Every gardener knows the sight: a midsummer border that should be peaking, yet shows pale new leaves, small blooms and growth that stalls in the heat. Hungry plants tell you plainly what they lack — the skill lies in feeding the right thing at the right hour.
Feed the roots, not the heat
Apply granular feed early in the day and water it in well. Slow-release formulas keep nutrition available for eight to ten weeks without the surge-and-burn cycle of quick feeds, which matters most when temperatures climb.
“A soil test in spring saves three wrong purchases in summer. Feed what is missing, not what the shelf suggests.”
What heavy feeders want
- Roses and dahlias: balanced granular feed every six weeks until late August.
- Vegetables and cutting beds: nitrogen-forward feeding while leaves form, then potassium as fruit sets.
- Containers: liquid feed weekly — pots leach nutrients with every watering.
- New turf: half-rate applications only until roots establish.
Stop feeding woody plants after late August. Soft late growth is the first casualty of the first hard frost, and restraint now is what carries the garden safely into fall.
Harriet Lawson
Planting Designer at Fernhollow Garden Care