I use it every single day on my containers but in a lower dose--1/4 teaspoon to 1 gallon of water. My containers are huge and gorgeous (glad this is anonymous). Once a week on annuals in the ground. Never on anything else--perennials, shrubs etc.

how come not on perrennials?

Best to use something like alfalfa pellets and blood meal, you can't over dose on them.
The older I get and the more I garden the more I realize that chemical fertilizers are not "where it's at"...
When you start with the miracle grow, the next thing is anti fungus and then something for nematodes etc etc.
As has been said many times before....feed your soil and the rest follows.
I also was a miricle grow addict....
Linda C

The only reason pots of annuals would need miracle grow on a frequent basis is if they're planted in a peat mix, a matrix not containing any real soil at all. Hanging baskets purchased at garden centers usually are planted in this, as it's light-weight and the same material bedding plants are grown in as a rule. These do need to have fertiliser added when needed. I am a commercial grower, and I don't even use a fertiliser on a constant basis because it can cause a salt build up in container stock and it really doesn't help a plant at all, unless there is a deficiency. It's just overkill and like vitamins in humans, any the plant doesn't need is just wasted.

Some plants are "heavy" feeders and need a more frequent application, but if they are planted in ground, sometimes annuals don't need any additional fertiliser at all. Sometimes too much of it makes plants too lush and tender, and floppy, or worst case scenario, burns them.

For containers outside, if I use anything, I use a slow release prilled product like Osmocote. It will give a plant just about all the extra help it needs, and being dependent on heat for release, when it needs it. Nitrogen run-off from overfeeding is just not a nice thing for the environment, and it's wasteful.

Annuals planted in containers have a very small amount of soil to draw upon for nutrients. I don't care if it's the best "real" soil in the world. When those roots get big enough, as the summer goes on, they will have used up all the nutrients in the soil.

Most of us want flower, flowers, flowers from those annuals in containers. Since they can't get much food from the soil, we have to supply it. I have been using Miracle Gro for 30 years in this manner, with spectacular results. Very large containers, packed with non-stop flowering all summer.

Because they are in containers, it does not affect the environment. As I said earlier, annuals in the ground get Miracle Gro just once a week.

And never on perennials or shrubs or trees because this is not appropriate food for them. It's a high-power boost for a specific type of plant. It isn't good, in my opinion, for promoting the type of healthy, steady growth we want from these other types of plants. For those, I use great soil--mix of topsoil, peat, and my own compost--and one application of 5-10-10 in the spring.

I have used Mir Acid on shrubs as an occasional stimulant in unusual circumstances such as when I had to cut a yew hedge back to 18" after heavy browsing by deer and moose.