This Is Like Vitamins For Humans!

Fertilizer works by manipulating three basic ingredients, nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (N-P-K) the three numbers that appear on all fertilizer packages. Depending on the amounts of each of these ingredients, fertilizers can cause plants to grow more leaves, set more fruit, or produce more flowers.

Although water plants are a lot like perennials, their watery growing conditions can impact the way they take in, process. and use fertilizer. Certain fertilizer components, and certain types of fertilizers, are less effective when used in the pond. Knowing these important distinctions will help gardeners grow better, stronger, and healthier plants.

Nitrogen

The first ingredient listed on bags of fertilizer is N, which stands for nitrogen. Nitrogen is used by plants to produce green growth and healthy foliage. Summer grass food always has a high concentration of nitrogen, in order to promote lush, full, green lawns.

Nitrogen is produced in ponds as part of the natural nitrogen cycle, in which ammonia from fish waste breaks down into nitrite, which is converted to nitrate, which plants absorb. Generally, water plants grow better if their fertilizer contains a certain amount of nitrogen, even though they may also find nitrogen in the water. Plants are usually better able to take up the form of nitrogen found in the soil than that found in pond water.

Phosphorus

The Second ingredient listed for fertilizer is P, which stands for phosphorus and is found in phosphate. This is the ingredient that plants need most to bloom. Miracle-Gro Bloom Booster is listed as 10-52-10. The 52 means that it is high in phosphorous so plants produce lots of flowers.

The amounts of phosphorus and nitrogen are related. Plants need one phosphorus atom to use seven nitrogen atoms. Without enough phosphorus, they are unable to assimilate and use nitrogen. Not having enough phosphorus can slow a plant's growth. A form of phosphorus called calcium phosphate, which some municipalities add to buffer their water in order to protect pipes- may promote dreaded sting algae than it is by pond plants, meaning it will help string algae grow but do little for pond plants.

Potassium

The third ingredient listed on a box of fertilizer is K, which stands for potassium and is found in potash. It is the all around food necessary for plants fitness and strength. It is the "Special K"- the stuff that makes a plant body strong. Plants use potassium to develop roots, store energy, and build cells.

Pond water naturally contains a certain amount of potassium. Many creatures in the pond, both single cell and multicell, use potassium to live and grow. Although plants may be able to absorb potassium directly from the water, they will get a big boost from having it in their fertilizer, too.

Micronutrients

Besides the three main building blocks for good plant health, micronutrients also play an important role. Called "trace elements" because plants need them only in small amounts, they include calcium, magnesium, and sulfur, as well as iron, manganese, copper, zinc, and boron. These trace elements aid plants with photosynthesis, chlorophyll production, vitamin production, and many other important functions.

Most plants, including water plants, require soil and water pH to range between 6.5 and 8.5 in order to be able to absorb micronutrients properly. For water plants, the pH level of the water can drastically impact the pH value of the soil in which plants are potted. Water that is very acid or alkaline can change the pH reading of soil in the water. A few plants need to be in soil that is slightly more acidic (pH 6.5), such as pitcher plants, but most water plants are highly adaptable and are able to absorb fertilizer in a wide range of pH levels.

Pond water usually contains many of the micronutrients that water plants need and relish, but may not have all of them. Having micronutrients included in the fertilizer is always helpful. If you think your water may be high in a certain ingredient, have the local water authorities check it. Or you can also check it yourself using a water test kick. Which can be purchased at most retailers.
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Kinds Of Fertilizer

Whatever the kind of fertilizer, make sure to check the label. Pay attention to the ratio of N, P, and K that it contains. Whether a fertilizer if for perennials or specially designed for water plants, using a lower ratio, such as 6-6-6, more often is always better than using a higher ratio, such as 20-20-20, less often. A higher ration can burn a plant's roots, causing more harm than good. A fertilizer that has a roughly equivalent ratio of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium is usually best for feeding plants from spring through fall.

