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Advances in Fertilizing
PONDinfo.com Staff Writer
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Just as advances in technology, the fertilizers and methods we use to promote healthy water plants continue to evolve. Many long time water gardeners remember the pains taken job of inserting fertilizer plugs into growing containers. Today, research has provided a new look into that process and the nutrients that we are using.
The obvious beginning question is do we really need to worry about plant nutrition? The answer falls back to the water gardener. For most gardeners, maximizing growth of their plants is attractive. I look at fertilizing a water lily or other water plant as getting the most from your investment. Plants are expensive, and I want to do everything possible to enjoy them today and for years to come.
All water plants are basically weeds that need to have nutrients to grow and flourish. More does not mean better, but small amounts of continuous and even distribution of nutrients is very beneficial to strong healthy plant material. Water Lilies need certain elements found in fertilizer to promote rich green leaf material and blooms. Marginal plants such as cattails are a fantastic and very nutrient rich loving plant. Often marginals are used in bog gardens or natural filters because of their strong absorption of nutrients.
For years the conventional method of fertilizing water plants has been to insert a plug fertilizer into the planting container. These plugs have a lot of "extras" called insoluble. These are binders that hold plugs together and are also used in time-released fertilizers. These binders are essential to hold and give stability to the fertilizer so that they hold their shape when you push them into the soil. One of the problems with this method is that you need to fertilize more frequently and leaching can occur allowing unwanted nutrients to float into your water more easily.
Binders are also used in time-released formulas. Time released fertilizers made there way into the market place as a way to reduce the labor in lifting water logged containers out of the water and fertilizing every two to three weeks. The nutrients in time-released tabs are coated to supposedly break down at different intervals allowing nutrients to be released over time. Early formulas generally did not break down evenly and your plant would be fed strong in the beginning with little residual for later in the season. Today manufactures have worked hard to secure a slow and even formula of nutrient releases. While this method is getting better there is still an amount of binders that remain and are unused by the plant.
Technology has advanced in the last two years and the introduction of applicators is going to rise in popularity. These devices are meant to allow you to easily and more effectively feed your water plants with a wide array of fertilizers. One of the most important aspects of these devices is that they provide the requirements that are essential for your plants. They provide a continuous, evenly distributed amount of nutrients to the base of the plants root system. For years I have questioned the need to fertilize the first several inches of your container when the root system is at the bottom of the plant. Studies have shown that at least one applicator, The Lily Feeder, reduces the amount of leaching, provides an even amount of food, and allow you to use wide selection of fertilizers. The manufacture of this product even includes a low insoluble fertilizer that will not clog distribution holes. Be careful that the applicators you choose use very low insoluble and allow you to use a wide array of formulas. Liquid nutrients are going to be a great method in the future and you want your applicator to be easy and versatile.
Nutrients have also made many advances. With new studies on plant nutrition, chemists have been able to determine what our plants really hunger for. One of the latest additions to aquatic plant fertilizer has been the addition of trace elements. These are micronutrients that provide stronger plant growth and
healthier plants. Watch for more changes in the future with additional fertilizers, low insoluble and liquid fertilizers.
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