Fertilizer questions?

[Breadfruit Bill]

This stuff looked pretty interesting...  Not very cheap at almost 90 cents a pound but it looked like it had all the right ingrediants and was and 8-9 month formula...  to me that sounds like fertilize once a year kind of thing...  Once right at the end of winter and let em do their thing!  Any feedback would be appreciated....

[aricle]

I stay away from anything with high Nitrogen content for 'in-the-field' planting. UF recommends 8-2-12-4(Magnesium). I use Lesco 8-2-10-3 which also has 3% of both Manganese and Iron (which is considerably more than the Suncote). The only downsize to the Lesco is that it lacks Boron and Zinc, but I add Borax (4 oz. per tree twice a year) to offset the B. I use the 8-2-10-3 on my entire landscape (Palms + St. Augustine) and I'm having amazing results. It's about 63 cents-per-pound ($25 for 40lb). I also throw some K-Mag (0-0-20-10) down on the portions of my landscape with palms. My young royals are bulging like crazy at the base, and when that happens, I'm happy. So far, so good, but I haven't been at this long enough to consider myself anywhere near an expert.

With that being said, that higher Nitrogen content might work well for your container palms (and I know you have a lot of 'em   ).

Here's the Lesco label.

[aricle]

Wow! Just after I posted my previous, I found This! I'm pretty sure this is new; the label date is June 29, 2007. I'm gonna have to give this one a try now. It better matches what UF recommends, and I'll just have to add some Iron for my grass.

[Gonzer]

To add to this topic, does fertilizer break down when applied in the mulch layer rather than being worked into the soil?

[Breadfruit Bill]

(aricle @ Jul. 13 2007,18:32)

QUOTE

Wow! Just after I posted my previous, I found This! I'm pretty sure this is new; the label date is June 29, 2007. I'm gonna have to give this one a try now. It better matches what UF recommends, and I'll just have to add some Iron for my grass.

Maybe I should start throwing that on the trees in my front yard!  It looks like good stuff!

[Keith N Tampa (ex SoJax)]

William, I work for Scotts in FL and I've been intimately involved in the marketing and sales of Suncote since the beginning.  I highly recommend it for your container plants.  We've had great success in S-FL nurseries on a variety of palms and other plants.  However, for palms in the ground, I recommend Dr Broschat's formula 8-2-12 with his micronutrient package.  Here in my yard, I use the 8-2-12 on everything.  I buy it @ BWI in Homestead but unless you have a business, I don't know if they'll sell it to you.  Give them a call.

[Breadfruit Bill]

Thanks Keith!  I got myself a bag of it out west in Boynton...  I used a couple handfuls, mixed real well, in the bottom of the holes when I transplanted palms in my moms yards this weekend... The rest of the bag will go into my micro container farm!  Thanks!

[Moose]

I have used AFEC Palm Special fertilizer since I began growing palms. AFEC was bought out by Diamond R Fertilizer but I still continued to use them. My displeasure with Diamond R began as they started changing their nutrient sources on various products. AFEC was blended locally for South Florida soils. Diamond manufactures their product mid state and ships here. There formulas changed to a generic type across the board products. We have heavily calcareous soils in many areas in South Florida which require special blends that Diamond R has foresaken. Must be decisions made by the big corporate bean counters. My last visit to purchase 300 lbs. of fertilizer found neither fertilizer product I use in stock. Redland Nursery was around the corner, so I went to visit Eliis Brown to vent.

Ellis told me they had switched to Harrell's awhile ago and were very happy with their products. Visiting Harrell's, I found the people extremely helpful. 21 years I purchased fertilizer from the same place. Old guys like me hate to change, but Diamond R never afforded me the courtesy that Harrell's did on my first visit.

The results with the Harrell's products I am very pleased with. The fact that they are cheaper is a big bonus. Harrell's also uses more time released nitrogen in their palm special than the Diamond R Palm Special.

Diamond R Fertilizer - SEE YA!

[garfield]

This is David from Green Leaves Services Pest Control in Miami. We use palm special 8-4-12. That formulation that u show is for plants. Its better to put every three months

[_Keith]

I have used AFEC Palm Special fertilizer since I began growing palms. AFEC was bought out by Diamond R Fertilizer but I still continued to use them. My displeasure with Diamond R began as they started changing their nutrient sources on various products. AFEC was blended locally for South Florida soils. Diamond manufactures their product mid state and ships here. There formulas changed to a generic type across the board products. We have heavily calcareous soils in many areas in South Florida which require special blends that Diamond R has foresaken. Must be decisions made by the big corporate bean counters. My last visit to purchase 300 lbs. of fertilizer found neither fertilizer product I use in stock. Redland Nursery was around the corner, so I went to visit Eliis Brown to vent.

Ellis told me they had switched to Harrell's awhile ago and were very happy with their products. Visiting Harrell's, I found the people extremely helpful. 21 years I purchased fertilizer from the same place. Old guys like me hate to change, but Diamond R never afforded me the courtesy that Harrell's did on my first visit.

The results with the Harrell's products I am very pleased with. The fact that they are cheaper is a big bonus. Harrell's also uses more time released nitrogen in their palm special than the Diamond R Palm Special.

Diamond R Fertilizer - SEE YA!

Well, that's what you say now, but what will you say when you bump this post again 7 years from now.

[JT in Japan]

I have used AFEC Palm Special fertilizer ...

Well, that's what you say now, but what will you say when you bump this post again 7 years from now.

Strange. I opened this exact thread about 1 hour ago, maybe 2, for no reason at all, just re-reading some old threads that I'm following. Then mere minutes later Moose and Keith respond, meaning they're looking at it too. What drove three of us, in separate parts of the ether-sphere, to consider this thread at the same time?

Anyhoo, good fun. Happy Friday (in Japan)!

JT

[Ben in Norcal]

I have used AFEC Palm Special fertilizer ...

Well, that's what you say now, but what will you say when you bump this post again 7 years from now.

Strange. I opened this exact thread about 1 hour ago, maybe 2, for no reason at all, just re-reading some old threads that I'm following. Then mere minutes later Moose and Keith respond, meaning they're looking at it too. What drove three of us, in separate parts of the ether-sphere, to consider this thread at the same time?

Anyhoo, good fun. Happy Friday (in Japan)!

JT

It's Moose's "thing."