Gardeners fell in love with phlox for their wonderful aroma, vitality, color and ease of care. Still, you need to know some secrets to increase their life expectancy.
Phloxes are plants that love proper care and quality fertilizers. With the timely application of fertilizers, phlox pleases with its exquisite decorative qualities. If you feed every year, water and mulch on time, perennial phlox can live in one place for up to 10 years without a transplant.
The plant begins to grow early, so care must be taken from early spring, when the snow has not yet melted. Top dressing depends primarily on the stage of development of the plant. The growing season of phlox is divided into several stages: growth and development; the period of formation of the buds; end of flowering and seed ripening.
Phlox
Dates and rules for feeding phlox
The second half of May is the time when phlox is fed with mullein or nitrate. They feed for the second time in early June, using mullein and nitrate, but with the addition of potassium salt and superphosphate. The third feeding falls on the beginning of July. It is made by the same means, but it is necessary to reduce the dose of nitrogen fertilizers. The end of July is the time of the fourth feeding. You can fertilize with potassium salt and phosphorus. There is a fifth top dressing, but it is used only for phloxes that bloom late (phosphorus, potassium).
Important! When the phlox develops kidneys, they need to be fed every week. A well-fertilized soil will provide the plant with a rich green mass and abundant flowering.
Fertilizing during planting
How to fertilize phlox when planting. In order for the plant to grow and bloom well, before planting it is useful to introduce semi-decomposed horse manure, humus from the leaves. Decomposed compost with impurities of ash, bone meal, superphosphate and nitrate is perfect. Organic fertilizers are best mixed with mineral fertilizers so that the plant receives more nutrients. The soil is fertilized to a depth of not more than 20 cm.
Fertilizing during planting
Top dressing during flowering
June is the time when buds form on phlox. How to feed phlox in June, so that the plant receives additional nutrition. Chicken droppings, also mullein, and slurry feed the phlox well with this task. In the event that these fertilizers are not available, then you can use a mixture of ammonium nitrate and water (30 grams per 10 liters per 1 sq. M.). In July, the plant blooms and requires additional feeding. During this period, fertilize with nitrogen-potassium compounds (mixture of flower, agricola). If late blooming phloxes are planted in the garden, in August you need to feed phosphorus-potassium mixtures. How to water phlox in early summer? - Add 3 grams of boric acid to each bucket. Such watering will provide good nutrition to the root system.
Top dressing in bloom
Autumn top dressing
In autumn, the plant is prepared for future wintering. At this time, it is necessary to carry out feeding, as the plant needs to restore strength after abundant flowering. If you properly feed phlox in the fall, then in the summer you can expect good flowering, and the plant will survive the frosts favorably. Phlox is fed in the fall with fertilizers in dry or liquid form. For example, you need to dissolve one spoonful of superphosphate and a solution of potassium sulfate in 10 liters of water. This amount of fertilizer is enough for 1 sq.m. Phlox is fed in this period no later than the end of August.
Winter preparations
Preparing the plant for winter begins in mid-summer. Drugs are applied only on a dry and sunny day. How to feed phlox in preparation for the winter period? - Superphosphate, wood ash saturate the plant with potassium and phosphorus. A liquid solution of ash saturates rhizomes much faster than dry ash. It is better to use the first option.
Important! After such top dressing, abundant flowering will turn out next year.
Foliar top dressing
These top dressings are effective as they additionally nourish phlox. With foliar feeding, both leaves and roots receive nutrition. Photosynthesis favorably takes place in foliage. This type of fertilizing has a good effect on the development of plants. Intensive flowering occurs on the main and lateral shoots. Inflorescences of plants retain brightness and color saturation, especially if fed with potassium permanganate at the end of flowering.
For foliar spraying, only solutions with a low concentration are used so as not to destroy the plant.
Pay attention! A highly concentrated solution causes burns to leaves and shoots. Due to improper fertilizer input, the plant may die.
Types of fertilizers for phlox
Fertilizers for plants are an additional source of nutrition. They are necessary for soil preparation, for planting, for year-round care. Fertilizers are divided into several groups: organic and mineral. There are also ash fertilizers and folk remedies. What else can feed phlox?
Potassium salt
Organic fertilizer
Fertilizers of this species are rich in nitrogen. They go well with mineral preparations. You can select several fertilizers ...
