Best Way to Feed Houseplants with Dry Fertilizer

Hello and welcome to HealthyHouseplants.com, where we teach you all about gardening in The Great Indoors. Today’s video is sponsored by our Amazon affiliate link, which you’ll find in the comment section below. You’ll also see a link to my special Green Formula houseplant food, which I’m going to be putting into this plant in a minute. Today’s video is about how to fertilize with granular fertilizer. By granular, I mean dry fertilizer like this, not liquid fertilizer. When you first plant a plant, it’s easy to incorporate granular fertilizer into the potting soil. But later on, once the plant is established, you might wonder: now what? A lot of people will tell you to just sprinkle a little on top and work it in with your fingers, and that’s all good. However, this method isn’t very efficient for the plant. While it is somewhat helpful, it takes a long time for the nutrients to penetrate the soil and reach the plant roots. If you’re busy, when you finally fertilize, you probably want the plant to get the nutrients as quickly as possible. So, what I suggest is a different method, which I’ll demonstrate shortly. Another thing to keep in mind is that many good organic fertilizers today contain mycorrhizae. Mycorrhizae are microscopic fungi that are beneficial for plants. They attach to plant roots and, in exchange for connecting to the roots, they bring in more nutrients and water than the plant could absorb on its own. However, mycorrhizae need to be at the root zone to be effective; they won’t help if they’re sitting at the top of the soil. Now, I’ll show you how to quickly, easily, and effectively apply granular fertilizer. This plant was in another video where it was a rescue plant that I was reviving. I marked the date of its revival on June 21, as indicated by the label. Now it’s time to fertilize again, so here’s what I do: Take something like a wooden dowel (a pencil can work for smaller plants). You’ll use this to create small holes in the soil around the plant. For this pot size, I’ll go down about an inch to reach the root zone. For larger pots, you’ll want to go deeper. Make a hole, then sprinkle a little bit of fertilizer into it. Follow the package directions to figure out how much fertilizer to use. Distribute the fertilizer in the hole and then cover it back up with the dowel. Repeat this process, making several small holes around the plant to distribute the fertilizer evenly. I recommend organic fertilizers because chemical fertilizers can easily burn plants if over-applied. Organic fertilizers with an NPK of 5-5-5 or 10-10-10 are usually safer options. A low NPK number is often an indication that it is organic. Once you’ve added the fertilizer, water the plant to activate the nutrients and distribute them through the soil. Be sure to pre-water the plant before applying fertilizer, and water again afterward to avoid burning the roots. Whether you’re using chemical or organic fertilizer, you don’t want it sitting on dry roots. Finally, I like to keep a record of when I fertilize and with what, especially with plants I’m reviving. I’ll write this information on the back of the plant’s tag. Thank you for watching this video! Please leave any comments about indoor gardening tutorials you’d like to see. And remember to like, comment, subscribe, and share this video!