The Best Fertilizer to Use for Lantana

Q. What is the best fertilizer to use on Lantana?  I have yellow and purple and the yellow just never seems to keep the flowers long in the summertime, they come and go and do no not look very vibrant.  I am afraid of some of the fertilizers after too much fertilizer wiped out some other plants of mine in the past. Is there such a thing a a mild fertilizer to use? 

Yellow lantana flowers

A. For pushing new growth you want something high in nitrogen. For flowering, you need something high in phosphorus. For overall plant health potassium is good. For "mild" fertilizers use fertilizers with smaller numbers or slow release fertilizers.

Even though some of the numbers are fairly high, this is a relatively "mild" fertilizer because the first number, nitrogen, is low. Fertilizers with a high first number can be damaging to plants if too much is used. This fertilizer is called a starter fertilizer because it is high in the middle number, phosphorus, which stimulates root growth, important for new transplants and seedlings. This fertilizer blend is $18 for 15 pounds.

So if you are looking for an inexpensive fertilizer something like a 16 – 16 – 16 is okay or 20 – 20 – 20 or anything with all three numbers the same.

 

This is a water-soluble 20-20-20 intended to be an all-purpose fertilizer that promotes leaf and stem growth, flowering, rooting and overall health. This 5 pound bag sells for $9.80. Compare that price with MiracleGro, also a water-soluble fertilizer.

Another option is to use straight compost but you have to use a lot of it compared to a fertilizer. The fertilizers I mentioned, probably one handful of fertilizer is all you will need and water it in heavily. You can also use water soluble fertilizers like miracle grow or peters. You mix the fertilizer in a bucket of water and pour it around the plants.

Viragrow compost is rich in nutrients and microorganisms. It can be used as a fertilizer around fruit trees, ornamental trees, shrubs and even your lawn. You will never see a darker green color for a lawn then you well when applying compost as a fertilizer. Bulk viragrow compost sells for $43 for cubic yard. It is also available in one cubic foot bags for $2.50.

With compost you would probably apply one fourth to a half of a cubic foot bag and water it in. The compost or composted manures will give you the best results. The fertilizers I mentioned will also work very well. So it is your choice which you want to use. 

Compost can be applied directly on top of wood or rock mulch and watered in with a hose. Compost not only feeds the plants nutrients but also improves the soil. With desert soils that is extremely important.

But I am talking compost, not a soil mix. They are totally different. You can get bags of compost for about $2.50 for one cubic foot bag at Viragrow in North Las Vegas. Soil mixes you can get anywhere. Fertilizers that work you can get anywhere.

Viragrow Delivers!