Espoma’s Holly-tone is an all-natural, organic fertilizer that can be used on other plants as well. Any acid-loving plant, including blueberries, camellias, rhododendrons, evergreens, hydrangeas, and others, can benefit from its application.
You should fertilize your plants twice a year, in late fall and early spring. Use only half of the recommended fertilizer dosage when you apply it in the late fall. Holly-tone is a natural organic product that has been utilized by professionals for many years. Additionally, it contains Bio-tone, which improves the organic fertilizer biologically for better plant growth.
Applying Holly-tone: Be cautious to read the bag’s back before fertilizing trees, shrubs, and other plants that love acid. To give each sort of plant the best chance to grow, it provides instructions.
Trees: Measure the diameter of the tree trunk before fertilizing it. This will enable you to calculate the appropriate fertilizer dosage. For every inch of your tree, use one pound of fertilizer.
As seen in the video by Laura, who uses a drill and hole auger to make the holes, drill holes every 23 feet all the way around the tree’s drip line. In essence, the tree’s canopy ends at the drip line. Fill each hole with fertilizer, backfill it, and add water.
Note: Espoma’s Organic Plant-tone should be used in their place because arborvitae and boxwood are not acid-loving evergreens.
Compared to trees, shrubs are a little easier to fertilize because no digging is necessary. Similar to trees, the size of the shrub determines how much fertilizer is necessary. For every foot of branch diameter, one cup of fertilizer should be used. It should be dispersed all around the plant’s drip line, worked into the soil, and well watered.
Garden Beds: Of the three, fertilizing established garden beds is the easiest. It all comes down to the size of the garden beds you have. Use 5 pounds of fertilizer per 100 square feet of your garden bed. Then, water it in after dispersing it as evenly as you can around the plants.
Use twice as much fertilizer in new garden beds to get the soil ready for new plants. Use ten pounds of fertilizer for a garden bed that is 100 square feet in size. To prepare the soil ready for the new plants, sprinkle it on top of the soil and work it into the top 4 inches.
Pots: Use one teaspoon for every three inches of the diameter of your pot for growing plants like blueberries in containers. Sprinkle it inside the pot’s inner rim, then fill it with water.
Which fertilizer is ideal for hydrangeas?
When purchasing fertilizer, check the labels to see how much nitrogen (N), phosphate (P), and potassium are present (K). A general-purpose, balanced fertilizer such a 10-10-10 N-P-K or 12-4-8 N-P-K is typically best for hydrangeas. Consider using a fertilizer with additional phosphorus if you want your hydrangea blossoms to be bigger and more numerous.
Since phosphorus is the middle element, fertilizer with the formula 10-20-10 will do. Choose a slow-release granular fertilizer with the designation “bloom boost” if you’re looking into it because it might also include more phosphorus.
Which plants may I feed with Holly-tone fertilizer?
Holly-tone is a fertilizer made specifically for plants that love to grow on soil that is acidic. Azalea, dogwood, rhododendron, ferns, hemlock, holly, hydrangea, juniper, arborvitae, magnolia, Japanese Andromeda (pieris), pachysandra, vinca, and many other evergreens are some examples of plants that thrive in acidic environments.
Dig a hole for new plantings that is roughly twice as wide as the root ball. Don’t add too much compost, humus, or sphagnum peat; current guidelines advise using primarily native soil for backfilling.
Add one cup of Holly-tone and combine well. Holly-tone is a slow-release organic fertilizer that has Bio-tone bacteria added to it, making it extremely safe to use.
Acid-loving plants that are established should be fed twice a year in the spring and late fall. Sprinkle holly-tone everywhere you would season food with salt and pepper. It is best to remove the mulch from the area that needs to be fed, feed it, and then add mulch back on top of that after the plant food has been applied.
For every foot of branch spread on shrubs like hollies, azaleas, and rhododendrons, 1 cup of Holly-tone is used. Whenever the spread is three feet or more, double the amount. Trees like hollies, hemlocks, and junipers use 1 lb* of Holly-tone per inch of trunk diameter in the spring. For diameters 3 inches and larger, multiply the amount by three. Late in the fall, plants should receive a modest feeding. Use only half of the amounts advised for the spring.
Can I spray Holly-tone in the summer on hydrangeas?
For those of us who live in northern climes with more severe winters, The Endless Summer series represents a milestone in hydrangea breeding.
Older hydrangea kinds only produced flowers on old wood or stems that had grown the previous year. All flowers for the following season were gone once that growth was destroyed due to harsh winter circumstances, damage, or unintentional autumn trimming.
The plants in the Endless Summer series are significantly more adaptable in the environment because they bloom on both new and old wood. The plants won’t generate many, if any, buds on the growth of the current season, though, if the plants are not properly nourished in the spring.
Any Endless Summer variety will grow best in an easterly direction or in a spot in the garden that receives morning sun and afternoon shade. To make a richer soil that will store nutrients and fertilizers better and retain more moisture, use a decent compost.
Use Plant-tone and granular lime for purple to pink blossoms or Holly-tone and holly for blue flowers when fertilizing your Endless Summer Hydrangeas in the spring.
We advise fertilizing in April, May, and June with 1 cup of fertilizer for every foot of branch spread for the optimum flowering. For instance, 9 cups of fertilizer would be applied over a three-month period to a plant that is 3 feet broad. After this time, fertilizer shouldn’t be used to plants.
