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Outrageous cost of palm fertilizer


Walt

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Hmmm - on calcareous soil a 2 to 1 ratio of Potassium to Magnesium is needed. An imbalance can cause one of the minerals salts to "get locked up" in the soil and not get taken up by the roots. Walt has sandy acidic soil - and so does Randy - it may not be a concern using the Brandt formula. One needs to read the labels and know the requirements for their soil type.

I'm all fo saving $, but sometimes its better to pay more for the proper stuff than suffer through rehabilitating a nutritionally deficient palm. On the flip side - more expensive does not always mean better. Just my opinion.

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Coral Gables, FL 8 miles North of Fairchild USDA Zone 10B

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Hmmm - on calcareous soil a 2 to 1 ratio of Potassium to Magnesium is needed. An imbalance can cause one of the minerals salts to "get locked up" in the soil and not get taken up by the roots. Walt has sandy acidic soil - and so does Randy - it may not be a concern using the Brandt formula. One needs to read the labels and know the requirements for their soil type.

I'm all fo saving $, but sometimes its better to pay more for the proper stuff than suffer through rehabilitating a nutritionally deficient palm. On the flip side - more expensive does not always mean better. Just my opinion.

You are correct about my soil, it is very acidic indeed. No limestone and shell around here. I ran a composite pH test 10 years ago and got a 3.64 reading! I don't think I've seen a virgin (i.e., lime never amended into soil) pH soil test above 5.0 since I've lived here. Most samples are somewhere above 4.0 but less than 5.0.

On some palms I put down dolomitic lime, but mostly I put down wood ash, as I do lots of burning of palm fronds, seeds, pine cones, pine needles, vines, dead branches, etc. This ash has lots of calcium in it and it's a good way for me to get rid of it, plus it has pretty much all the minerals except nitrogen in it.

None of my palms exhibit mineral deficieny except my largest Arenga engleri and my largest Phoenix sylvestris (magnesium mostly, but maybe some slight potassium). My smaller A. engleri and P. sylvestris look normal, as well as all my other phoenix species.

Mad about palms

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I just went to the website. All of those links say "Coming soon."

true I just checked. It seems that they have redone something. I used that same link a couple years ago and found big earth landscaping supply near me. I purchased 100# just a month ago. Perhaps a call to the company is in order, thats kind of irritating... I have tried lesco and florikan, the florikan is much better, one shot 5 months+ of time release. The time release is by osmotic function through a polymer membrane, instead of a dissolving outer layer of the prill like others

Formerly in Gilbert AZ, zone 9a/9b. Now in Palmetto, Florida Zone 9b/10a??

 

Tom Blank

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As I stated in my first posting to start this thread, I use a palm special fertilzer I get from a local company called Brandt Consolidated. I think the home company is in Ilinois. In any event, they sell a palm special fertilzer made by Sunniland Corp. The basic NPK is 8-2-12.

Below is a bag label I scanned. Just this past October I paid $20 (plus sales tax) for a 50# bag (I bought 6 bags) to do my November mineral feeding. Brandt, over the years, has carried two other palm fertilizer analysis, but picked this one up several years ago. This analysis is the closest you I can get here in Highlands County, Florida, to what the University of Florida recommends for the state of Florida. The UofF recommends 8-2-12-4 (Mg), with N, K, and Mg all in controlled release. Well, I can't get that around here, and even if I could it would probablly be cost prohibitive.

The UofF recommends fertilizing four times a year (Feb., May, Aug. and Nov.). However, I fertilizer 6-8 times a year using proportionately less so as to better control leaching of the fast release portion of the fertilizer. It's more effort and time to do this but I don't mind. I'm retired and get bored with nothing to do.

Sunniland has 16 locations throughout Florida and two locations in Georgia according to the linked website address below. Perhaps any of you in Florida that might want this analysis of fertilizer might give your nearest office a call on availability and price, etc.:

http://www.sunnilandcorp.com/roofing/locations

PalmFertilizer8-2-12-Copy_zps8e8839d0.jp

The florikan palm special is formulated as the University of Florida recommends for the state of Florida, 8-2-12-4 (Mg), with N, K, and Mg all in controlled release. The controlled release was actually tested by U of F. I do not have your ph=5(?) soil, but my phx rupicolas are very green .let alone the sylvestris... The copernicias are also very happy... yup it cost 2x lesco, but I use 1/2 as much with better results...

