The Dangers of Overfertilizing Houseplants

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Hello and welcome to HealthyHouseplants.com, where we teach you all about gardening in the great indoors. If you’d like to support our show, please use our Amazon affiliate link below.

Today, we’re going to talk about the dangers of overfertilizing your houseplants. This is a peace lily here, and it’s doing great because it hasn’t been overfertilized. Overfertilizing often starts with good intentions. You might think, “The more I feed the plant, the faster and healthier it’ll grow.” However, overfertilizing can actually cause many problems and slow down plant growth.

One really important thing to keep in mind is that plants don’t grow because of fertilizing; they grow because of light. Light is what makes plants grow, not fertilizer. Fertilizer is necessary because it provides the nutrients plants need for healthy growth, but it’s not the first thing to focus on, especially if your plant is ailing.

Ailing plants should not be fertilized because fertilizing can stress them even more. Instead, make sure all other growing conditions are correct, including lighting and the appropriate pot size.

So, why do you need to be careful not to overfertilize? One major issue is that overfertilization can kill plant roots. Even organic fertilizers, which are better than chemical ones, can have this effect. Organic fertilizers are still preferable, and I have an organic fertilizer available, which I’ll link below.

Here’s my organic fertilizer. Organic fertilizers are better for many reasons, and I have a video explaining that in more detail. I strongly encourage using organic fertilizers whenever possible. However, as mentioned, even organic fertilizers can cause problems when overused. All fertilizers, including chemical ones, contain salts. High salinity in the soil can lead to root dieback, and too much salinity will kill roots, causing further issues like root rot.

If you’ve overfertilized, you can leach the soil by running a lot of water through it to rinse out the excess fertilizer. I have a video on how to do this as well. Leaf tip browning is a common sign of too much salinity from overfertilization, so be mindful of that.

Soil bacteria, essential for healthy soil, can also be harmed by overfertilization. Soil bacteria help break down nutrients, but an imbalance of nutrients can harm them. If you’re using chemical fertilizers, your plants can become dependent on them because the soil bacteria will die off. This can lead to frequent leaf burn and the need to change the potting soil often due to salt buildup, increasing the likelihood of root rot.

If you enjoy fertilizing your plants, I recommend using worm compost. It’s a low source of micronutrients and is hard to overuse. You can even use it monthly without causing harm to your plants. I also suggest making worm compost tea, and I have a video on that too.

For more information on fertilizing organically, I have detailed guidance in my book, “Indoor Gardening the Organic Way,” which is available in my store, with autographed copies as well.

Thank you for stopping by today! Please leave any comments about indoor gardening tutorials you’d like to see. Remember to like, comment, subscribe, and share this video. Don’t forget to check the bell if you’d like to be notified when new videos are released.

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