While you might love that your beautiful hosta plant is low-maintenance to look after, you should feed it fertilizer. This process is essential to nourish the plant to stay healthy and display its beautiful green heart-shaped leaves.
Hostas need a slow-release, balanced fertilizer during the spring, but which one is the best?
The best fertilizer for hostas is Lilly Miller All Purpose Planting And Growing Food 10-10-10. It’s a fertilizer containing 10 percent nitrogen, 10 percent potassium, and 10 percent phosphorus, a vital nutrient balance to support root growth. It also includes minor elements to nourish hosta plants.
The rest of this article explores the four best fertilizers for hostas. Let’s jump right in!
Best Fertilizer for Hostas, Overall Winner: Lilly Miller All Purpose Planting and Growing Food 10-10-10
This Lilly Miller product (available on Amazon.com) is the best fertilizer for hostas as it’s balanced with essential ingredients your hosta needs to thrive, such as potassium, nitrogen, and phosphorus.
It contains natural ingredients that nourish your plant and its soil so your hosta can be healthy. It also includes essential nutrients, such as calcium, that boost hosta growth in smaller quantities.
You may use this granular Lilly Miller fertilizer food every six weeks during the growing season. What’s great about it is that it’s a slow-release formula, so it prevents the risk of fertilizer burn and remains in the plant’s soil for longer to continue nourishing the plant throughout the season.
It provides more nitrogen to your plants than some other fertilizers on the market, so they can grow stronger, thanks to how it blends natural ingredients with traditional plant food. This combination gives plants four different nitrogen sources, making it ideal for your hosta plant if it’s been battling to grow.
Pros
- Highly concentrated: The ingredients in this hosta fertilizer are highly concentrated and get released into the soil quickly. They work fast to nourish your plant.
- Easy application: You don’t have to mix this fertilizer with water before use. It’s granular, so you only have to sprinkle it over the soil. This format makes it easy to apply when required.
- Versatile: This balanced fertilizer works well on all potted flowers and hostas you plant outside in the garden. It’s, therefore, a versatile product to keep in your shed.
Cons
- Not fully organic: While this fertilizer contains natural ingredients, it’s not certified organic. If you’re hoping to steer clear of toxic chemicals when gardening, you’ll want to check out the best organic fertilizer we feature later in this article.
Most Powerful Fertilizer for Hostas: Miracle-Gro Shake ‘N Feed All Purpose Continuous Release
The Miracle-Gro Shake ‘n Feed (available on Amazon.com) is one of the best fertilizers on the market for hostas because it’s suitable for acidic soil conditions. Hostas want an ideal soil pH of 6.5 that’s slightly acidic.
Suppose you live in an area of the U.S. where the soil is acidic, such as Florida or some parts of Oregon. In that case, you’ll appreciate that the manufacturers specially formulated this product for shrubs, trees, and plants that love acidity.
It helps to nourish the plants and enhance your hosta’s green leaves even when soil conditions are not ideal.
This Miracle-Gro fertilizer provides your plants with food for up to three months. You may use this fertilizer on both indoor and outdoor plants.
Pros
- Nourishes soil microbes: This fertilizer doesn’t only provide your hosta with significant nutrients that it needs to thrive, but it also contains ingredients such as feather meal, bone meal, and kelp that nourish microbes in the soil. These are important because they break down organic matter to boost your plant’s root health and improve water usage.
- Beginner-friendly: All you have to do when using this fertilizer is shake it out of the bag over the soil of your hosta plant. You don’t have to mix it with water before use.
- 18-6-12 NPK ratio: This fertilizer gives your plants 18 percent nitrogen, six percent phosphorus, and 12 percent potassium. This ratio is beneficial because hostas require nitrogen when experiencing root and leaf growth, as The American Hosta Society reports.
Cons
- Requires lots of water: This hosta fertilizer must be applied with lots of water to prevent your plants from being burned.
- Might lack the correct ratio: Since it has more nitrogen than other hosta fertilizers on this list, you want to ensure that your soil requires the additional nitrogen before using it. Otherwise, you might be adding too much nitrogen to the ground, which can cause your hosta plant’s leaves to become yellow.