Formerly in Gilbert AZ, zone 9a/9b. Now in Palmetto, Florida Zone 9b/10a??

 

Tom Blank

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I buy the florikan locally at a feed store on pine island. It can be difficult to locate in small quantities, many places I called asked how many pallets I needed. The florikan website appears to be going through a website update. I would call direct and find a "retail" location to purchase. One note.... I guess I could overstate the fact that it ends up being cheaper by only needing to apply every 6 months depending on the cost of other fertilizers but as I get older and busier in life I don't have as much time as I would like to spend in the garden. Using the Florikan ensures that I'm only having to worry about applying it every 180 days and my palms are getting consistent slow release feedings instead of one big release from cheaper fertilizers.

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When you look at the traces, K, potassium, is the one that is rinsed out the fastest. It also can kill in substantial excess so applying K directly can be tricky. If the time release of a fertilizer is achieved by dissolving a coating, the K will spike soon after the coating dissolves. This is where the florikan product, using a patented osmotic membrane coating is superior. Delivery is by diffusion across a membrane and that is very well controlled. Many florida soils are K defficient because of their sandy high drainage nature and the big rains. K defficiency is the bigest problem with growing copernicias in sandy soil. I learned my lesson there, I dont depend on a product that is not tested for time release potassium, now my copernicias are not K defficient. The side benefit was the greening of my rupicolas and teddy triangle two other palms that can be a pain with traces. The recovery and consistent good color of these species is proof enough to me of the florikan technology and its advantages in sandy soils. I have also found this fertilizer to be very good on palms in pots without alot of maintenance. If your soils arent sandy or your palms arent micro nutrient sensitive, any good 8-2-12 would probably be fine and worth the savings...

Formerly in Gilbert AZ, zone 9a/9b. Now in Palmetto, Florida Zone 9b/10a??

 

Tom Blank

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I buy the florikan locally at a feed store on pine island. It can be difficult to locate in small quantities, many places I called asked how many pallets I needed. The florikan website appears to be going through a website update. I would call direct and find a "retail" location to purchase. One note.... I guess I could overstate the fact that it ends up being cheaper by only needing to apply every 6 months depending on the cost of other fertilizers but as I get older and busier in life I don't have as much time as I would like to spend in the garden. Using the Florikan ensures that I'm only having to worry about applying it every 180 days and my palms are getting consistent slow release feedings instead of one big release from cheaper fertilizers.
The reason a lot of distributors want to sell Florikan by the pallet, is that Florikan in Sarasota, will only sell in 1 ton quantities. They use to sell by the bag, then changed their policy to the 1 ton minimum. In this day & age, I think they lost some good customers. I know it irritated me. I use their 360 day 13-5-11 formula in my container palms with good results. It is good fert because it is mostly Nutricote. I now buy from a distributor (BWI) in Apopka FL. Now they ship it to the other side of the state, so I can have it shipped back to me, close to the supplier. I use other cheaper coated fert for the garden, since it is cheaper. If anyone is interested in splitting a 1 ton order sometime, let me know. Even though I hate doing business with them.
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I buy the florikan locally at a feed store on pine island. It can be difficult to locate in small quantities, many places I called asked how many pallets I needed. The florikan website appears to be going through a website update. I would call direct and find a "retail" location to purchase. One note.... I guess I could overstate the fact that it ends up being cheaper by only needing to apply every 6 months depending on the cost of other fertilizers but as I get older and busier in life I don't have as much time as I would like to spend in the garden. Using the Florikan ensures that I'm only having to worry about applying it every 180 days and my palms are getting consistent slow release feedings instead of one big release from cheaper fertilizers.

