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Feeding border plants / shrubs / flowers

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aj9648
aj9648 Posts: 1,386 Forumite
Part of the Furniture 500 Posts
Hi

Quick question - how and when do you feed your border plants and shrubs ? ( like you feed your lawn)

Also best time to feed?

Comments

  • Farway
    Farway Posts: 14,673 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Homepage Hero Name Dropper
    Personally i don't fed them at all, except the roses in Spring

    Shrubs can look after themselves and find their own nutrients

    I do however chuck old compost, tea leaves or whatever on the borders when it's around

    I suppose if you have some choice specimen or growing for show feeding could help

    The only reason to feed lawns is because you are constantly removing growth, this does not normally apply to borders
    Eight out of ten owners who expressed a preference said their cats preferred other peoples gardens
  • sheramber
    sheramber Posts: 22,520 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts I've been Money Tipped! Name Dropper
    Depends on what you are feeding them with.

    Some fertiliser are used once in the spring , others in the autumn, others used more often. Read the instructions on the packet.
  • Davesnave
    Davesnave Posts: 34,741 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Quick answer: never.


    I improve the soil, but I don't think that well-rotted horse poo and bedding contains many nutrients.
  • madjackslam
    madjackslam Posts: 280 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 100 Posts Combo Breaker
    Borders get a mulch with however much compost I've managed to make/scrounge, and not used on the veggies, but otherwise that's it.
  • tori.k
    tori.k Posts: 3,592 Forumite
    I have last couple of years with blood, fish and bone, Roses are feed twice a year spring and Autumn, As I did a hard cut back so fed them them and recently again as I had mulched with bark last Autumn .
    The front is all new planting so will feed them at least for the first few years until properly established.
  • Grenage
    Grenage Posts: 3,199 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Never; the best the borders get is a bit of wood ash from the fire in winter. That said, I'm not very neat; I dump leaves and other waste under plants and let nature sort it all out.
  • surfsister
    surfsister Posts: 7,527 Forumite
    I've been Money Tipped!
    all year I collect t bags up and split around plants. Also collect coffee grounds from Waitrsoe and do he same. Also make compost and put round plants in spring and autumn. works for me.

    Also take friend's used grow bags and do the same.which

    !
    local council sells cheap compost they make and once a year it's a pound bag so I stock up

    In summer pour used washing up water on new plants
  • Davesnave
    Davesnave Posts: 34,741 Forumite
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    surfsister wrote: »
    all year I collect t bags up and split around plants.
    Perhaps you have posh tea. So do I, but the bags are still plasticised, so wherever I might put them, they would still be kicking around five years later.

    The vast majority of tea bags do not compost. Maybe that will change, but it was only last week I saw a company proudly showing their manufacturing process on prime time telly, including the bit where they plasticise the natural product.
  • Farway
    Farway Posts: 14,673 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Homepage Hero Name Dropper
    surfsister wrote: »
    local council sells cheap compost they make and once a year it's a pound bag so I stock up


    You're lucky, round here the council compost is more expensive than buying from a s/market. The Council stuff is £3 a bag last time I looked
    Eight out of ten owners who expressed a preference said their cats preferred other peoples gardens
  • DigForVictory
    DigForVictory Posts: 12,058 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    I shamble round with a bag of chicken pellets after the first massive weeding of spring in the hope this will give the remaining plants encouragement.

    I make time to ensure the fruit trees get something to help, even if it's just a growbag I didn't use for seeds.
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