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Index : Container Plants & Patio Gardening
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- 9. Winter Fertilization of Gardens and Container Plants - Top
- Our landscape plants are in a dormant state during the cool winter months and won’t start new growth until well into March. They don’t need, nor should they be fertilized until spring growth begins. But that’s not the case with winter lawns, seasonal vegetable and flower gardens, and patio container plants. All need a regular supply of nutrients, in the form of fertilizer, to keep them flowering, fruiting, and growing during the winter.
For those who have winter lawns, monthly fertilization with nitrogen is a must. To keep your cool season perennial ryegrass green and growing, apply one-half pound of actual nitrogen for every 1,000 square feet of lawn area. For a typical lawn fertilizer containing about 20% nitrogen, this translates to two and one-half pounds of fertilizer per 1,000 square feet. Most lawn fertilizers will tell you how much to use and how to set your fertilizer spreader. If the lawn product you select has some timed-release nitrogen, all the better! Timed or slow release nitrogen will feed the lawn evenly, providing a more consistent green color.
Vegetable gardens also need nitrogen through the winter months. Cool season veggies include leafy types like lettuce, spinach, chard, cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower. If plants are growing too slowly or are yellowish, nitrogen should be applied. If your vegetables are planted in rows, spread a dry fertilizer down the row at the outer edge of the leaves. Ammonium sulfate (16-20-0) or a complete vegetable fertilizer can be used at the rate of one-half cup fertilizer per 10 feet of vegetable row. If your fertilizing individual vegetable plants, apply one tablespoon of fertilizer for small plants like lettuce and spinach and two tablespoons for broccoli and cauliflower. After spreading the fertilizer, scratch it in to the top few inches of soil, then water.
Flower beds of pansies, petunias, stock and other winter annuals should be fertilized every 6 weeks after planting with ammonium phosphate or a flowering plant fertilizer. Apply one pound (approximately 2 cups) of fertilizer for every 100 square feet of bed area. Or you can use a water-soluble plant food such as Peters or Miracle Gro every 2 weeks, diluted according to directions.
For flowers or vegetables planted in containers, I prefer using a timed-release fertilizer. They’re sold in bags and plastic bottles. Most are resin-coated products which break down slowly, releasing their nutrients over a 2 to 3 month period. You just sprinkle the fertilizer beads over the soil and with each watering, a small amount of the nutrients are released. For other plants growing in containers, I prefer a water soluble plant food for winter feeding. Potted cactus won’t need any winter fertilization. For perennials and woody ornamental plants growing in pots, just feed them if they seem to be yellowing from a lack of nitrogen. Then as spring approaches, apply a timed-release plant food.
Winter yellowing can occur on a number of plants. Some, such as Citrus and Aleppo pines are normal for the season. For these trees, cool temperatures result in an inability to absorb sufficient nitrogen to keep leaves and needles green. Citrus trees will have a scattering of yellow leaves. With pine trees, the yellowing or browning occurs on the outermost shoots. When warm weather returns in the spring, nitrogen is again absorbed by the roots and this temporary winter ‘yellowing’ disappears.
Written by John Begeman, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the University of Arizona,
520-626-5161. - Updated: December 25, 2005
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