Nutricote, Osmocote, Palm Special

[RainForestt Robert]

I am about to make a purchase of fertilizer to be shipped to Trinidad.  In the past I have use Osmoctoe (9 months) for cycads and a palm special for palms.  I have read that many on this board use Nutricote for potted palms.  Does this work better than the palm specials?  How much does Nutricote cost?  Advice welcome.

Robert

[SubTropicRay]

Robert,

I only use the slow release fertilizers on potted plants.  Depite the slow release nature, salt build up in containers can lead to burned foliage.  I usually apply slightly lighter than the recommended application rates.

Ray

[Jeff Searle]

Robert,

   Nutricote is now being used by more nurserymen and plant people in general than Osmocote by a far margin here in South Florida. I rarely hear of someone still using Osmoc. As far as the expense and rates, I think your looking at $55 per bag, and rates are,

1gallon....1 tablespoon

3gallon....4 tblsp.

7gallon....8 tblsp. You can even get their handy green measuring spoon to us, their free.

  There's a few palm special fertilizer distributors here locally. Atlantic Fla. East Coast, and Lesco sells this. AFEC. is very popular with the nursery growers and Lesco is more geared to the homeowners.I hope this helps some.

[RainForestt Robert]

Thanks Jeff, just the information I was looking for.  I have fertilizer, pots etc shipped to me in Trinidad once per year, so I have to think out my order list carefully.

Robert

[bgl]

Robert,

I've been using Nutricote (13-13-13) 180 day time release for years now. It's $65-$70 per 50lb bag, so pretty expensive, but then it's shipped in of course. As is everything else here...almost!

Bo-Göran

[iwan]

Since Jeff mentioned Lesco... I just purchased their 13-3-13 w/micros today for a bit under $14 for a 50# bag.

[cfkingfish]

I live about 25 miles south of Florikan's HQ, so I go there and use their 270 day Palm Special 13-5-11. It goes for $51 a bag, and a little goes a long way.

[Mats]

(cfkingfish @ Feb. 21 2007,01:46)

QUOTE

I use Florikan's 270 day Palm Special 13-5-11.

I use Apex Palm Plus which is 13-5-8.

Christian, Florikan's fertilizer is much closer to the NPK ratio (3-1-3) I've always thought palms need.

I'm curious about others using a 1-1-1 ratio fertilizer.

[Kris]

Dear Guys  

i have a doubt_here in india we have a stuff called Complex_

N-P- K(16-16-16).used more in crop cultivation.

Can i use this stuff for my potted plants & palms & Cycas.

in a diluted form say one tea's spoon per normal sized

bucket of water and feed it every 15 days or so throught

the year ?

since we do not have Nutricot or Osmocote.

So kindly help me on this one..Please.

thanks & Love,

Kris  

[Zac in NC]

We need Keith S from SoJax come in this thread. He works for Scotts and he's the Osmocote guy. Paging Keith Santner......

Zac

[Keith N Tampa (ex SoJax)]

Guys, it's true Osmocote hasn't been a great performer in S-FL.  BUT Scotts new Suncote is making HUGE inroads into Florikan's Nuticote market, especially in palms.  It is available from several distribution sites in FL, but is isn't registered outside FL because of use rates.  (FL is really high vs the rest of the country).  You may find Suncote a bit less expensive than Nutricote too.  Anyway, I do work for Scotts (must support palm habit somehow), and nothing pleases me more than to win fertilizer trials against Nutricote (a truly great product)!  Suncote's analysis is 15-8-11 for the 12-14 month, and 16-9-12 for the 8-9 month.  And by the way, the 12-14 month fed for 13 months in Homestead with only one supplemental granular application during the rainy season when Nutricote require 4 granular applications to keep the plants green.   Sorry for channeling Joe Isuzu here but nothing in my 12 years at Scotts has been more satisfying than having a successful Palm fertilizer for S-FL!  I swear I really should be selling palms!  Of course, I'd be absolutely obnoxious with enthuiasm.

