As a gardening hobbyist myself, I have a few Junipers of my own. The calm yet classy look of the Juniper plant makes it anyone’s favorite.
But when searching for the best fertilizer for juniper, I couldn’t decide what to buy. Even though I was too scared to put a bad fertilizer on my favorite plant, I knew I had to do something about it.
After doing my in-depth research, I got the best products for my plant. Moreover, I thought this can actually help out a lot of other people.
So, here I am writing my in-depth review of the fertilizers I used for my own Junipers. Let’s get on with it-
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1. Jobe’s 01310 1310 Fertilizer
We’re starting off our list with Jobe’s slow-release fertilizer. Anyone who’s invested in gardening knows how good of a brand Jobe’s is. And this product is there to prove it all.
With Junipers there is some specific requirement. And this manufacturer knows about that. That’s why they made a special variant just for this segment(trees and shrubs).
This product is like a gem to people who stay all the time. Let us explain why.
You see, slow-release fertilizers don’t need to be applied that often. Simply apply once every one or two months and that’s all you need to do. The fertilizer will be there to provide food for the plant for the next two months.
2. Miracle-Gro Tree & Shrub Plant Food Spikes
Next up, we have another fertilizer from the popular brand Miracle-Gro. They’ve been in this industry for more than 50 years, so you get an idea about their expertise on this matter.
But how good is their latest Miracle-Gro Tree & Shrub Plant Food Spikes?
Based on our research and testing, we found that their experience taught them a lot. And this fertilizer is the proof for that. If you don’t believe us, just look at their customer reviews and you’ll figure out the rest.
Apart from their natural ingredients, the usage couldn’t get easier. A lot of slow-release fertilizers have to be applied once every month.
Well, Miracle-Gro can do you one better. Their fertilizers only need to be applied once every season and you know how long seasons can get.
3. Dyna-Gro GRO-008 Plant Food
The Dyna-Gro GRO-008 Plant Food is the first liquid fertilizer on our list. According to them, it’s more than a fertilizer. But what does our testing say?
Well, we were a bit skeptical about their Grow 7-9-5 formulation. But after testing the product for a few months, the results were shocking.
Our juniper tree was growing like crazy! Let’s put the facts on the table-
First of all, it’s a liquid fertilizer so it’s already better. Second, it has all the 16 minerals required for a plant. Do you even need a third one after this?
Cause we surely don’t. The fertilizer continues to give it excellent service if you use it according to the instructions. And that’s kind of a hassle for busy people.
That’s the thing about liquid fertilizers. They all need to be applied pretty frequently. Other than that, this is great!
4. Espoma BT4 4-Pound Bulb-tone 3-5-3 Plant Food
We’ve covered slow-release fertilizers, liquid fertilizers but without a bulb fertilizer, the list would be incomplete.
If you didn’t know the Espoma BT4 4-Pound Bulb-tone 3-5-3 Plant Food is one of the most popular bulb fertilizers in the states. So, is their fame just fake or are they really worth the popularity?
Well, we didn’t take their fame into consideration when reviewing this fertilizer. But yeah, they’re not lying. At least the reviewers are not.
While there are a few itsy bitsy problems, this fertilizer is one of a kind. If you think about bulb fertilizer, this one should be on top of your list.
The 15 essential nutrients will provide food to your Juniper plants for a long time. The best part is they care about the environment.
I mean when you’re making a product for plants, you have to be environmentally friendly, right? But we all know most manufacturers don’t care about that. But Espoma is different.
So, you can buy their products without any worry.
5. Espoma UR4 Urea Plant Food
We’re excited to tell you that the final product of our list is also from Espoma. Even though it’s at the end of our list, we can guarantee you that the quality will surprise you.
After using it for some time, we noticed that our Juniper plant has shown tremendous growth. The colors have become a lot more vivid.
But the 45-0-0 formulation might become a bummer for some people. There are more balanced formulas out there.
However, this fertilizer never focused on that. Their nitrogen-focused formula will add that extra boost your plants need.
When to You Fertilize Junipers?
For plants like Juniper, figuring out when to fertilize isn’t that easy. Most outdoor plants mature in the spring season and get ready to give flowers and fruits.
People usually fertilize these after the first frost for the spring and summer season preparation.
However, you can’t apply this method when it comes to semi-outdoor plants like Juniper. Your indoor plants don’t have to face any sudden temperature changes. So, it’s definitely harder to figure out the timing.
Nonetheless, here are some tips and tricks we have in our bags-
- Despite not having to face any extreme temperature changes, plants like Juniper still stay dormant or semi-dormant when it’s cold. So, it’s obvious they don’t have to be fertilized at that time.
