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FEEDING & WATERING

By Mike Pfeiffer
Presented at the February 2009 Society Meeting

Overwatering kills plants. Since Mike is on the coast, he tries not to water at all. He emphasized the importance of knowing your own microclimates. People should get temperature gauges to determine their temperature ranges and treat their plants accordingly.

For example, after the rain we've been having, Mike recommended that anyone with container plants on concrete, brick, or other hard surfaces move them after the rain to let the water out, as well as tilting the pots to allow water to drain. He encouraged people to conserve rainwater, capping the water to keep the oxygen in. The oxygen-rich rainwater is great for plants.

How can people tell when it's time to water their Plumerias?

Mike looks top-down. Feel the plant all the way down. See if it has a lime green top with little red claws. If there are little red claws, Mike always checks cuttings to see if they have roots. Plumerias have fibrous feeding roots. He adds bark, mulch, lava rock to convserve water, which has the added benefit of cutting down on pests. Mike likes to see 2- to-3-inch leaves on his plants before he'll water. For fertilizer, Mike uses a water-soluble solution, not granules. He fills huge trash cans and waters from there.

At the beginning of the season, Mike uses a hydrosprayer to give all the plants a Hawaiian Shower - he makes a solution of one drop of liquid dishwashing detergent to 1/2 gallon of water, sprays it on his plants, and lets it sit for 45 minutes. This seems to repel bugs and rust. Mike recommends doing it early and keeping the plants clean. After rinsing the solution off the plants, he uses Superthrive and Triple-16 from Gro-More.

For maintenance, every 1-2 waterings, he adds Seaweed to plants. If he's feeling lazy, he would use a 10-30-10 or a 15-30-15 granule, but he would not go over 30 for the middle (the phosphorus of nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium). For inflows when he's lazy, he would use an orchid food, 6-30-30.

The most important thing is to not water Plumerias too much.

Q&A WITH MIKE

Q. How many times does Mike do the detergent cycle a year?
A. Twice. Once at the beginning, once after the first cycle of blooms. The second time he only lets the detergent sit on the plant for 15 minutes.

Q. What kind of detergent does Mike use?
A. Orange, not lemon. :)

Q. Does Mike avoid running a detergent cycle in bright sunlight?
A. Yes. He gives them a Hawaiian Shower and does it first thing in the morning.

Q. What kind of soil does Mike use?
A. He used to use 50 percent Nutro-Gro, 50 percent Perlite, but now he’s going to a 40/60 Perlite solution.

Q. How often does Mike fertilize?
A. Every 3-4 weeks.

Q. Does Mike mix Superthrive with fertilizers?
A. No, he does not. He’ll use Superthrive with a little 16-16-16. In general, he recommends using 1/2 the amount of fertilizer the package states. Grow-Power is a super granular formula.

Q. Ever use hydrogen peroxide?
A. No, all water in San Diego has chlorine.