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Feeding Shrubs

ERICS MUMERICS MUM Posts: 627
in Plants

I have some established shrubs in beds which I have never fed.  They include Escallonia, Spirea, Choisya, Pittosporum, Cotinus and a large-leafed Hebe.  Roughly 10 years old.

They seem healthy enough but don't look 'stunning' and don't produce many flowers.

Is it worth feeding and what should I use ?

Thanks as always.

Posts

  • Ladybird4Ladybird4 Posts: 37,906

    Blood, fish and bone is a good all rounder but I have to confess that I NEVER feed my shrubs.

    Cacoethes: An irresistible urge to do something inadvisable
  • raisingirlraisingirl Posts: 7,093

    The other option is to mulch them well this year and next to feed the soil they are growing in (rather than directly feed the plants).

    Gardening on the edge of Exmoor, in Devon

    “It's still magic even if you know how it's done.” 
  • Busy-LizzieBusy-Lizzie Posts: 24,043

    I used to feed my shrubs when they were young, but now, like Ladybird I rarely feed them. But you could try feeding with BF and B and see if it makes a difference. Fertiliser can't work if not watered in so if the weather is dry then water them. Pruning, or lack of, can be a reason for not flowering. Prune early flowered shrubs after flowering and later flowerers in early spring.

    Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
  • YviestevieYviestevie Posts: 7,066

    Every spring I give all my borders a feed of Fish Blood and Bone.  The acid lovers, Rhodos, Camelias etc get a dressing of Ericatious feed and the borders are mulched with prepacked farmyard manure.  Never used to do this in a previous garden as it was huge and would have been costly.  This garden is an average size for a suburban garden and I have found that feeding and mulching have made a dramatic difference to the health of the shrubs and the number of flowers etc that are poduced. BL is right though, correct pruning also makes a huge difference.

    Hi from Kingswinford in the West Midlands
  • treehugger80treehugger80 Posts: 1,923

    I chuck some pelleted chicken manure underneath about this time of year and let the rain and worms take it into the ground,

    I find fish blood and bone makes the local foxes dig in the ground as they think there's something dead for them to eat buried there

  • ERICS MUMERICS MUM Posts: 627
    Yviestevie says:

    Every spring I give all my borders a feed of Fish Blood and Bone.  The acid lovers, Rhodos, Camelias etc get a dressing of Ericatious feed and the borders are mulched with prepacked farmyard manure.  Never used to do this in a previous garden as it was huge and would have been costly.  This garden is an average size for a suburban garden and I have found that feeding and mulching have made a dramatic difference to the health of the shrubs and the number of flowers etc that are poduced. BL is right though, correct pruning also makes a huge difference.

    See original post

     Thanks, mine's a small garden too so I can manage this.   I will also attend to the pruning, thanks to Busy-Lizzie.

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