The reason a lot of distributors want to sell Florikan by the pallet, is that Florikan in Sarasota, will only sell in 1 ton quantities. They use to sell by the bag, then changed their policy to the 1 ton minimum. In this day & age, I think they lost some good customers. I know it irritated me. I use their 360 day 13-5-11 formula in my container palms with good results. It is good fert because it is mostly Nutricote. I now buy from a distributor (BWI) in Apopka FL. Now they ship it to the other side of the state, so I can have it shipped back to me, close to the supplier. I use other cheaper coated fert for the garden, since it is cheaper. If anyone is interested in splitting a 1 ton order sometime, let me know. Even though I hate doing business with them.

Just out of curiosity, how much does a ton cost?

In my post I sometimes express "my" opinion. Warning, it may differ from "your" opinion. If so, please do not feel insulted, just state your own if you wish. Any data in this post is provided 'as is' and in no event shall I be liable for any damages, including, without limitation, damages resulting from accuracy or lack thereof, insult, or any other damages

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I called Florikan and they have changed their business model again. They only sell through distributors now. They only act as a factory in Sarasota. Last time I purchased from BWI, a 50# bag was $61.50 for the 12 month 13-5 11. BWI is their largest distributor. They will deliver for a $500 min, with $25 del charge. The hunt is on for something that is always better, or at least somewhat the same and cheaper.

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I called Florikan and they have changed their business model again. They only sell through distributors now. They only act as a factory in Sarasota. Last time I purchased from BWI, a 50# bag was $61.50 for the 12 month 13-5 11. BWI is their largest distributor. They will deliver for a $500 min, with $25 del charge. The hunt is on for something that is always better, or at least somewhat the same and cheaper.

Mike-

Im not sure how it compares to the Florikan stuff, but Palmco on Pine Island sells 50 lb bags of what they call "Palmco's Special Blend" - "True 6 month controlled release fertilizer" - 8-2-12 for ~$36 a bag the last time I bought it. If one buys more quantity, they chop the price down per bag.

From what I can tell (visually), this stuff hangs around along time. 6 months after application, I can still see solid granules of the various colors in the mix on the ground. All the palms appear to be growing great with it, so this is what I have stuck with using. I would have to guess there are only a limited number of manufacturers of the time release fertilizers, so all these various privately labelled products may all have a limited number of origins.

Larry 

Palm Harbor, FL 10a / Ft Myers, FL 10b

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Im not sure how it compares to the Florikan stuff, but Palmco on Pine Island sells 50 lb bags of what they call "Palmco's Special Blend" - "True 6 month controlled release fertilizer" - 8-2-12 for ~$36 a bag the last time I bought it. If one buys more quantity, they chop the price down per bag. From what I can tell (visually), this stuff hangs around along time. 6 months after application, I can still see solid granules of the various colors in the mix on the ground. All the palms appear to be growing great with it, so this is what I have stuck with using. I would have to guess there are only a limited number of manufacturers of the time release fertilizers, so all these various privately labelled products may all have a limited number of origins.

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  • 8 months later...

Can't find the Suniland palm special that Walt mentioned. Just picked up 100 lbs. of 12-4-12 Palm Special from Diamond down in Homestead, FL yesterday. $28.00 per 50 lb. bag. Got 50 lb. bag of K-Mag (22% Potassium/11.15% Magnesium). Cost $15.55. Started spreading it this morning but got rained out after only spreading less than 25%. Well, maybe I'll finish after work tomorrow. :winkie:

Coral Gables, FL 8 miles North of Fairchild USDA Zone 10B

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When you look at the traces, K, potassium, is the one that is rinsed out the fastest. It also can kill in substantial excess so applying K directly can be tricky. If the time release of a fertilizer is achieved by dissolving a coating, the K will spike soon after the coating dissolves. This is where the florikan product, using a patented osmotic membrane coating is superior. Delivery is by diffusion across a membrane and that is very well controlled. Many florida soils are K defficient because of their sandy high drainage nature and the big rains. K defficiency is the bigest problem with growing copernicias in sandy soil. I learned my lesson there, I dont depend on a product that is not tested for time release potassium, now my copernicias are not K defficient. The side benefit was the greening of my rupicolas and teddy triangle two other palms that can be a pain with traces. The recovery and consistent good color of these species is proof enough to me of the florikan technology and its advantages in sandy soils. I have also found this fertilizer to be very good on palms in pots without alot of maintenance. If your soils arent sandy or your palms arent micro nutrient sensitive, any good 8-2-12 would probably be fine and worth the savings...