Liquid Fertilizers that are already in liquid form are a big for gardeners that grow houseplants. Just add a teaspoon to a gallon of water and use it to water all the plants in the house. Liquid fertilizers can be a big problem for water gardeners. The liquid can quickly leach into the pond, feeding an algae bloom instead of a waterlily bloom. After all, algae is a plant, too, and it appreciates a fertilizer boost just as much as the water plants. Using a liquid fertilizer in the pond to feed only the plants and not the algae is virtually impossible. For container ponds, however, where plants like papyrus or lotus are the only inhabitants of a crock or a tub, liquid fertilizer is great. If you decide to use a liquid fertilizer, check its list of ingredients to be sure it has all three nutrients, N, P, and K. Some liquid fertilizers contain mostly potassium (K) and maybe some iron, but little else. Take the water plants out of the pond and keep them in a separate holding tank. Once they have had a day or two to take up the nutrients in the fertilized water, rinse them and return them to the pond. This method is very useful for feeding water Hyacinth and water lettuce without affecting the pond water. If your water hyacinths never bloom, this will give them extra lift they need to flower.	Water Soluble Some fertilizers look like they are granular but are classified as water soluble. They are often applied as foliar fertilizers after being mixed with water, they are sprayed onto the leaves where they are absorbed directly. Foliar fertilizers are wonderful for rose beds or vegetable gardens. They can be disastrous on a water garden. A water soluble fertilizer is simply a dehydrated form of liquid fertilizer( like gelatin in a box before you add water to make Jello-O). Once you add it to water, it becomes a liquid fertilizer that will promote algae growth more than any water plant growth. So this would not be good to fertilize pond plants with. ( Pictures of these products are just examples.)
Granular Fertilizer in granular form has the consistency of sugar. In chemical terms, granulated fertilizer is made up of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potash in salt form. These salts are mixed with a carrier so that they form little tiny pearls. The carrier is an inert ingredient that holds the fertilizer until it is released for the plants use. Gypsum is the most common carrier but clay is also used. One way to use granulated fertilizer is to measure it out and mix it with the soil when the plants are potted. After several weeks, more fertilizer can be added in small doses. It can also be wrapped into a piece of paper and then pushed into the soil, much like a tablet of fertilizer. To avoid worrying about dissolving paper in the soil, simply make a hole in the soil with your finger, and push the soil back over to cover the hole, but you need to lift the pots out of the pond to do this.	Tablets A very popular form of fertilizer for water plants is a tablet than can be pushed into the soil. Like granulated fertilizer, these tablets are made up of fertilizer salts that are bound onto a carrier. Tablets are useful because they afford water gardeners more control over the amount and frequency of the fertilizer. You can feed certain plants but not others, or feed less often in spring and fall and more often in the heat of the summer. If you have a section of your pond with plants grown especially for filter water, denying them fertilizer can "force" them to rely on the nitrogen and other nutrients in the water. Pondtabbs, for example, uses bentonite clay as a carrier which dissolves in water almost instantly. Tablet forms of fertilizer that are intended for use in the perennial garden many not be suitable for the water garden. Some use a carrier that can leave behind a residue in the soil. This is not so much of a problem when the fertilizer is used for a terrestrial plant, like a rose or a geranium, but when the fertilizer is used for a water plant, the carrier may not break down completely. Some fertilizers leave behind a carrier that can make a hard like ball in the soil, and can also add more little rocks.
Time-Release Fertilizer Some fertilizers are designed to release gradually over a period of several weeks and are called "time release." For perennial, trees, and shrubs, these fertilizers fertilizers are often activated by moisture and release their fertilizer in small doses every time it rains or you turn on your sprinklers. For water plants, these types of time-release fertilizers will not be effective at all-out them in water and they release all their fertilizer in just a few days.	Jobes Tomatoe Spikes These spikes work really well for your waterlilies. You will want to stick them into the pot, three is best if they are little spikes and do this spring and fall. Or if you are not getting bloom you can do more often.

Desertwatergardens, will also sell fertilizer sticks that are much bigger, they will break them in half and put two in a pot spring and fall.

Fertilizing With Green Water!

Although most people probably do not care for a pond full of green water, water plants see it differently. That bright green means that pea-soup algae is busy munching away at the nitrogen in the water, and the water plants will not waste any time joining in the banquet. They may have to work hard to convert the nitrogen, though. Studies appear to show that water plants need more energy to convert nitrogen directly from the water than they do to use nitrogen found in the soil. Some exceptional plants have adapted to taking nitrogen directly from the water. Floating water plants such as water Hyacinth and water lettuce are adept to absorbing nitrogen as their roots dangle in the water. Submerged water plants absorb nitrogen directly through their leaves as well as their roots. Letting the pond water turn green is not the best way to promote healthy water plant growth, Algae acts much like weeds in a garden. It ties up the nutrients and shades the pond, and the shade can kill submerged plants.

The same caution applies to the adage that you can "let your fish feed your plants." It is true that fish produce nitrogen in the ammonia that they excrete. In fact, the higher the protein content of their food, the more ammonia they add to the pond, which is why cheaper fish food and bulk" trout chow," both of which are high in protein, increase the ammonia load in the pond. Beneficial bacteria break down the ammonia to nitrite to nitrate, turning one form of nitrogen into another. Plants are then able to convert the nitrate to help them grow. It is not a one-for-one equation, though, one fish does not feed one lily. For the fish to feed the plants, the pond would need an awful lot of fish. And an awful lot of very green water. Meanwhile, the risk of ammonia toxicity to the fish would be infinitely greater than any benefit to the pond plants. The water would be too green to ever allow sight of the fish anyway. Better to invest a few dollars in a good plant fertilizer and keep the water clean and clear for the fish.