[Keith N Tampa (ex SoJax)]

Good Lord, I totally forgot to mention that I use University of FL's 8-2-12 with Micros on the palms in the ground.  Dr Timothy Broschat designed it for FL and it really kicks butt.  Scotts dosn't make it so I buy a private label from a distributor called BWI.  They stock it in Homestead.  It must be reapplied at 90-120 day intervals, but man does it work.  The high Potassium has been shown to reduce Potassium deficiency in palms as well as leaf spots in Turfgrass.  University of GA is prepaing a trial to see if it (elevated Potassium) has the same benefit on container grown ornamental grasses.

[Patrick]

Does anyone have a good source as to who carries this stuff on the west coast?

The best I could find locally (and there's lots of choices) is a 2-1-2 ratio mix made by Vigoro- at Home Depot. The big selling point was that it had micros. Many many micros which I have had a hard time finding.

Anyways....How about it- any sources??

Thanks

[cagary]

Patrick,

I use APEX Palm Plus here in south Orange County, CA.

APEX 13-5-8 Palm Plus / 13-2.1-6.6 Elemental (Metric)

"More controlled-release nitrogen than most fertilizers on the market today.  Complete micronutrient package with high amounts of magnesium that palms need.  Can be used for both landscape and nursery applications."

I get it at Miramir Nursery, but you should be able to find it at most palm nursery locations.

Here's a website that lists its distributors.

http://www.simplot.com/turf/apex/distributors/california.cfm

[iwan]

(Patrick @ Feb. 25 2007,11:45)

QUOTE

Does anyone have a good source as to who carries this stuff on the west coast?

The best I could find locally (and there's lots of choices) is a 2-1-2 ratio mix made by Vigoro- at Home Depot. The big selling point was that it had micros. Many many micros which I have had a hard time finding.

Anyways....How about it- any sources??

Thanks

Patrick,

There is a Lesco distributor in San Jose near 101/880 and I think one in the north bay (Santa Rosa?) and possibly Sacramento.  Go to www.lesco.com and use their site locator.

[Alicehunter2000]

North Florida's sand is slightly acidic......lots of pine trees and oaks..... and nutrient poor...would the same ferts work for us here?

[Patrick]

Thanks all

Iwan(more palms?), There's actually a lesco in concord (woohoo!!) and I went by there after work. Nice guys working there. The place is off of Port Chicago, if you're wondering. I picked up a 13-3-13 "Palm" fertilizer from them. It's what they recommended and also what the bag says it's for. I thought it was a bit lacking in micros- it only had like 3 or 4, so I picked up a supplimental liquid micro additive that had a few more things in it. They told me that- in a nutshell- the thing that made it palm fertilizer was basically that they add epsom salts to it.

They showed me some pretty cool stuff, though-

They had a fertilizer that had a bunch of beneficial bacterias and fungi in it for new plantings in order to stimulate growth. it was a 4-4-4

There was also a product they have for phytopthora rot that actually "inhibits RNA synthesis" to get rid of the fungus WHOA! Sounds kind of effective......

[Palmtreehugger]

Does anyone know where I can get the Nutricote in large bags in the south Orange county area of California? I'm having a tough time finding it here around San Clemente. What is the very best fertilizer for mature palms in the ground? What are you using Bo? I know you have had a million mature ones at one time or another.

[Pando]

From what I have heard, Nutricote works best in humid weather, like FL or HI, and it's not as effective here in CA. I'm using BEST Palm Plus 13-5-8 which is also a timed release and seems to work well in this climate, plus it's less expensive than Nutricote. You can probably find it at local gardening or garden supply centers (such as Hydro-Scape here in Vista, there is a branch in San Juan Capistrano).

Edited February 29, 2016 by Pando

[Keith N Tampa (ex SoJax)]

On February 28, 2016 at 12:09:44 PM, Palmtreehugger said:

Does anyone know where I can get the Nutricote in large bags in the south Orange county area of California? I'm having a tough time finding it here around San Clemente. What is the very best fertilizer for mature palms in the ground? What are you using Bo? I know you have had a million mature ones at one time or another.

Fertilizer recommendations are based on the soil more than the plant.  I haven't worked much in SoCal, but did have a chance to work a little.  And we were recommending 12-4-12 for soil applications (not potted plants).  But the best recommendations would come from UC after a soil test.  Chances are the product that works well for Bo in HI ins't going to be right for you.  Its possible, but unlikely.  

You can can Osmocote Plus from CPS (Crop Production Services) for use in the container plants.