Tom, very interesting what you said. I have been trying without success to find information about potentially lethal risk in case of potassium overdose (http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/quickref/fertilizer/nutri_def.html). Could you please provide more information?

Edited by Phoenikakias
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When you look at the traces, K, potassium, is the one that is rinsed out the fastest. It also can kill in substantial excess so applying K directly can be tricky. If the time release of a fertilizer is achieved by dissolving a coating, the K will spike soon after the coating dissolves. This is where the florikan product, using a patented osmotic membrane coating is superior. Delivery is by diffusion across a membrane and that is very well controlled. Many florida soils are K defficient because of their sandy high drainage nature and the big rains. K defficiency is the bigest problem with growing copernicias in sandy soil. I learned my lesson there, I dont depend on a product that is not tested for time release potassium, now my copernicias are not K defficient. The side benefit was the greening of my rupicolas and teddy triangle two other palms that can be a pain with traces. The recovery and consistent good color of these species is proof enough to me of the florikan technology and its advantages in sandy soils. I have also found this fertilizer to be very good on palms in pots without alot of maintenance. If your soils arent sandy or your palms arent micro nutrient sensitive, any good 8-2-12 would probably be fine and worth the savings...

Tom, very interesting what you said. I have been trying without success to find information about potentially lethal risk in case of potassium overdose (http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/quickref/fertilizer/nutri_def.html). Could you please provide more information?

Kostantinos,

I will use a few posts to deliver some articles. My windows 8 touchpad makes these things difficult, hard to keep windows open and search at the same time. So far I have found windows 8 to be an awful operating system. Here is one which mentions excessive potassium causing mg deficiency

http://puyallup.wsu.edu/~Linda%20Chalker-Scott/Horticultural%20Myths_files/Myths/Epsom%20salts.pdf

"Excessive levels of potassium contribute to a mineral imbalance that causes magnesium

deficiency in a variety of species, even when soil levels of Mg are adequate. High levels of

soil potassium apparently interfere with root uptake of magnesium. Addition of nitrogen

and/or reduction of available potassium are both recommended to overcome this indirect

magnesium deficiency; trees high in nitrogen were found to be less susceptible to magnesium

deficiency than those with reduced nitrogen levels."

Edited by sonoranfans
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Formerly in Gilbert AZ, zone 9a/9b. Now in Palmetto, Florida Zone 9b/10a??

 

Tom Blank

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potassium chloride(muriate of potash) can cause leaching of calcium from soils, potassium sulfate is more expensive, but more safe for your

soil chemistry

http://www.midwesternbioag.com/product/sulfate-of-potash-0-0-50

here is an article that mentions salt buildup in soil. As you add potassium, even in sulfate form, salts build up in the soil. At some point they can have an unhealthy and even toxic osmotic effect on roots.

http://www.textbooksop.com/about-sop/low-salt/

I suspect this is more of an issue in clay soils as salts tend to persist in clay soils longer than sandy soils, hence a higher risk of buildup from all fertilizer sources.

here is an article showing toxicity to earthworms with excessive applications

http://scholarsresearchlibrary.com/ABR-vol3-iss12/ABR-2012-3-12-5714-5717.pdf

Edited by sonoranfans
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Formerly in Gilbert AZ, zone 9a/9b. Now in Palmetto, Florida Zone 9b/10a??

 

Tom Blank

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Can't find the Suniland palm special that Walt mentioned. Just picked up 100 lbs. of 12-4-12 Palm Special from Diamond down in Homestead, FL yesterday. $28.00 per 50 lb. bag. Got 50 lb. bag of K-Mag (22% Potassium/11.15% Magnesium). Cost $15.55. Started spreading it this morning but got rained out after only spreading less than 25%. Well, maybe I'll finish after work tomorrow. :winkie:

I have been using the same stuff (DIamond Palm Special) down here in Key West for the last year. So far so good, it's way more expensive though for the 50lb bag, almost $50.

