Do I fertilize my flower garden now and if I do, with what?

I'm in Zone 4, and it's too late to use chemical fertilizers here. Plants need to be moving carbohydrates downward into the roots now, and fertilizing (and pruning) will signal the plant to send carbs. upward. This can make many plant significantly less winter-hardy. Organic fertilizers, and compost can be applied now however, and will be ready for the plants to uptake when they begin to grow in the spring.
Do I fertilize my flower garden now and if I do, with what?
standard 6-8-6 fert is ok, or use a 20-20-20 if you want to give it a real kick...



no miracle grow, someone keeps posting that. lol.
Reply:You don't say where you are, so we don't know if you're dealing with a winter-kill zone or not. If you're in the "low zones" (6-1), it's best to save any feeding for the spring at this point. Compost and clippings and natural mulches are OK now, though, as someone else said.

Depending on what kind of flower garden you have, a top-dress organic fertilizer or watering with Miracle-Grow in the spring works fine for perennials. For annual flowers, we use compost from the kitchen and the chicken house (well rotted) worked deep before planting, then Miracle Grow or Peter's if needed later in the season.
Reply:You could apply a light dose of any 10 - 10 - 10 type feed ...( the numbers refer to the amounts of minerals etc in the fertilizer ) ask about it , when you buy it ... Don't go crazy with the feed .. I usually don't reccommend feeding after August 1 , but if you didn't put any on in spring, a bit will help now .. ( you don't want to do anything to stimulate growth this late, as the new growth will still be tender , come winter , and will just be winter killed )

The best time to feed is spring ; I usually hit everything with a good dose as soon as the snow is gone, and the again, as the plants are setting buds for flowers , for an extra boost of blooms...
Reply:Compost is the best way to go...old grass clippings , kitchen waste, leaves and so on
Reply:Use Espoma plant tone. It's organic, safe, and slow-acting.
Reply:you could but it's a little late. You can buy fertilizer for your specific flowers.
Reply:use miracle grow!its safe and wont burn anything!