Thank you luis. Since you brought it up, I do have one rose Bush. What should I feed that?

what if any deficiency do you see in your shrubs .. that requires that you now start fert'g ...

imo ... otherwise healthy plants.. never need fert ,,,.

ken

I give my roses a cup of cottonseed meal in Spring as well as some mulch. I also amend to acidify the soil because mine is alkaline. But, I do not enter into rose competitions. Some people who do will definitely add many more nutrients than cottonseed meal. Since my soil has no issues other than containing some clay and being alkaline, I take no additional steps.

my neighbor has a liquid fertilizer which is about a year and a half old and it’s 9-3-6. He offered it to me and thought it might help with my hydrangea, roses, and flowering shrubs. but neither Of us really know much about NPK for this situation. Would that be a good option for any of my plants/bushes? Or what about epsom salts for the shrubs?

The free fertilizer would work fine, but do follow directions. Keep in mind that liquid fertilizer does not last long in the soil. Usually directions say to apply on a repeating interval of two to four weeks. Usually, liquid fertilizer is used on potted plants. It is leached through the soil with rain or watering. When you buy more, you could use any common granular garden fertilizer such as 10-10-10. (Anywhere from 6 to 12 would be OK. It is not rocket science.) Unless you see plants that either don't seem to grow much, or that look slightly yellowish instead of rich green, you probably don't need much, if any, fertilizer on established plants. When applying fertilizer, do not put it only to the plant stem/trunk. Apply to the entire spread of roots.

Unless you have a magnesium deficiency - which is rare - Epsom salts is not a fertilizer.

Thank you for saying that Gardengal, i didn’t know. Can epsom salts be added to the soil around the same time as fertilizer? Would 9-3-6 Be appropriate for this time of year to promote flowering or health of shrubs?

Thank you Yardvaark. How quickly does the plant start to get nutrients from liquid and how much longer does it take for granular? Should granular be added above mulch or below mulch? I can do either

Unless you have an identified magnesium deficiency, there is no reason to ever add Epsom salts. All the hoopla promoted online about it is really a gardening myth :-)

And unless you have had a soil test done that indicates your soil is lacking or deficient in specific plant nutrients - or your plants tell you by poor performance or an off color - then there is also no need to fertilize. Most established trees and shrubs rarely require it. The water soluble 9-3-6 is typically used for potted plants. It's pretty expensive to use as a wholesale garden application. But if you received it for free, then go ahead and use as you wish :-)

Liquid or water soluble fertilizers and most synthetic granular ferts are fast acting - the nutes are available immediately. Just apply any type of fertilizer in moderation. Too much or unnecessary fertilizing has its own drawbacks :-)

FWIW, the need for frequent or routine fertilization is really more a promotion by the fertilizer manufacturers to sell their product than it is a necessary maintenance issue.

The results of Liquid fertilizer can START showing up in a couple of days. But if the plant is normal, this just means that it continues to grow normally. If the plant is starving, it means you might see the very beginnings of new growth, or that the color begins to become more green and less yellow, though the transformation could take many days. If the deficiency is bad, the old foliage may never completely transform, but one would see a better color of newer foliage. Keep in mind we see nothing you have. I'm speculating on generalities.

If you haven't mulched, add the granular first and then mulch. It's activated when dissolved by rain, and then results might start to show a few days after ... if they are going to show. We don't know what the deficiencies are or if they exist.

We have terrible clay, alkaline soil here. I do amend when I plant. But to supplement, I feed my hydrangeas Espoma Rose Tone. You can feed Holly Tone or Rose Tone. I happen to use Rose Tone because I also have roses and it just makes it easier. I have also used Mile Hi Rose Food which is formulated for Colorado gardens. It's an excellent rose fertilizer.

I asked a similar question recently, and here is what I took away from that discussion:

* For shrubs planted in native soil, use an organic fertilizer like Espoma Plant Tone. Do NOT use liquid synthetic fertilizers. They get used up rapidly. The organic works in over time and that is what you want.

* Fertilizer is not a replacement for mulch. You want a good mulch layer on top of the soil, both to retain moisture but also to condition the topsoil and deposit some nutrients as well.

* For container plantings, you want to use synthetic fertilizer not organic. And many use the approach of using a diluted concentration of synthetic fertilizer once every week or two. A lot depends on your container soil. A purist container gardener uses a structured soil that lacks nutrients, so the added fertilizer is important.

* Many gardeners use commercial garden soils that have poor structure in their containers. These retain too much water. But such soils are likely high in compost and manure and other nutrients. If that is your case then added fertilizer may be redundant, and you would be better to focus on not overwatering the plant and drowning the roots.