Edited by robsp2000
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perhaps the toxicity I was reading about was in the buildup of salts, which can make your soil toxic for many species. Searching this topic "potash" and its use gets hundreds of hits that reference cannabis growing. I really don't want to use those references, but they are swamping the searches.... I guess it will continue to be so in the future as it appears legalization is moving forward in the US and much money is in it.

Formerly in Gilbert AZ, zone 9a/9b. Now in Palmetto, Florida Zone 9b/10a??

 

Tom Blank

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Potassium is a mineral that most Florida soils lack. No data to refer to but I can assure you that many palms in Florida have gone to palm heaven from potassium deficiences than all the other nutrional deficiences combined. K-Mag has 22% to 11.15% Pot. to Mag. That is a 2 to 1 ratio as recommended by Dr.Tim Broschat, Univ. of Florida. Spreading 50 lbs. on a 125 x 90 ft lot gives everything a little taste four times a year. There is also some evidence that palms with adequate levels of Potassium may be a bit more cold hardy and more resilient after the winter is over.

Coral Gables, FL 8 miles North of Fairchild USDA Zone 10B

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  • 6 years later...

Picking up this topic , now we are in 2020. 
What palm fertilizer do you guys in South Florida use?  I have been using Palmgain since it is recommended from the Uni FL. 
However I tried to get Lesco 8-2-12+4 Mag  but the price is way too high and they don’t even ship to Florida? What is that about? 

So what fertilizer is being used for our palms here??? Recommendations with product name and where to find would be really awesome! 
 

 

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6 hours ago, JANAIY said:

Picking up this topic , now we are in 2020. 
What palm fertilizer do you guys in South Florida use?  I have been using Palmgain since it is recommended from the Uni FL. 
However I tried to get Lesco 8-2-12+4 Mag  but the price is way too high and they don’t even ship to Florida? What is that about? 

So what fertilizer is being used for our palms here??? Recommendations with product name and where to find would be really awesome! 
 

 

If you still want Lesco 8-2-12-4 50 lbs. try Siteone Landscape Supply.  They have 48 locations in Florida. 

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1 hour ago, JANAIY said:

thank you Steve, I check it out right away

might want to read this before handing over your cash to lesco  

 

Jupiter FL

in the Zone formally known as 10A

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56 minutes ago, redant said:

might want to read this before handing over your cash to lesco  

 

 

 

NO, its not true. I just checked and there are 2 products what slightly change in analysis. Adam must have ordered the wrong one not knowing about 2 similar products with the same 8-2-12 .I just checked on their website and the one we need in FL  is still available. I posted the info where the topic was created. 

Edited by JANAIY
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I used florikan 8-2-12 with micros now up to $69 for a 50 lb bag.  Palm gain 8-2-12 is $50 for 50 lb bag.  I used to use lesco 8-2-12 years ago when ferts were cheaper, but I found myself using lots of it and still having micro deficiencies in my palms in my sandy soil.   I can use 1/2 the florikan to ferilize and get better results than lesco.  I will buy a 20 lb bag bag of palm gain during the dry spring and use it a bit, but the summer rains and sandy soil are not a good situation for either palm gain or lesco.  these are also time sof the fastest growth, so it seems to be a bad plan to have your fertilizer delivery issues during the best part of the growing season.  The nutrient delivery issue is that when the florida summer rains hit, the potassium and Mg(highly soluble) are mostly washed away into the watershed with most of the N and P.  This is why our county restricts fertilization between early june and september, it mostly washes away.  The advantage of florikan is in high drainage soil during the rainy season where its osmotic membrane easily outperforms other coatings and time release methods.  To my knowledge, their osmotic release is patented and still unique among palm fertilizers.  They actually separate fertilizer components(N,P,K,Mg,Fe,Mn,...) into different prills and engineer the membrane porosity of each based on solubility of each component.  This way the typical issues with potassium washing away first do not happen as tested by university of florida AG department.  To be a real 4-5 month time release fertilizer, there must be potassium left for the last month and this is not what happens with most "time release fertilizers.  If you have clay soil or limestone rock soil, you might not need florikan at all.  But when I planted my cuban copernicias long ago, ken Jonson gave me some advice and I took it.  I use half the fertilizer in lbs that I used to, so I am not only getting better results but I am saving money and reducing my pollution of the watershed(some reports say by 50%).  If I had clay in my soil, or lived out west(dry) I wouldnt bother to use florikan time release.  But in florida, in my sandy soil, its cheaper to use, less expensive and less polluting.

