Elder,

I use very nutritious potting soil, and let the cuttings get established before fertilizing. Then I use 1/2 strength Miracle-gro, BUT I water the plants first, and then fertilize an hour or so later - to insure that the plants are well hydrated. Fertilizing a dry plant is disastrous, and the more tender they are, the worse the disaster. Once they are established in a one gallon pot, I fertilize, still at 1/2 strength, but very frequently, often weekly. The majority of my cuttings this year are now plants in the 4-6 foot tall range.

Thank you, Jon. That is exactly the type of info neophytes like myself need to know so we don't do anything disasterous. Boy, if we could only get a compendium of techniques from yourself, Herman, Gene, Leon,, gorgi, and a host of others I have left out, we would have a real fig growers guide.....Elder

Elder, the key to understand how dangerous is a fertilizer is the salts (N, P, K) concentration. When this concentration is high, the roots can not absorb water and nutrients in adequate conditions (see "osmosis" to understand why).

If you measure the concentration of salts in your fertilizer dilution, you won't kill your plants anymore. It is easy, you can see here how calculate it:

www_firstrays.com/fertcalc.htm

For example, when I grow tomato seedlings (can you imagine anything more tender than a just germinated tomato plant?), I begin to fertilize with 50 ppm of N (in each watering), 2 weeks later I fertilize with 100 ppm of N and never a plant has died for this cause.

How a guide, if you don't exceed 200 ppm of N, hardly you will kill a plant. For tender plants don't exceed 150 ppm of N.

It is measured in ppm (Part Per Million)of N, it is supposed that the other salts (P and K) are in a proportionate distribution.

Usually, the commercial fertilizers, advise excessively high concentrations of salts, it is to facilitate the fertilizer application in a fortnightly or weekly interval, instead of each watering.

Taking into account all the above, how was the ppm of N of your diluted fertilizer? Maybe, the roots of your cuttings were excessively tender.

In any case, if you follow Pitangadiego advices, you will be right.

Does anyone know the TDS or EC of All-Purpose Miracle-Gro mixed per manufacturer's directions at 1 tablespoon per gallon of water?