KTRH GardenLine Newsletter

April 19, 2012 - Issue #254

Here's Randy's Weekly KTRH GardenLine Tip:


"Feed Me, Seymour!"

That is a quote from the movie/musical "Little Shop of Horrors." The plant, Audrey II, needed to eat often to keep growing. Thankfully, your plants don't eat what Audrey II eats, and your name doesn't have to be Seymour to get busy. It's April! Every plant needs a good feeding right now.

Even the lawn should be fertilized. If you haven't done an April fertilization, do that now. Here's a short list of more specific feedings:

PLANT

FOOD

Flowering Shrubs
(ex. roses & azaleas)

Specific rose and azalea foods

Shrubs
(ex. Any evergreen shrub from Wax Myrtles to Japanese Blueberry to junipers)

Evergreen formulas to tree and shrub formulas

Trees
(ex. All non-flowering trees like oaks, elms etc.)

Tree food, or any organic foods for the deep-root feeding techniques

Flowering Trees
(ex. Magnolias)

Azalea food

Bulbs
(ex. Agapanthus, and other lilies and iris that are ready to burst)

Bulb food or a myriad of slow-release blooming plant foods

Vegetables
(ex. cucumbers)

If they are already flowering, it's time to feed weekly, bi-weekly or monthly depending on what you use.

Fruit Trees
(ex. Pear Tree)

Specific fruit tree foods

* If you did the first feeding in February, we are now on the second feeding approximately two months later — that's now! If you fed at the first of March, then you can wait another two weeks for the first of May.

Citrus Trees
(ex. Lemon Tree)

Specific citrus foods

*The idea is to feed them every two to three months. If you fed them at the end of February, they can be fed again.

Annuals

This can be a high-maintenance feeding bi-weekly (with water soluble foods) or every two to three months with slow-release blooming foods (which are almost always granular).

*If you're replacing winter annuals with spring color, feed them immediately upon transplanting. If you replaced them in March, they are due another feeding now or in another two weeks.

Perennials

Even though they come back on their own, they need a spring feeding. They can be fed bi-weekly, monthly or bi-monthly, just like annuals.

GardenLine Appearance - Saturday
Southwest Fertilizer
5828 Bissonnet

What better place to visit Saturday! Southwest Fertilizer is a lawn and garden tradition in Houston celebrating 56 years of business. People flock to Southwest Fertilizer year in and year out. If you've never been, it's worth the trip.

Wondering what to feed your plants? Our visit from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. will be sponsored by Lady Bug Natural Brand, and we are giving away an entire collection of their organic foods and soils to one lucky winner at the end of our appearance. You don't have to be present to win, but you must be present to fill out the form.

You could come simply to register and win great Lady Bug products. No purchase necessary. However, if you bring us a receipt showing the purchase of food, we'll add a complimentary Lady Bug product to boot! For example, if you buy rose food from Southwest Fertilizer, show me the receipt and I'll hook you up with a free bag of Flower Power from Lady Bug. If that doesn't make sense, visit us this weekend and we'll make it crystal clear.


Randy Lemmon's GardenLine is heard 6-10 a.m. Saturdays and Sundays,
exclusively on NewsRadio 740 KTRH.

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