Hi,

I used Boca Joe's plan last summer (minus the milorganite) and I felt I had some pretty amazing results considering I didn't get a whole lot of good growing temperatures.

I hear milorganite by the shovelfull is the secret to get things huge. I believe it would be considered slow release.

Anyhow, I will be supplementing that program with milorganite this summer. (If summer ever gets here!)

Milorganite is the bomb !!
-Sprout

I think the secret to getting tropical plants huge is fertilizer, period. (Although hot weather and regular watering make a big difference too!) I can't really comment on Milorganite as I've never used it, but I can say that I've grown many plants very successfully without it, including many tropicals. I suspect the value of Milorganite is that it's low in nutrients, compared to the chemical fertilizers like Miracle-Gro, and the nutrients release more slowly so it can be applied heavily with less chance of burning plants. With chemical fertilizers like Miracle Gro, more is NOT necessarily better. You can easily stunt or burn your plants by fertilizing too heavily.

But what fertilizer you use, and how often, also depends on what you're growing. Certain tropicals, but especially the fast-growing, big-leafed ones grown mainly for foliage like bananas, cannas, and elephant ears, respond enthusiastically to frequent and heavy fertilization with a high-nitrogen fertilizer. For slower-growing plants and especially for the ones grown mainly for their flowers (like brugs), I would fertilize less heavily, with a fertilizer that's lower in nitrogen.

I use bone meal when potting for lots of P with less N. This year I plan to topdress with horse manure, which is readily available to me. For the leafy guys, I'll use more fish emulsion.

Thanks everyone!

I love the slow release fertilizers. I work some into the soil in the spring. For the really heavy feeders, like banana and canna, I supplement with some liquid MiracleGro when I get around to it, which isn't very often.

My life is so busy, the Osmocote is a godsend.

I'm using timed release on a lot of my perennials for sale this year, heavy feeders get more, light feeders/younger smaller plants less. Then they all get watered with the sprinkler and timer. Seems to be working well so far.