In fact, it can potentially harm the plants. Sometimes indoor plants can even die from fertilizers. Guess you didn’t expect that, did you?
- Turns out our first tip doesn’t really work for actively growing plants. Let’s say your Juniper is actively growing in the winter. Obviously you have to nourish it with some fertilizer. But it has to be ⅓ or ¼ of what you usually use.
- But what about plants that bloom in the winter season? Well, forget about any of the rules for those precious flowers. Simply use your regular amount of fertilizer.
- The best practice is to start fertilizing plants when winter is almost over, in other words, at the end of February. Don’t think that plants are dumb, they still know that Spring is coming so treat them like that.
- People think that over fertilizing a weak plant will make it healthy again. That’s a completely wrong concept. Instead, make sure the basics are okay. The lighting, water, and soil are things you should do at first.
- Sometimes people think that adding some fertilizer in their potting soil will make it even better. Well, guess what? It does more harm than good. Too much fertilizer is never good for your precious Juniper plants.
- Our last tip is more like a cautionary tip. Whenever you purchase plants from a gardener, garden center, or a greenhouse, make sure to ask the supervisor when it was last fertilized. That way you’ll know when to add more fertilizer.
How Often Should You Fertilize Junipers?
Now, this is a tricky thing. Generally, most people will advise you to follow the guidelines from the fertilizer manufacturer. But at the end of the day, it all boils down to what type of fertilizer you’re using.
Liquid Fertilizers
Liquid fertilizer users have a few options on the table. Some products are required to be applied every time you water the plants.
On the other hand, there are liquid fertilizers that give you the option to apply once or twice in one or two months.
That being said, there are multiple ways you can apply these in multiple ways too. Most manufacturers will tell you how much water you should mix while others don’t have a clue. I guess they need better packaging, right?
Granular Fertilizers
With granular fertilizers, your hands are tied. You have to strictly follow the provided guidelines in the packaging. Otherwise, your plants might get sick.
Usually, granular fertilizers have to be applied quite frequently. But that’s not too often. Once or twice every two weeks is more than enough.
You see, granular fertilizers are designed to be absorbed by the soil pretty quickly. So, once you apply it, the soil gets ready after a very short time. You get the idea, right?
Pods, Spikes and Other Type of Fertilizers
Lastly, we’re here with slow-release fertilizers, pods, spikes. As the suggests, slow-releasing fertilizers don’t need to be applied that often. Simply follow the instructions on the packaging and you’ll be good to go.
How to Fertilize Junipers?
We can’t stress this enough but whatever plant you want to fertilize, at the end of the day, we’ll always ask what type of fertilizer you’re using. For your convenience let’s cook an overall idea, shall we?
Starting off with liquid fertilizers, let’s get one thing clear. You don’t need to add a lot of liquid for this. Usually, one or two teaspoons is more than enough.
Although with some liquid fertilizers you have to keep a few things in check. You see, a lot of liquid fertilizers need to be put directly on the roots of the plants.
So, you know that it’s critical to avoid fertilizers on the leaves at all costs. But don’t worry that much as most liquid fertilizers don’t have this kind of requirement.
However, things change when it’s about granular fertilizers. With granular fertilizers, you can’t just do whatever you want. The measurements have to be near to exact and most importantly, it needs to be on the top part of the soil.
But there’s more. You see, granular fertilizers are pretty quick at what they do. The second you water the plants, the nutrients get released in the soil. So, you’d want to make sure there’s enough for the entire root.
Apart from all this, you can actually mix granular fertilizers with the soil when you repot a plant. But don’t assume that this is for all types of plants. Even if you know your fertilizer can be mixed with soil, make sure to read the instructions.
Lastly, let’s talk about slow-release fertilizers. No matter what type of slow-release fertilizer you use, it has to be put into the soil. While applying, you need to make sure it’s as close to the waterline as possible.
Otherwise, the plant won’t get enough nutrients. And turns out, that’s the biggest problem with slow-release fertilizers.
These fertilizers work by slowly releasing a concentrated amount of fertilizer into the soil or around the area it’s been applied. And that’s where the problem starts.
As it’s a slow process and focused on a selected area, a lot of the roots suffer from malnourishment. So, try using multiple spikes or pods if your Juniper is fairly large.
Verdict
So, that’s been it, folks. Hope you enjoyed reading this article about the best fertilizer for junipers. But you might not enjoy it. Yeah, we admit there might’ve been some mistakes.
That’s why we have the comment section for you. Let’s talk there, shall we?
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
