When to Start Fertilizing Houseplants and When to Stop

Fertilizinghouseplants can be tricky – when to do it? How to do it? When to start it? When to end it? Well, all these questions can be confusing – not only for a beginner but for a seasoned gardener, too. So, is there a rulebook? Scroll down to get the answers!

While every houseplant may look quite different to you at the first glance, but they all pretty much follow the same and a predictable growth cycle – showing a thriving and vigorous growth in spring and summer (their ‘party season’), and then taking a chill pill, as the winter approaches – unless you live in a hot climate. Say, for example, if you live in a temperate region like Texas, the plants will continue to show signs of growth in the winter months, too.

Now that you have got an idea on how the houseplants grow, it’s time to move to the next part of the fertilization story!

Come Spring and you must realize that this is the wake up call for plants – they are up from their winter nap, and ready to stretch their stems to grow those vibrant leaves. This is the perfect time to start feeding them— usually around March or April in majority of the USDA Zones.

This is the time you need to get the right fertilizer – a balanced liquid feed like 10-10-10 or 20-20-20 works the best (As it has all the nutrients in a balanced ratio, making sure the plants get all of them in the correct amount) – they are well rounded meal for 99% of the houseplants you have in your collection.

The amount of fertilizer you will use plays a crucial rule – it is always a good call to dilute the feed to 1/4 or 1/2 of its strength, and use it once in 4-6 weeks, starting from Spring. Why? Well, using a mild dose more frequently is better (gives the plant a constant supply of nutrients every few weeks