gets to the roots.
- Repeat as needed. Sunlight, wind, and the type of soil will all impact the amount of water that your plant needs, so check the soil regularly.
Feed Your Plants
Adding nutrient rich soil starts your plants off to a great start, but it doesn’t take long, for these nutrients to be absorbed by the plants. To keep your plants healthy provide them with a regular supply of nutrients. Here’s a quick guide on just a few of the nutrient mixes that are available to feed your plants.
Garden Gallery Plant Starter
Moving plants from one space to another can be stressful. To help your plants cope with this stress use a fertilizer that is high in phosphorus, like Garden Gallery’s Plant Starter. This water-soluble fertilizer will help new plants and existing plants develop a strong and healthy root system.
Garden Gallery Bone Meal
Unlike water soluble fertilizers, bone meal will break down in the soil over time providing your plants with a steady supply of phosphorus. Use this natural fertilizer before planting to provide the roots with additional phosphorus and calcium and to grow beautiful blooms.
Garden Gallery Blood and Bone Meal
A natural source of phosphorus and nitrogen, Garden Gallery’s Blood and Bone Meal will boost the nutrient level in your garden. Blood meal is also a natural squirrel deterrent. Use for trees, shrubs, perennial beds, and bulbs.
Garden Gallery Flower Gro
Equipped with iron and micronutrients, Garden Gallery Flower Gro will provide your plants with the energy that they need to grow beautiful blooms and fresh produce. Use this highly concentrated, water soluble fertilizer in your annual and vegetable garden.
Garden Gallery Green Gro
If you’re wanting lush, green gardens, then Garden Gallery Green Gro might be the nutrient boost that your plants need. This water-soluble fertilizer provides tropicals and foliage plants with the nitrogen that they need to produce chlorophyll (what makes the plant green) throughout the plant.
Garden Gallery All Gro
This multipurpose concentrated fertilizer will provide your garden with an equal balance of nitrogen, phosphorus and potash. All Gro is recommended for foliage plants including indoor tropicals, trees, and shrubs.
