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What do you say we
answer a few more of your emailed gardening questions?
Our first Local 12
emailer asks, “When I’m planting new trees and shrubs in my yard, should I
be using any fertilizer to help them get off to a better start?”
Yes, you can, but make
sure that you use a fertilizer specially formulated for newly planted
plants! Those new roots can be susceptible to fertilizer burn from using
the wrong stuff. For new plants, I like to use water soluble fertilizers,
making sure to follow the directions, and there are water soluble
fertilizers specially formulated for new plants! They’re lower in
nutrients, lighter feeding, usually higher in P and K, and have vitamin
B1…all to stimulate early strong growing roots. By the way, the same
principal applies to new grass seed. Be sure to use a starter fertilizer to
help get those new seeds up and growing.
Our next emailer asks,
“I’ve been feeding the hummingbirds all summer. Should I stop now to make
them go south for the winter?”
Nope…keep those feeding
stations going until it gets cold and there’s a chance they could freeze.
Then stop. Hummingbirds know when to move south and your feeder won’t keep
them here. As a matter of fact, it can help feed those hummingbirds that
are moving through the area headed south.
Our last emailer asks,
“I’m seeing spring blooming bulbs available in the garden stores. Is now
the time to plant them?”
You could, but I feel
it’s a bit early. My theory is this…buy them now for the best selection,
and then plant them in mid October. And don’t forget to buy extras for
planting in containers.
By the way, when it’s
time to plant your bulbs, don’t forget the bulb food. Most are granular,
but formulated like the root starters we talked about earlier, to help
encourage good rooting during the fall season. You can use the granular or
water soluble root stimulants for bulbs. We’ll talk more about planting
spring bulbs, in upcoming gardening segments. |
