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Foliar Feeding

ERICS MUMERICS MUM Posts: 627
in Plants
Years ago my Mum swore by a product called  “Filip”  ( no longer available) which was a foliar feed sprayed on leaves - presumably to supplement the usual root feed.

Does anyone still feed plants like this, have you seen benefits and which products do you use ? 

Thanks

Posts

  • Desi_in_LondonDesi_in_London Posts: 731
    I tend to use it as a root drench rather than a foliar feed , but most seaweed tonics , including those with added iron ( I use maxicrop but am sure there are lots of others, not intended to be a recommendation of brand have not used any other so nothing to compare it with) can also be used as foliar feeds. I don't know if other ( non seaweed) feeds can be used in a similar way.
    Kindness is always the right choice.
  • bédébédé Posts: 3,095
    I have used foliar feeds in the past and have never noticed any benefits.  Mind you, I do keep my pot plants in freshish compost and occasionally give them a water with fertiliser solution.

    For my outdoor pots, I splash fertliser solution on the leaves when I am watering the pots.  I dont buy a specialised product.

    If there is any benefit, I get it, but otherwise I think foliar feed is just a marketing ploy.

    I used to be fed a tonic as a child.  They don't do it now. 
     location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand.
    "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
  • PlantmindedPlantminded Posts: 3,580
    edited March 2023
    I’ve used Miracle Gro as a foliar feed in the past, before I became a mulch convert!  I also use seaweed extract as a foliar feed on Box when it starts to yellow and also as a regular weekly feed for a tree fern, applied to the trunk, resulting in lush, green fronds.
    Wirral. Sandy, free draining soil.


  • Slow-wormSlow-worm Posts: 1,630
    bédé said:

    I used to be fed a tonic as a child.  They don't do it now. 
    Only because you're not a child. 😁
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    The problem with foliar feeding is that the foliage has to be suitable for the liquid to be taken up. Anything with leathery leaves like Camellias or Fatsias, for example, will tend to shrug it off, and it'll end up on the ground around it. A lot of the time it'll benefit surrounding plants more, because very little would get into the root system of the Camellia/Fatsia itself, so it would be more useful poured into the base. 
    I never do it. Feeding the soil with organic matter is far more use, although the odd seaweed feed is useful as a supplement for foliage plants. 
    Seaweed is the most popular of this type of feed, but if I use it, it goes into the base of the plant.  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • Slow-wormSlow-worm Posts: 1,630
    I've never even thought about it, the majority of plants get their nutrients from the soil, so feeding the ground is the obvious solution to me. 
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