By James Thomas 
What’s the difference between liquid and slow-release fertilizer?
Liquid fertilizer is immediately available for your plant to use and slow-release fertilizer breaks down over time for your plant to operate.
Liquid fertilizer can be bought as a powder or liquid that is further diluted by mixing into moisture.
Slow-release fertilizer is a granular fertilizer often with a special coating that breaks down over a period—the breakdown of the coating contrasts based on temperature and the amount of water available. The more affable the temperature, the faster the coating breaks down. The better the water, the faster the layer breaks down.
- Benefits of Slow Release Fertilisers include:
Lower risk of fertilizer burn/toxicity because small doses of fertilizer are removed slowly over time.
No need to place a regular fertilizing routine – can be applied less frequently.
That living said those same advantages can yield a few headaches when using potted or indoor plants. Higher NPK slow-release fertilizers (like those hops I noted above) are harder to expect indoors. Temperature and glare can vary and the potted plant might not get sufficient (or too much!) fertilizer over some time. As the plant is in a pot, extra fertilizer can build up. For this reason, we all the time recommend only using organic slow-release fertilizers on potted or indoor plants.
With liquid fertilizers, we are guiding to liquid-based, organic, or mineral, fertilizers. Liquid fertilizers are short-acting as there is no need for any decomposition or breakdown and the plant can absorb them as they draw water up from the soil. Also, the NPK will depend on what sort of fertilizer you are using.
- Benefits of Liquid Fertilisers include:
Fast working – you’ll see results quicker
more control – you have complete power over the application rate, meaning you’re not at the whim of variables like the temperature.
The big trouble with liquid fertilizers is overfertilizing. You can risk harming your plant if the rules are not followed and the dilution rate is wrong. When used correctly though you can’t beat their effects.
What’s best for your plants? Depends on the plant.
For annual flowers, a variety of slow-release fertilizers and liquid fertilizers works well to keep your plants flowering and green all summer long. (Make sure to follow the advice on the label).
For yearly flowers, a slow-release fertilizer applied at the beginning of spring works best. Do not use a second time; perennials, trees, and shrubs in the prairies need to start to slow down by August to get ready for winter.
What type of fertilizer is best for you and your indoor plants?
Both fertilisers have their advantages and we have ever been big proponents of a blended approach. We suggest using a high-nitrogen liquid fertilizer during the growing season (usually Spring and Summer). It is quickly fascinated by the plant and will reward you with larger foliage and more growth.
When the climate gets cooler and there is less light available, we generally see slower (if any) plant growth. It’s a bit of a tale to cut fertilizing out altogether over this period – a better alternative is to use an organic slow-release plant food. This not only reinvigorates the potting media so it’s full of ginger come Spring but also provides the plants with much smaller amounts of the macro and micronutrients they need to live their best.
What type of fertilizer is best for the outdoors?
Further, it’s a different story. Whereas indoors the plants are 100% reliant on you to supply them with their nutrient fix, outdoors your plants can collect some of those nutrients themselves, in the form of rotting organic matter like leaves or over insects, and through worm castings. The key outdoors is to ensure your mud is full of life – the more microbial life, the quicker organic matter is broken down creating a nutrient-rich bed for your plants and other helpful life-like worms.
As such, outside we advise using an organic slow-release fertilizer like our Bio Pellets or even our Soil & Microbe Booster. Not only do both these effects release supplementary nutrients into the soil, but they also add microbial life to assist improve the soil structure, which in turn helps with works health and nutrient uptake.
How To Use Liquid Fertilizer?
There is a good and wrong way to use liquid fertilizers for houseplants and the garden. The correct application will allow for reduced debris and prevent the burning of the plant roots.
- When it comes to utilizing liquid fertilizer I encourage a pre-water application. This simply means thoroughly moisturizing with plain water.
- After everything is fully saturated you can apply your fluid fertilizer. This will prevent again burning and reduce dung from runoff.
How To Use Slow Fertilizer?
Using Slow fertilizer only involves even distribution to reduce the burning of roots. There are three ways to use granular fertilizer, each one has its miracles and weaknesses.
- Blended in with potting soil
- Root set during transplanting
- Topdressing also understood as broadcasting
If you are using granular fertilizer in potting mud then simply mix it in before potting up your plants. For those of you desiring to use granular fertilizers when transplanting you want to avoid too much fertilizer near the roots. Roots bring up nutrients through osmosis and diffusion, meaning based on salts. A lot of salt needs the roots can cause scorching and harm the nutrient uptake of the plants.
Making the Right Alternative for Your Indoor Garden
So, which is most useful: slow-release or liquid fertilizer? The fact is, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer. The best choice depends on various factors comprising:
- The ilks of plants you’re growing
- Your schedule and how much bit you can devote to plant care
- Your nicety level with handling and applying fertilizers
- The specific needs of your indoor setting
For many indoor gardeners, a hybrid application of both slow-release fertilizer and liquid fertilizer is quick and effective. This policy allows you to promote consistent nutritional values while still having the flexibility to tackle specific needs as they wake.
FAQs
1. Overfertilization
Browning meats and leaf tips, wilting, poorly shaped leaves and a white crust on pot rims may mean overfertilization. Excess nutrients in the potting soil will desiccate or steam tender roots. High concentrations of nutrient salts also contain the plant from taking up water so wilting is followed.
2. How to Chooses a Fertilizer
Which is the finest houseplant fertilizer for you to use? This will depend on the kinds of plants being grown, cultural conditions and your schedule. In public, foliage houseplants appreciate fertilizers high in nitrogen while flowering plants react best to those with higher phosphorus analysis. There are quantity of specialty houseplant fertilizers out there but do read their labels. Often the difference is more in the packaging than in the parts or proportions of nutrients provided.