Best for Outdoor Hostas: Southern Ag All Purpose Granular Fertilizer
This hosta fertilizer (available on Amazon.com) is a versatile product that you’ll be able to use on various plants in the garden. It’s packed with a balance of 10 percent nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, so your hosta will get all the nutrition it needs from the formula.
When applying this fertilizer to your hosta plants in a flowerbed, you only need to use one cup per 25 square feet (approximately 2.3 square meters). This widened range of fertilization makes it value for money.
You will require different quantities to nourish other plants in your garden, but you find detailed guidelines on the pack that are easy to follow.
Applying this fertilizer to the soil is simple. You have to broadcast it evenly over the soil and water the ground. This process is easy for beginners and experienced gardeners alike and will allow the fertilizer to penetrate the soil deeply.
Pros
- Uniform formulation: This granular fertilizer has an even consistency. This uniformity ensures that every part of the soil will get the same nutrition so the hosta plant can grow and thrive.
- Contains sulfur and zinc: These two nutrients are essential for your plants because they make the soil more fertile. These vital ingredients encourage healthier plant growth.
- Versatility: You can use this fertilizer in vegetable gardens and flowerbeds. You can also use it to nourish trees and shrubs in the garden. It’s versatile as a result of its balanced formula.
Cons
- Not very affordable: This balanced fertilizer is a bit pricier than other fertilizer brands on the market. It comes in a small five-pound bag.
- Not the best for potted plants: If you’re looking for a fertilizer for your potted hosta plant that you keep indoors because you live in a U.S. state like Arizona or California that gets a lot of sunshine, this fertilizer is not the most suitable. Its directions for use provide information for outdoor applications.
Best Organic Hosta Fertilizer: Burpee Natural Purpose Granular Organic Food for Growing Strong Plants
If you want to use organic fertilizer on your hosta plants, this Burpee fertilizer (available on Amazon.com) is OMRI-listed as organic and doesn’t contain any Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs). It avoids synthetic ingredients to keep your plant and soil health.
You can use this fertilizer on various plants, such as flowers, herbs, vegetables, shrubs, and trees, so it’s value for money and versatile to keep in your home. As with other fertilizers on this list, you can use them on indoor and outdoor plants.
It contains the main ingredients you need for healthy plant growth, such as nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus, and minor nutrients like calcium, sulfur, and magnesium. This product is an all-purpose fertilizer that will keep your plants thriving throughout the season.
It’s especially ideal for growing hostas as it promotes the growth of plants and flowers in containers. It’s worth remembering that all types of hostas grow well in containers and pots.
Pros
- Beneficial microbes: This organic fertilizer contains beneficial microbes to boost the health of your plants and soil and feeds your plant for up to three months. Ohio Online reports that microbes feed plants by recycling the soil’s nutrients, so they’re essential in fertilizer.
- Fine granular consistency: This fertilizer consists of fine granules you can spread evenly over the soil. The fine grains ensure permeability so that the ground absorbs all the vital nutrients for your host plants.
- Long-lasting formula: The manufacturers formulated this fertilizer to nourish your plants while providing long-lasting results. Moreover, it’s a fast-acting fertilizer so you will see immediate results in the soil.
Cons
- Unpleasant smell: This fertilizer has a strong odor. This smell can be unpleasant for some people, primarily when used in large quantities in the home or garden.
- Faulty Ziploc bag: The bag doesn’t always close properly. You should consider transferring the fertilizer into an airtight container to ensure its ingredients remain fresh.
Final Thoughts
If you’re trying to grow a healthy hosta plant, nourishing it with a high-quality fertilizer is essential so that it can be healthy and grow lush green leaves. Your choice of fertilizer is vital to ensure that your hostas thrive. So take your pick of our featured four best fertilizers for hostas.
Whether you’re interested in organic fertilizers, you’re growing hostas indoors, or you want the best fertilizer for outdoor gardening. Your hostas will reward you with abundant leaves and eye-catching seasonal blooms.
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Hi! I’m Sophia, and I love plants – especially an expert in growing house plants. I stay in Chicago, United States of America, and through my blog and social media platforms, provide tips and tricks on how to grow healthy, vibrant plants indoors. Check out more here.