Fertilizers and Compost

Last year I had poor flowering on several mature plants that should have been much showier. 

The Rose of Sharon in particular bloomed sparsely, and the butterfly bushes weren't great. 

The caryopteris in front (which might be in too much shade) looked skimpy. 

Major Wheeler honeysuckle (also in too much shade perhaps) didn't produce much and I never even got a photo of it last spring.

The Venosa violacae clematis has always been spindly and it produces only a few blooms, even after six years in my garden.

Other plants were better -- the Cascade rose and the Kintzley's Ghost plants flowered well enough. The peony is okay, it had brief blooms. Sweet Summer Love clematis bloomed well.

I did rejuvenate prune the caryopteris and butterfly bushes this winter but I want to figure out how to get better flowering on the Rose of Sharon, the clematis and the Major Wheeler honeysuckle. 

I applied bloom booster fertilizer on most everything last year: water soluble fast acting Tiger Bloom 2-8-4 and Jack's 10-30-20, so they were both lower nitrogen fertilizers with higher phosphorous. Apparently New Mexico soils are usually ok for potassium but the phosphorus is locked up and often unavailable.

Nitrogen contributes to overall growth and foliage. 

Phosphorous supports roots and blooms. 

Potassium assures disease resistance and hardiness.

I do notice when I dig up a newer plant the root development is always poor. And it takes three or four years for my new plantings to grow at all. So I need to keep using the bloom and root booster fertilizers I guess.

4 pound bag

** But extra water and high phosphorous fertilizer did nothing for the mature Rose of Sharon.

This year I'll try this:

Dr. Earth Exotic Blend (for hibiscus) granular fertilizer. It is highest in potassium, low in phosphorous, with medium nitrogen. NPK 5-4-6.

Most sources give generic plant advice for Rose of Sharon to apply a balanced fertilizer 10-10-10 and add compost. But a couple sources have said that hibiscus, both the tropical and the hardy althea, wants higher potassium. So I'll try it.

And the delphiniums in the dining room window garden want high potassium too. Use this on those plants as well.

Also, I did some tip pruning on the Rose of Sharon this winter -- to create fuller branching.

The caryopteris and the Major Wheeler honeysuckle both need more sun, though.

(Yes, I should get a soil test done. The extension office is nearby at the fairgrounds, easy to get to. I just need to get the forms and dig up the dirt to do the test. But the test doesn't address a specific need, like that of hibiscus needing higher potassium than most plants, does it?)

Why doesn't mine look like this, planted at Newman's parking lot ---