  • Upvote 2

Formerly in Gilbert AZ, zone 9a/9b. Now in Palmetto, Florida Zone 9b/10a??

 

Tom Blank

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I like the Florikan, but having a hard time finding  a place to purchase at decent price or purchase period, with out getting killed on shipping. No one in Ft Myers sells it that I have found. For Florida, I agree it is the best all around.

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4 minutes ago, Barry said:

I like the Florikan, but having a hard time finding  a place to purchase at decent price or purchase period, with out getting killed on shipping. No one in Ft Myers sells it that I have found. For Florida, I agree it is the best all around.

Wedgworth's is supposed to carry it in Ft. Myers.  The contact information listed is:

Ft. Myers - (239) 633-1603 
Robert Toski - rob.toski@wedgworth.com

There are other distributors that are within an hour drive or so: https://www.florikan.com/distributors

In my own case, there are a lot of places in Polk and Hillsborough county that carry it.

Lakeland, FL

USDA Zone 1990: 9a  2012: 9b  2023: 10a | Sunset Zone: 26 | Record Low: 20F/-6.67C (Jan. 1985, Dec.1962) | Record Low USDA Zone: 9a

30-Year Avg. Low: 30F | 30-year Min: 24F

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1 hour ago, Barry said:

I like the Florikan, but having a hard time finding  a place to purchase at decent price or purchase period, with out getting killed on shipping. No one in Ft Myers sells it that I have found. For Florida, I agree it is the best all around.

The last time I stopped by Riverland Nursery I believe they carried three varieties of 8-2-12 palm special fertilizers, ranging from fast release (least expensive), to some slow release (more expensive), to all slow release (most expensive).  This was about three years ago.  I used to stop by this nursery from time to time on my way back home from Ft. Myers airport. 

https://www.riverlandnursery.com/

 

Mad about palms

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Surprised to see in small letters that Florikan is made in Japan.

wonder how much of what appears to be exaggerated cost is due to shipping.  What am I missing ?

The Palm Mahal

Hollywood Fla

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7 hours ago, waykoolplantz said:

Surprised to see in small letters that Florikan is made in Japan.

wonder how much of what appears to be exaggerated cost is due to shipping.  What am I missing ?

Unlike other slow release fertilizers the (membrane)coating does not dissolve.   Unlike osmocote, the prill membranes are engineered for each nutrient, no one else does that. Those other slow release fertilizers are "fake slow release", once the coating dissolves it washes away fast.  Osmocote has a membrane but does not deliver potassium late in the cycle as they have not engineered the membranes for each nutrient(its patented).  I am a scientist(chemist) with over 30 patents, I know patent BS when I see it.  These guys have the science nailed for slow release, glad I don't work for a competitor.  Unless it has an osmotic membrane, its not an effective timed release in florida, and you really need different pore sizes for different nutrients as some will deplete faster with the same pore size.  The membrane also tightens up in the cold so it wont release until its warm out.  these guys really have it nailed.  the coat the prills with a polymer ethylene vinyl acetate and control the polymerization rate to control pore size for different nutrients.  Technically, the others have no competitive answer, kind of the way a valuable patent works.  So I pay 20 bucks(40%) to use half the amount and get better results on my cuban copernicias(yes they are potassium pigs) and some other palms.  I get my florikan at big earth, but there are also places that have off brand versions(like lexus toyota) that also work well.   Some of the smaller nurseries buy it by the pallet so they get a nice price break. 

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Formerly in Gilbert AZ, zone 9a/9b. Now in Palmetto, Florida Zone 9b/10a??

 

Tom Blank

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18 hours ago, Walt said:

The last time I stopped by Riverland Nursery I believe they carried three varieties of 8-2-12 palm special fertilizers, ranging from fast release (least expensive), to some slow release (more expensive), to all slow release (most expensive).  This was about three years ago.  I used to stop by this nursery from time to time on my way back home from Ft. Myers airport. 

https://www.riverlandnursery.com/

 

Thanks Walt, I just talked about going to Riverland, they used to carry it, but the last time I was there they didn’t have it. They do carry Nurserymens Suregrow, which is a good fertilizer, just not as long on release time. 
just an FYI, the owners sold the nursery to one of the employeesabout a year or so ago. It is still a great nursery. Just don’t carry a wide variety of palms, but a great selction of other plants. 