- bird droppings. It is easily absorbed by phlox. It has a large amount of potassium. Litter is diluted with water. In its pure form can not be used. The mixture is not immediately used, it should be infused for several days in the warmth. Such top dressing will reduce the acidity of the soil and enrich it with beneficial bacteria. Litter is used no more than 2 times a year;
- mullein. From cow manure, a liquid solution is made using water. Stale manure is used. It is useful for feeding the root system. This fertilizer contains a large amount of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium;
Mullein
- bone flour. This top dressing nourishes the plant well. It contains a sufficient amount of copper, iron, iodine, nitrogen, phosphorus, manganese. It is made from animal bones, fish. The bones are ground into powder. Mostly bone meal is used in dry form;
- mixture of flowers. This fertilizer is made on the basis of vermicompost. It contains a large amount of nitrogen, phosphorus, calcium, iron, magnesium. The mixture improves the color of flowers, stimulates flowering, increases resistance to disease. The mixture is used in dry form. To feed the root system, prepare the mixture: 1 g of water 10 g of fertilizing. The mixture is infused for a day, only then used. If the tool is used in the autumn, then the phlox hardens and winters well. To increase the nutritional properties of the mixture, you can add phosphorus-potassium preparations.
Mineral fertilizers for phlox
Mineral fertilizers include the following:
- superphosphate is used both at the beginning of the season and at the end. This product is enriched in phosphorus, magnesium, sulfur, gypsum. Used as a mixture diluted with water. In the cold, dry. Feeding will be more effective if potassium salt is added. The mixture is prepared in a ratio of 2: 1, where 2 is superphosphate. If zinc and boron are added, then this mixture will contribute to the active growth of the plant, protect it from pests and diseases, and accelerate flowering. Superphosphate can be single or double. In stores, powdered or granular fertilizer is available. Simple superphosphate is used on any soil. The double contains aluminum and iron phosphates. So that the fertilizer does not lose its useful properties, it is not necessary to mix it with chalk, lime, nitrate;
- urea. It is used for spraying sheets and top dressing the root system. This tool helps fight aphids, weevils. In its pure form, the drug is not used, it is necessary to make a weak solution. Urea should not be used with other nitrogen-containing agents, as it is itself enriched with nitrogen.
Ammonium nitrate
- ammonium nitrate. This is an economical tool at a low price. Fertilizer is used at the initial stage of phlox growth. The nitrogen content in nitrate is up to 34%, sulfur - up to 14%. In its pure form is not used, a solution is prepared in a proportion of 30 g of the product and 10 l of water. This amount will be enough for 1 square. m. soil;
- ammonium sulfate. The drug is easily absorbed by the root system. You can make the tool as a mixture or in pure form. This fertilizer is ideal for alkaline and neutral soil;
- urea. It is used with chalk on acidic soil. Fertilizers require special storage conditions. If the packaging is not tightly closed, then ammonia quickly disappears, the fertilizer sticks together in a solid lump. The drug is used in autumn;
- boric acid. Favorable for young shoots. Before use, it must be dissolved in water (3 grams of fertilizer per 10 liters of water). For greater benefit, they add manganese together with acid (20 g of manganese per 10 l of water).
Ash feeding
Wood ash is enriched with potassium and nitrogen. As a fertilizer of the soil where phlox grows, deciduous, grape, coniferous ash is perfect. Ash is rich in phosphorus, sodium and magnesium. Such fertilizer is applied at the beginning of plant growth and at the end of the season. For the spring, the mixture is prepared in proportion: 300 grams of ash are dissolved in 10 liters of water. Do not use the mixture immediately, as it should stand for 4 days. In autumn, ash is used dry. Fertilizer is scattered on moist soil.
Ash not only serves as top dressing, but also protects the plant from pests and rot.
Folk remedies
It is not always possible to purchase fertilizers in the store. You can use folk remedies to nourish the plant. In case of need of phlox in nitrogen, nettle infusion is prepared. He is preparing simply. A large container must be filled with chopped nettles, filled with water and covered. Put the container in a warm place. Fertilizer is ready when the smell of kvass and bubbles appears. In its pure form is not used. The infusion is diluted with water in a ratio of 1: 5. Another option is bone meal. The bones of birds and animals are crushed into powder. There is a lot of phosphorus in this product. Mowed grass and weeds are used as fertilizer. They are poured with water and insisted until fermented.
Important! With this fertilizer, the plant is watered, and the remaining grass is used for mulching.
Folk remedies
Common mistakes in fertilizing phlox
Many gardeners make mistakes when feeding, after which the plant will develop poorly or die. When top dressing is categorically impossible: exceed the concentration of fertilizers; use fresh manure in its pure form; fertilize with nitrogen in the fall; use dry top dressing on not watered soil; to feed in the daytime; Do not cover the plant with organic matter before October.
Thus, the most important thing is to make the correct feeding of phlox in spring and summer. Poor plant care will not give a lush bud to phlox. If it is not clear how to fertilize phlox, you can consult in specialized stores.
