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| I've been using Miracle-Gro on my flowers for ages. I bought a new box this week and I noticed that instead of 15-30-15, it is now 24-8-16. I thought the second # makes flowers and the first # helps green leaves? What do all you experienced gardeners say about this? I appreciate your opinions. |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| I have no idea why MG increased the Nitrogen...seems ridiculous because N will leach just as quick as P. I think the MG makers were under pressure from a lot of States because of high Phosphorous leaching into waterways from lawn ferts, et.al. causing pollution. I suppose MG is OK when dealing with potted plants, but, consider becoming more Organic and feed the soil first with soil amendments. There will be little need for products such as MG. |
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| Scotts makes MG in dozens of formulas. You just grabbed the wrong box/container. Al |
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| Al is right....I promise you that MG still makes 15-30-15. It's one of their staples. |
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| 15-30-15 is their most often recommended mix for houseplants. Their 'bloom booster' formula is something close to 10-50-10. Al |
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| Thank you! I will try to return this package for 15-30-15. |
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| OK, Sandy....I just got back from the Miracle Gro site to investigate their retail packaging. Their 15-30-15 is what they call bloom booster. What you purchased packaged as their All Purpose (shrubs and houseplants). It has a limited micronutrient package, which is not a bad thing. |
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| Did they discontinue the original bloom buster? It had a very high middle number, like 50, I think. My experience with bloom buster is that you will get an abundance of blooms, but the plant quickly tires out and goes into decline. Scott's has bought out all the competition: Miracle-Gro , Ortho , to name a few. |
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| If it's for plants in the ground, I agree with Franeli that the most important thing is to feed the soil (with organic matter), and not the plants. |
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| They still sell the other fertilizer, but you may have to look for it on line. It tends to be marketed for the professional/wholesale folks. Phosphorus (the 'middle number') is found in great excess in the soils in some parts of the country, so this product should not be used outside unless you have soil testing done, in my opinion. |
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- Posted by gardenfanatic MO zone5 (My Page) on Fri, May 26, 06 at 13:22
| I don't know why MG does this, but all the packages look the same even though they have different fert ratios. I always look on the side of the box before I buy. BTW, you are right, the middle number is what affects the blooming. I always get 15-30-15. Deanna |
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| I happened to have a box of last year's bloom booster left over and it is 10-52-10. This year's same looking box (which I picked up for a friend who was having a hard time finding it), is 15-30-15. When she told me it was not 50 in the middle, I thought her eyes must be going on her!! I sent MG an email inquiry on the difference. It will be interesting to see what they say. Now I will always look on the label.
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| Well, not much of an explanation. I was expecting something environmental about the phosphates and soil. ...Miracle-Gro has done extensive testing and has found that the current formulation performs most I'm glad I've still got a whole box of 10-52-10. I'm going to save it for fav plants. Maybe I'll do my own testing. |
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- Posted by judyann_2010 6/7 (My Page) on Mon, Jun 28, 10 at 10:38
| There's something radically wrong going on. I have, for many years, used 10-50-10 or 10-60-10 on my heavy bloomers. Schultz or Petes (though I preferred Schultz). My Dinner Plate Dalias etal bloomed their hearts out. I had the most spectacular blossoms, they were incredible. Within 2 days of treatment, they went on fire. I have searched FAR and WIDE, can NOT find these products. The MG product labeled "bloom booster" is a joke with hardly ANY Phos in it at all. This is CRAZY. I can't even find it on the I-net and, let me tell you, I'm pissed! |
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- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Mon, Jun 28, 10 at 11:03
| apparently.. to pull up a 4 year old post.. and start a rant ... lol ken |
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- Posted by MoreThanYouKnow none (My Page) on Mon, Aug 5, 13 at 22:43
| ..... and here I am reading it three years after that !! hmmm .... |
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| Me too ...lol |
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| There are 2 versions of Miracle Gro Bloom Booster: the 15-30-15 version is available in 1.5 lb boxes at Lowes, Home Depot, and WalMart. The 10-52-10 version is available in 1 lb and 4 lb boxes at Independent retailers, nurseries, and Hardware stores. |
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| FWIW - High levels of P in the soil solution have only the potential to LIMIT. Said another way, anything soluble in the soil solution above and beyond what the plant actually needs has no potential to be a positive, only the potential to limit. That includes blooms and root growth. The idea that more P than the plant requires can somehow stimulate it to grow more roots or blooms is false. Excess P does do a lot of things, like raise pH, contribute unnecessarily to the EC/TDS (salt) level of the soil solution, and make it more difficult for the plant to take up a number of nutrients (especially iron and manganese). When you realize that plants use about 6X as much N as P, it almost becomes a no brainer that monster doses of P can't be good. Keep in mind that an excess of any of the nutrients has the same potential to limit growth as a deficiency of same. If MG is your choice, you'll be best served for container use by 24-8-16 or 12-4-8, both 3:1:2 ratio fertilizers, which are as close as you'll get to an off the shelf fertilizer that supplies nutrition in the same ratio as that actually used by plants - and there is significant benefit in that choice. If you want a fertilizer (for containers) that has ALL the essential nutrients plants normally take from the soil (including Ca and Mg - probably missing in what you're using), try Foliage-Pro 9-3-6. If you're growing in the ground and haven't had a soil test to guide you in what is appropriate, I can't see how it matters much what a grower chooses because anything will be just a shot in the dark. I guarantee though, that my 'go to' fertilizer would never have a middle number equal to or larger than either the first (N) or last (K) numbers unless a soil test showed P was severely lacking in the soil. Don't succumb to the advertising hype and widespread misinformation you regularly read. Al |
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