Water & Fertilizer Basics

Watering 101

Watering correctly is key to the health of your plants. Here are a few tips to get you started:

The best time to water is in the morning. It gives the plant all day, especially on those hot days, to soak up that moisture and really put it to good use. Watering in the evening isn’t ideal as leaves get wet all night and roots are in cold, damp soil. It creates a breeding ground for fungus and other problems.
For container plants or hanging basket plants, you want to do a deep soak and really get that root ball saturated. That way you’re only watering every two to three or four days depending on how big your container is and how hot it is.
An automatic sprinkler is good if it’s used frequently. Overhead watering gets a lot of the foliage wet and drips down to the roots. So it needs to be done daily.
For big trees, shrubs, perennials, you definitely need less water than your new plants. So if you just got some great product this year, make sure you’re watching that water very closely this summer.

Plants need nutrients in order to grow. Here are a few tips to get you started:

Slow Release Fertilizer: This slowly releases nutrients to the plant. These take longer than water soluable fertilizers but last longer and help replenish the soil for longer feeding.
Water Soluable Fertilizer: Very fast working, immediately available to the plant.

N.P.K. – You will notice on all fertilizer there are three numbers on the label. For example: 10-15-10

N- Stands for Nitrogen – helps plant growth and color, specifically foliage

P- Stands for Phosphorous- helps root and flower growth

K- Stands for Potassium- helps the entire plant.