On 1/6/12 4:00 PM, Higgs Boson wrote:
That has always been my weak point. I know (barely) not to fertilize
when plants are dormant, but I always stumble when, e.g., to fertilize
my roses after mid-January pruning.

I have two young fruit trees (Plum and Apricot) which are just
shedding their leaves, and two blueberry bushes in large pots, one of
which is confused enough to be blooming and setting fruit.

I also have growing "winter" vegetable crops that, I assume, it's OK
to fertilize: Peas, beets, carrots, green onions, bok choy, stuff like
that.

Is there ONE comprehensive "when to fertilize" rule? Geared to my
mild "Mediterranean" climate -- So. Calif coastal?

TIA

HB

Roses like a lot of nutrients. I feed mine monthly from when the leaf
buds begin to swell until mid-October.

I have only one deciduous fruit tree, a peach. It gets fed once a year,
when flower buds start to show a little color (before they open).

My dwarf citrus is mostly in large pots with a fast-draining mix. That
means nutrients leach away quickly. I lightly feed my citrus every
three weeks from the beginning of March until the beginning of October.

My camellias and azaleas get fed once a year, when they are through
blooming.

Everything else -- including the grass in back -- gets fed once a year,
in March or April.

Excess fertilizer promotes excess foliage, which requires excess water.
Without trying to have a drought-tolerant garden, I'm trying to
conserve water. Thus, I avoid feeding more than once a year except for
the roses and citrus.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean, see
http://www.rossde.com/garden/climate.html
Gardening diary at http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary