How to Fertilize Native Plants
Taking care of native plants does require spending a little time in cultivation and even providing some fertilizer from time to time. Fortunately, the process of choosing and administering the right fertilizer is fairly easy to accomplish and can result in beautiful blooms throughout the season.
Things You Need
- Soil Testing Kit
- Mulch
- Time Released Fertilizer Product
- Garden Gloves
- Test the soil. This can be accomplished with the aid of a soil testing kit, providing all the information necessary to determine what type of elements need to be added back into the soil to ensure optimum growth. If you are uncomfortable conducting the test yourself, take a sample to the local county office. For a fee, the county can analyze the sample and provide the information you need to choose the right nutrients for your native plants.
- Enrich the soil, if necessary. Going by the results of the testing, identify what additives to the soil would help the native plants to grow healthy and full. This may include introducing various types of organic materials, especially if the soil is currently nutrient deficient.
- Determine the type of fertilizer needed for the native plants. Using the test results as a guide, identify a type of time released fertilizer that would be right for the plants in question. Purchase the product at a local home and garden shop or a county feed shop.
- Introduce the fertilizer to the soil around the plant. Using carefully measured amounts, apply the fertilizer to the ground around each of the native plants. If the product is a wet fertilizer, it may be possible to use the included attachment to administer the right amount. For dry fertilizer products, wear garden gloves to avoid direct contact and use some type of sifter to apply the fertilizer evenly around the plant.
- Water the plants before or after administering the fertilizer. With some fertilizers, the process will call for allowing the fertilizer to seep into the ground over time. Others will require moistening the group after the fertilizer is administered as a way to infuse the soil sooner rather than later. Read the package instructions to know which approach is recommended.
- Place mulch around the plants. This will help to lock in the right amount of moisture and aid the fertilizer in feeding the plants.