Marianne's Response

Questions about Osmocote

I purchased “Osmocote Plus Outdoor & Indoor” for my vegetable, herb & flower gardens. I went to apply it and ran into a couple of problems with which I need help.

The directions on the bottle were for amounts that I knew were just too much from my plants, I need smaller amounts. I searched through the questions here but the answers that came up each time were the same- a link that took me to the product page. I agree with member Ellie1011 mentioned in her post on 05/16/2015 – I need the breakdown chart/table on how to feed plants / pots of different sizes

I need to know how much to apply it to small individual plants. Each plant was transplanted from either a 6 pack or a small 2-3 “individual pot. I planted them 2 1/2 weeks ago so they are still small. They are not close enough to one another to put in an amount such as listed on the Osmocote bottle IE: “XX amount for 4 sq ft” I need to know how to break down the measurement so I can apply the product in appropriate amounts to small individual plants.

Posted by Mya Junkett on May 6, 2016

Marianne's Response

Good for you - it is always important to read and follow the label instructions so you don't over feed your plants. The great thing about Osmocote is that the slow release formula means it is very difficult to over feed even tiny plants if you go by the guidelines and use one teaspoon per plant mixed into the soil. To use the least amount possible (if that is the goal) imagine that a typical annual plant is six inches tall. If your young plants are smaller, use less and if you are fertilizing something larger such as a rose or tomato plant use more. Change the rate based on how much smaller your plants are. So if they are half the size of six inches, use half the amount. I do sympathize with your confusion and will talk to the company about better labeling. Keep growing, Marianne Binetti

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