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As a chemical professional I will defer to you...and I am only observing that if this is imported from Japan 1/3 the price is transportation.

harrells may not be as advanced but under $30 a 50lb bag by the pallet I can’t argue with the results.

The Palm Mahal

Hollywood Fla

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47 minutes ago, Barry said:

Thanks Walt, I just talked about going to Riverland, they used to carry it, but the last time I was there they didn’t have it. They do carry Nurserymens Suregrow, which is a good fertilizer, just not as long on release time. 
just an FYI, the owners sold the nursery to one of the employeesabout a year or so ago. It is still a great nursery. Just don’t carry a wide variety of palms, but a great selction of other plants. 

I drove by Riverland Nursery about two months ago when I had to pick up relatives at the airport, but I didn't stop in the nursery. Over the years I've bought miscellaneous plants from them. I just remember one day an employee showed me the fertilizer. I didn't know the business was sold, not that it matters. I buy my fertilizer at Brandt Consolidated just south of Avon Park.  The last time I bought a bag of 8-2-12 it was retailing for about $25/50# bag, they they would give me a $3.00/bag discount since I was steering them new costumers. Still, I've cut way back now of palm fertilizing. Now that most of my palms are mature, I only fertilizer them if I feel they are showing any kind of mineral deficiency. I do, however apply wood ash periodically, as I do so much burning. Wood ash has a fair amount of minerals in it, plus with my very acidic soil the ash serves as a lime equivalent to bring up pH. Below is the analysis on the back of the bag of palm fertilizer I buy from Brandt.

8-2-12 Palm Fertilizeer 50# bag.jpg

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Mad about palms

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I think one needs to understand the difference between slow release and controlled release fertilizers.  Slow release is not controlled release where the release rate ONLY depends on soil temps.  Slow release only needs 15% urea nitrogen to legally be called slow release(85% fast release).  Here is an explanation of mechanisms of release.  https://www.haifa-group.com/articles/slow-release-fertilizer-vs-controlled-release-fertilizer

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Formerly in Gilbert AZ, zone 9a/9b. Now in Palmetto, Florida Zone 9b/10a??

 

Tom Blank

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13 hours ago, JANAIY said:

I guess that’s why Florikan is one of the better choices since it’s control release

Controlled release is certainly more efficient and consistent delivery for sandy high drainage soils.  Some of florida has the most sand ive ever seen, it was developed here in FL where the K deficiency problem is bad.  But some florida as oils wont need it(clay, loam).  Controlled release helps when you have low cation exchange in your soil, high drainage and high rainfall.   But if you have clay or heavy organic or slow draining soil, or low rainfall levels you probably wont get a good benefit for the extra $.  After seeing Ken Johnsons farm, I was convinced without the science, the place glows with color and zero deficiencies in many cuban copernicia(very sensitive to K deficiency).  the satakentia are stunning, most beautiful pinnate palms I've ever seen.  The science of nutrient delivery supports the observation.

Formerly in Gilbert AZ, zone 9a/9b. Now in Palmetto, Florida Zone 9b/10a??

 

Tom Blank

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11 minutes ago, JANAIY said:

Now where can I find it in Miami? Any local places I can find it? 

6600f1_5299fa3929c74124af4facb9d3e354bb~

Miami, FL - (305) 246-4225

17650 SW 232nd St, Miami, FL 33170

 

You can view a list of distributors here: https://www.florikan.com/distributors

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Lakeland, FL

USDA Zone 1990: 9a  2012: 9b  2023: 10a | Sunset Zone: 26 | Record Low: 20F/-6.67C (Jan. 1985, Dec.1962) | Record Low USDA Zone: 9a

30-Year Avg. Low: 30F | 30-year Min: 24F

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I found it but had to be ordered for me. After all I read here I believe it is the best choice for our Florida soil. Thank you everyone. 

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