Continual Summer Fall is not the time to prune hydrangeas. Rather, only prune them in May. This will guarantee that the flower buds that survived the winter have opened.
Plants marked with a number sign (#) and a number are generally the same size as gallon pots; for example, #2 is equivalent to a 2 gallon pot, #3 to a 3 gallon pot, and so on. These plants are offered for sale in pots.
Plants with a height (such as 5-6′) give an estimate of the plant’s present height.
Plants that are measured in inches (such as 2.5″) are identified by their caliper, or trunk width.
Plants are typically larger when measured by caliper (inches) than when assessed by height (feet).
Are hydrangeas blue if Holly tone is present?
- As an easier method of managing soil pH, think about container gardening for hydrangeas. Some of the more recent hydrangea types have big flowers on small, container-friendly plants.
- Hydrangeas grow healthier and have more vibrant colors when they are properly fed. Espoma Holly-tone, which contains sulfur to reduce pH, is a great option for blue hydrangeas. Espoma Plant-tone is the best fertilizer for pink hydrangeas because it doesn’t include any extra sulfur.
- To prevent hydrangeas from wilting, water them regularly, especially during the hottest portion of the summer. Mulch helps retain moisture and keeps roots cool.
- Blue hydrangeas can be very difficult to grow because lime from adjacent concrete patios or pathways can influence their hue. When deciding where to plant, keep this in mind.
- Warning: not all plants enjoy acidic soil. Pay attention to what is growing close to your hydrangeas.
How can I encourage my hydrangea to bloom more?
Early spring or mid-July through late summer are the blooming seasons for hydrangeas. The methods for extending hydrangea blossoms’ life and producing more of them are discussed below.
Plant the hydrangea where it will receive morning light and afternoon shade, keep the soil continuously moist, and treat it in the spring with a fertilizer that is well-balanced to encourage more flowers. To encourage more blossoms, don’t prune your hydrangea too frequently. Hydrangeas bloom on the growth from the previous year.
Continue reading to find out how to lengthen the time that your hydrangea blooms as well as my personal pick for the best fertilizer for hydrangeas to enhance blossoming.
My plants: Will Holly-tone harm them?
For every 100 square feet of fresh garden bed, Espoma advises using 10 pounds of the herb. The optimum periods to plant azaleas are in the spring and fall, which are also the recommended times for application, as with other trees and plants. If used at the prescribed amounts during planting, Holly-tone won’t burn new plant roots because it’s natural and slow-releasing.
Avoid applying alternative fertilizers that are less organic and more quickly acting while using Holly-tone. Additionally, you shouldn’t plant with them because root burn could result.
How often should Holly-tone be applied?
Evergreens Arborvitae and Boxwood don’t require acidic soils. For them, Plant-tone is advised.
Use when:
- Feed at half as much in the late Fall as you would in the spring.
- The optimal time to fertilize spring-flowering evergreens like azaleas and rhododendrons is when the first signs of bloom color appear.
- Early spring and late spring feedings of berry harvests are recommended (45-60 days apart).
- Fertilizer must never be applied to frozen soil.
Amount to use:
Trees:
each inch of trunk diameter, one pound. For diameters 3 inches or bigger, double the amount by three. Shrubs:
Per foot of drip line diameter, one cup. If the drip line diameter is three feet or greater, double the amount. Beds:
To prepare a new bed, combine 10 pounds of material per 100 square feet, then work it into the top four or five inches of soil. 5 pounds. should be fed per 100 square feet to established beds.
Container-grown plants in pots:
New Plants: Add 2 cups of Holly-tone per cubic foot of soil when preparing new soil for plants (1.5 tbsp. per quart.)
For established plants, add 1 teaspoon of Holly-tone to the soil along the pot’s outer edge for every 3 pot diameters. Thoroughly water.
How to use:
For bushes:
Around the drip line, sprinkle the necessary quantity, and thoroughly water. If the area is mulched, you can either double the rate on top of the mulch or temporarily remove the mulch and feed the area.
To trees:
Around the drip line, create three holes that are 3 wide, 12–18 inches deep, and Pour the Holly-tone evenly into the holes after dividing it. Fill the holes completely with soil and water.
When should hydrangeas be fertilized?
Both the method and the fertilizer used while fertilizing hydrangeas are crucial. Burning from fertilizer can happen when too much is used. The first indication of over fertilization is scorched-looking leaves. Fast-release fertilizer needs to be lightly applied to hydrangeas in March, May, and July.
Make sure to distribute it along the branches’ drip line rather than their base. Water wisely. Remember to lightly cover the fertilizer with soil to activate it if it is a slow-release variety. Add a small amount of liquid iron every two years to maintain the leaves’ vibrant green color.
Without noting the use of modest amounts of sulfur or lime when fertilizing to modify hydrangea color, a discussion of how to fertilize hydrangeas would be incomplete. Sulfur-treated hydrangeas can stay blue or turn that color. Pink is produced by lime, and it takes time for any color to change. Please be aware that white hydrangeas won’t turn color.
Hydrangea maintenance and feeding should be done properly to ensure lush foliage and beautiful blooms.
How frequently should you fertilize hydrangeas?
In order to give your hydrangeas an early-season boost, you should typically fertilize them in the spring right before they start to leaf out. During July’s growing season, fertilize them a second time. Two applications of the fast-release fertilizers are necessary in the summer.