Thought those fancy plant fertilizers were a scam, but my violets proved me wrong

I spent years just using regular potting soil and tap water on my African violets. They always looked sad and never bloomed more than once a year. Last March, a friend at the local garden center near Omaha convinced me to try a liquid fertilizer for blooming plants, one with a higher phosphorus number. After 6 weeks of using it every other watering, I had 4 blooms on a plant that had given me one flower in 2 years. Has anyone else found a specific fertilizer mix that turned their plants around?

2 comments

2 Comments

eva_garcia5612d ago

@skyler_kim Honestly it's just a plant, not THAT deep.

skyler_kim12d ago

I thought those fancy plant fertilizers were a scam too, until I couldn't get a single bloom out of my African violets for like two years." Honestly your story is mine almost exactly. I was using basic potting mix and tap water too, and my violets just sat there looking bored. Then a guy at the nursery told me to try a bloom booster with a higher phosphorus number, like a 10-30-20 mix or something close. After a month of using it every other watering, one of my plants popped out three flowers at once. I still think some of those high-priced fertilizers are a gimmick, but that one specific mix turned my sad little plants into something I actually want to look at. Your mileage may vary, but for me it was the difference between a plant that just existed and one that actually showed off.