Palm suitable ferteliser in australia?

[Mohsen]

Hi mates

Now we are at the begining of Spring, I think it is time to fertilize palms...

I used to buy the " palm fertilizer" from " Palmland" which they don't have them any more...

I cant find any special palm fertilizer in In "Bunnings", the only thing I could find there are :

could you please advise what are you using or suggesting available in Australia ( and Sydney)?

1- Pots, planter, indoors : which also mention palms

 

2- all purpose

3- native plants :

[Pip]

This is what I started using last year. It is sold at agricultural product supply stores. There just happens to be one over my back fence. I get funny looks from the workers when I turn up with my wheel barrow instead of a ute or truck, they are used to selling pallet loads not just one or two bags. Anyway cambells rustica plus seems to work well for me it is designed for all plants.

[Tassie_Troy1971]

Hi Mohsen

 I would stay away from Strong chemical fertilizers.  The only chemical fertilizer i use is 

Nutricote Total TE 140 Day - 13 : 5.7 : 10.8  ble

it is avaliable from http://www.gardencityplastics.com/UserFiles/Files/PDF's/gcpcatalogue.pdf

I use this sparingly around the root zone once every spring. as it is slow release it is very safe but quite expensive 25 kg for $ 160 goes along way

I mainly use  organics such as Seamungus (from bunnings ) blood and bone meal (sparingly)  and kelp meal.

A good organic fertilizer and compost and mulch works really well for me.

 

Troy

 

[pigafetta]

Im in the natural type fertiliser camp a good organic fertiliser not only fertilisers the plant but encourages a good healthy soil, not a fan of of ozmocote type fertilisers unless for potted plants IMO it's like humans living off vitamin pills instead of having a good balanced healthy diet..

I also like that Seamungus (like the fact it has the Seweed, fish & Humid acid in it)

And any organic extra type fertiliser is good.

Ive been lazy and haven't used it much since moving south but i think a folia feed of something like Charlie carp is also of benefit.

I also started the once every few weeks feed with a seasol solution.

[Tropicgardener]

What you use is going to vary according to your climate and your location.......... I use predominately organic type fertilisers and as I am in the tropics I fertilise year round...... Palms obviously will grow much faster here than down in Sydney or further south so they require more food. With this in mind I also like to use inorganic fertillsers to help them along..... I use Nitrophoska special and buy it in 25kg bags, as well as CK (Crop King) 88, both balanced fertilisers that are relatively cheap which is important as I am on acreage.

[Pedro 65]

15 minutes ago, Tropicgardener said:

What you use is going to vary according to your climate and your location.......... I use predominately organic type fertilisers and as I am in the tropics I fertilise year round...... Palms obviously will grow much faster here than down in Sydney or further south so they require more food. With this in mind I also like to use inorganic fertillsers to help them along..... I use Nitrophoska special and buy it in 25kg bags, as well as CK (Crop King) 88, both balanced fertilisers that are relatively cheap which is important as I am on acreage.

Nitrophoska ferts are V "Fast" acting, I only ever use Nitrophoska  when its raining heavily and "only" in  Summer.. My slow release is a 5  mth Nutricote total plus TE, I used to use the micro but it releases too fast.....Pete 

 

Controlled Release

Nutricote Total TE 140 Day - 13 : 5.7 : 10.8

Me

[Tropicgardener]

1 hour ago, Pedro 65 said:

Nitrophoska ferts are V "Fast" acting, I only ever use Nitrophoska  when its raining heavily and "only" in  Summer.. My slow release is a 5  mth Nutricote total plus TE, I used to use the micro but it releases too fast.....Pete 

 

Controlled Release

Nutricote Total TE 140 Day - 13 : 5.7 : 10.8

Me

Yes obviously as I mentioned different regimes for different climates........... Up here is obviously different climate wise to where you are in Northern New South Wales Pete........ Nitrophoska Special is quite popular here in the tropics but may not be suitable to be used for as long a period of time in cooler areas such as yours or further south.

[Mohsen]

Today , at Bunnings they showed this fert specially designated designed for palms and ferns, what do you think?

[Mohsen]

[Pip]

That richgro organic fertilizer does work but it is expensive I'd use one of those 5kg bags on one trunking palm . You can make it yourself if you purchase a bulk bag of pelleterized chicken manure and a bag of blood and bone. The problem I find with organic fertilizer is that I will need to used truckload when compared to the use of inorganic fertilizer. Another negative for organic fertilizer is that my dogs eat it even though they are fed well.

[Palms4Steve]

19 hours ago, Mohsen said:

Mohsen . I think that the Richgro is good but as pip says only comes in a 5 kg bag. I have just been using dynamic lifter previously. But I just bought a 20kg bag of Martins Oranic Advance Plus fertilizer. A friend recommended it to me. Was about $19 for  a large 20 kg bag.

steve.

[Tyrone]

I like to use what was called Nitrophoska Perfekt, which I now think is called Blaukorn or something (sounds like a Swedish heavy metal band). Anyway it has a good Nitrogen level and a very good Potassium level plus good traces. Anything low in Potassium I walk away from with palms. High nitrogen with nothing else produces leggy weak growth.

