I use something in my water every watering. In spring/summer/fall, I use a bloom booster - mine is pretty pricey, but Fertilome makes an excellent bloom booster that is reasonably priced. (I'd avoid MG.) I use it at quarter to half strength. Then, through the winter, I use either SuperThrive or another mineral boost called VF-11 in my water. Especially an old plant that's been in the same soil for a long time needs to be fed regularly.

Denise in Omaha

I also use a water soluble, low dose, every time I water. The garden center recommended it because it would be constant food for the plant, vs a larger dose once a month. The thought was that you really don't know how much fertilizer a plant will retain during the month, it could drop off at the end and you can't tell. So it's better to keep it consistent that a roller coaster for the plant.

Any specific brand you use Sara? I'm going to the hardware store to look at bloom boosters today.

Sorry, missed this earlier. Not sure they will have it at the hardware store, but Schult's plant food. It's 10-15-10. I can't recommend Miracle Gro, have not had good luck either.

A very experienced hoya grower on this forum uses tomato fertilizer. I'm surprised she hasn't chimed in already.

Russ

I ended up getting orchid fertilizer, 24, 14, 9. Not sure if I'm going to use it though, until I have a better understanding of how hoyas absorb which chemical for what

I haven't had any negative effects on my gazillion hoyas and I use MiracleGro water soluble tomato food. I also use DynaGro FoliagePro as a foliar feed once or twice a month and DynaGro ProTeKt (silicon supplement that helps prevent pests). Different strokes!

I was hoping you'd be here aurorawa, I like your choice of a simple tomato fertilizer. The only fertilizer I've seen here by DynaGro is one of the beaded time-release types, is the FoliagePro a water-soluble or granular??

Interesting that the orchid fertilizer is higher on the nitrogen. Seems like that would produce a lot of foliage but hold back flowering. Personally, I grow hoyas mostly for the foliage, I love big leaves with character such as distinctive veining, colors, and of course variegation. I only have a couple of dozen, I like pentaphlebia a lot. I can supply cuttings or plants of it for postage if there's any newbies here that want it, also have some others available.

Russ

The FoliagePro is a liquid. 1/4 tsp to a gallon of water.

I use Foliage Pro too along with Neptune's Secret.

The next week I use Great White and Molasses.

Starting a week ago I am, on the forth week, using a bloom booster.

Basically week 1 - Great White and Molasses, week 2 - Foliage Pro and Neptune's Secret, week 3 - Great White and Molasses, week 4 - bloom booster

Great White and Molasses at 1/2 strength.

Foliage Pro at 1/4 and Neptune's Secret at 1/2 strengths.

Bloom Booster at 1/2 strength.

My carnosa is blooming now and my Sunrise is blooming and has one of those weird hybrid peduncles.

My small David Cumingiana (?) had only one peduncle but the flowers were beautiful and smelled like buttered popcorn. Really!

Can I find those at a nursery or department store? Or just online? Sounds like a really great combination!

I get the Great White, Neptune's Secret and Molasses from Amazon.

I would think that Foliage Pro and a Bloom Booster would be available at your local nursery. Amazon would carry those too, of course.

Those fertilizers are a bit out of my price range :/

I'm a student (botany, plant biology) so my budget is pretty tight. I bought SuperThrive today, I read it is to be used in conjunction with another deluded fertilizer. I stood at home depot for about 45 minutes today staring at the thousands of fertilizers and fish poop that was shelved before me... I ended up walking out with the SuperThrive and Miracle Grow plant food 30-10-10. Ugh, I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed. Hopefully I don't kill my hoyas I almost don't want to give them anything lol

I also came across someone who bought some German made Hoya specific food called Wachsblumen, has anyone heard of or tried this? I'll probably order some today but it's gonna take about a month to get here.

That German fertilizer is basically superthrive. There is no TRUE hoya specific food. I use MiracleGro tomato food because it has the micronutrients that my eriostemmas need (calcium) and because it is cheap. FoliagePro may be expensive, but you use very little at a time (only 1/4 tsp to a gallon of water, if foliar feeding), so it lasts forever.

Oh well I'm glad I didn't order any! Looking at the foliage pro instead. So first number is for foliage, second is for blooming, and what's the third # for?

Copied from an internet source, it's actually pretty simple.

Nitrogen (N) – nitrogen is largely responsible for the growth of leaves on the plant.

Phosphorus (P) – Phosphorus is largely responsible for root growth and flower and fruit development.

Potassium (K) – Potassium is a nutrient that helps the overall functions of the plant perform correctly.

Personally I like fertilizers that include micronutrients, I don't usually buy ones with just NPK. I specialize in aglaonemas and they require copper, something NPK-only ferts don't supply.

Russ

Well said aurorawa, over-fertilizing is definitely bad for your plants and I usually go lighter than recommended. Regarding copper, it is odd that it's highly toxic to some plants, but others such as aglaonemas do poorly without it it. For the newbies, micronutrients and trace elements are interchangeable terms, look for the listing of them on the bag or container. Fertilizers with them are well worth the sometimes slightly higher cost.

Russ

I am new to hoyas but I have had 15 years growing orchids, I stay away from Miracle Grow for all of my orchids and most of my other plants due to the fact that it is a Urea based nitrogen which has a tendency to burn roots, wheras some of the others use nitrate nitrogen or ammoniacal nitrogen which tends to be safer, at least for orchids. I like Dyna Gro personally for my plants, it contains the necessary trace elements my plants need, but i also switch it up and use different kinds periodically. I find the biggest factor in healthy plant growth is your tap water. It is always a good idea to test the water that runs out of the pot after watering to see how much residual salt build up is left behind after watering. You can buy a digital TDS meter for $20 on the internet. You will be surprised how much salt is in your potting media, which will greatly affect plant growth and health.

I quickly want to dispel the urea nitrogen myth...urea is not the same as urine, and it is NOT a salt. It, like urine, does contain salts.

http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/1534955/nitrogen-in-fertilizers-and-the-truth-about-urea