Evening star., 1953-11-29

mended kinds and amounts, but
still the roses did not grow as
they did in the other beds and
blackspot always seemed to be
prevalent. Why?
That was the $64 question,
and, like most of them, it wasn't
easy to answer. Today, as new
bushes were being planted, deep
ly dug holes revealed the an
swer. In the bottom of the bed
were elm roots, big ones, an inch
and a half in diameter. Obvi-
ously, the fertilizer applied had
been greedily taken up by the
elm roots and the roses were
undernourished and unable to
either grow or Withstand dis
ease.
The feeding of lawns. roses, or
shrubbery should take into con-
Sideration the demands being
made. Grass underneath a trees
spreading branches obviously
needs more fertilizer than that
growing in the open away from
competing roots. The azaleas,
rhododendronS and other plants
growing in the shady garden
have to compete with many root
systems for food and moisture.
Where these problems exist, one
may meet them with regular
monthly feelings late in the
summer.
'FoIior' Foods Help
Slow-acting plant food, such
as bonemeal. can also be lost
to competing roots Where
plants are in constant compe-
tition for food and moisture
they need extra attention. Per-
hapS under the circumstances
the use Of "foliar fertilizers
soluble plant food that may be
applied to the foliage as spray
is the answer. However, the per
unit coat of plant food in these
mixtures is high because they
contain special materials which.
unlike the usual commercial
FERTILIZER, do not require bacteria
action to convert them to a
form which can be absorbed by
plants.
Perhaps a more practical solu-
ton can be had by regular ap-
pllcation Of a starter solution"
soluble plant food applied to
the soil about the plants. These
materials. usually high in anaIy-
Sis, do not contain filters. go into
solution readily and, when ap-
plled at the recommended
strength. are safe. The value
OF this method should be obvious
III the plants make normal
growth 1t will indicate they are
getting sufficient food.
Bonemeal is often recon-
mended as plant food that will
keep the plants supplied
throughout the season. This is
bit misleading since bonemeal
contains only small amount
OF Nitrogen, is mostly phosphate
and calcium. None of these
plant foods are available until
"oroken down" by bacteria ac-
ton. Thus bonemeal should be
mixed with compost or oeatmoss
and Kept moist to speed the de-
cay. But even this is sloW-per-
haps as long as six months be-
fore the food elements are avail
able to the plants. OF course. if
applied regularly each season
the plants will receive the nu-
TRENT elements after bacteria
action is once we'll started. Thus
the surface application of bone
meal as a nutrient for lawns is
of doubtful economy.
Choice Is Not Eosy
The choice of a fertilizer brand
Is not easy because of the many
kinds Of materials which may be
used in their formulation. There
are a number of forms of nitro
gen, for example, some of which
are instantly soluble, awhile
others may not be available to
the plants until after bacteria
or soil action. Obviously, fer
tilizer containing only the highly
soluable forms of nitrogen is
potent material and likely to
burn the foliage or roots if not
brushed or washed off immedi-
ately after applying. Quickly
soluable nitrogen can be washed
out of the soil by heavy rain.
A desirable formulation would
consist of a combination of sew
eral kinds, some Immediately
available. others that will not
be in form to be taken up by
the plants for various lengths of
time. In this way food will reach
the plants over a considerable
period of time.
Manure has long been looked
upon as an ideal plant food
Studies made of the constituent
materials indicate that the
actual fertilizer content is rela-
lively small and that some other
values are provided which pro-
duce the growth results. Un-
doubtedly one of these values is
the trace elements" - those
minute elements so necessary
for the growth processes. Only
a limited amount of information
about them is available.
Copper, boron. zinc, manga
nese, magnesium and many
others may play a part in the
growth processes of plants. What
is needed. how much, and in
what form is being studied by
many agencies, and the fertilizer
mixtures will be modified ac-
cordingly. Until then the
gardener might well do a bit of
experimenting. Maryland has
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