I think as others have kind of said there is no "right" or "wrong" fertiliser as such. You need organics in the soil otherwise you may as well be growing things hydroponically, so organic ferts are very good as they feed the soil and microbes etc. You do need truck loads of them for the same effect as a few bags of stronger stuff. But if you need something stronger a bit of fast release at the right time can be beneficial too. Slow release is of course great for pots and helps prevent over fertilising which is the big problem with using fast release stuff especially on pots. I also use Scotts Micromax to provide good traces where necessary. A fertiliser saying it is "complete" doesn't mean it has all trace elements. It basically means it has NPK.

Soon I'm going to get a soil analysis done on my place to determine the general natural levels of things in my soil. I reckon I lack zinc, boron, calcium just by observing my palms etc. I think I have tonnes of iron though. Once I know that I can determine exactly what to do in my garden.

 

[Mohsen]

On 19 September 2016 at 8:45:28 PM, Palms4Steve said:

Mohsen . I think that the Richgro is good but as pip says only comes in a 5 kg bag. I have just been using dynamic lifter previously. But I just bought a 20kg bag of Martins Oranic Advance Plus fertilizer. A friend recommended it to me. Was about $19 for  a large 20 kg bag.

steve.

Thanks Steve

where did you buy it, Bunnings?

[Palms4Steve]

5 hours ago, Mohsen said:

Thanks Steve

where did you buy it, Bunnings?

No . I bought it down near Corrimal. Needs to be a company that stocks Martins products.

[peachy]

I am on heavy black clay so always stay with the organic fertilisers, but as the others say you need a truckload of it. I always get the chook poop pellets and blood + bone. A squirt of seasol every few weeks seems to work well too.

[Mohsen]

what do you think about this palm fertiliser ?

 

[Neil C]

I've used that before and didn't really notice any good or bad results from it. I prefer to use a trusted brand these days like osmocote.

Regards Neil

[Tyrone]

10 hours ago, Mohsen said:

what do you think about this palm fertiliser ?

 

Can't see anything wrong with it. It looks like it has everything needed and then some. On a small scale it probably doesn't matter as much but on a large scale the price would be the final decider when comparing one vs the others. Performance per dollar is the decider.

On second thoughts it says "trace elements plus organics" but I can only see magnesium and calcium. There are many more traces needed than that. A bit of marketing going on there. The organics would be fish and seaweed nutrients and humic acid added, which are all good. However at the application rates shown the plant would barely notice any of it. When using organics you need bulk quantities not little scoops of them every 3 months unless the plants are small.

In my experience for plants in the garden you can use a mulch if you like of sheep manure, and other organics. Pelletised chook manure can be good too but be careful to not overdo them as they are concentrated. These things feed the soil. For a faster NPK hit (mid summer to autumn-peak growing time) when the plant has a hungry appetite a side dressing of an NPK fast release with trace elements will be good. If you are disciplined, small applications of NPK and trace elements every couple of weeks will keep the nutrients at peak levels rather than one application that will spike the nutrient levels and then just fall off afterwards. But organics first up is always best.

[Keith N Tampa (ex SoJax)]

Choose the Osmocote with the highest potassium.  Apply before the rainy season and it will keep feeding even if it gets really wet.  Organics will be lost.  I work for the US division of ICL, the Osmocote manufacturer.  We have sold coated fertilizer up near Ingram to help sugarcane growers achieve reefwise goals.  It's a great product.  Use organics in dry season to build flora and fauna in soil, they are good for that but choose the closest source possible.  When one considers the cost of transporting the product, they aren't green if they have to be moved very far, e.g. by container ship!  Organic sources are compatible with Osmocote too, so if you don't mind feeding often use both forms at low rate.  Just reapply the organics though because the Osmocote will keep feeding.   Chemical fertilizers in and of themselves are not bad.  They are not a replacement for good soil management, however. Organics are not better either, but they are good for improving the soil biodiversity and soil structure.  Organics can cause problem to water just like concentrated chemical fertilizers so use good judgment with all fertilizer sources.  

[Keith N Tampa (ex SoJax)]

10 hours ago, Keith in SoJax said:

Choose the Osmocote with the highest potassium.  Apply before the rainy season and it will keep feeding even if it gets really wet.  Organics will be lost.  I work for the US division of ICL, the Osmocote manufacturer.  We have sold coated fertilizer up near Ingram to help sugarcane growers achieve reefwise goals.  It's a great product.  Use organics in dry season to build flora and fauna in soil, they are good for that but choose the closest source possible.  When one considers the cost of transporting the product, they aren't green if they have to be moved very far, e.g. by container ship!  Organic sources are compatible with Osmocote too, so if you don't mind feeding often use both forms at low rate.  Just reapply the organics though because the Osmocote will keep feeding.   Chemical fertilizers in and of themselves are not bad.  They are not a replacement for good soil management, however. Organics are not better either, but they are good for improving the soil biodiversity and soil structure.  Organics can cause problem to water just like concentrated chemical fertilizers so use good judgment with all fertilizer sources.  

INGHAM, not Ingram.  I was lucky enough to visit there in 2011.  Wonderful trip!

3rd time the charm".....I hate spellcheck.

Edited October 2, 2016 by Keith in SoJax