Is Hollytone my hero? Perhaps.
Written: Jun 03 '08
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Organic, provides a lot of nutrients specific to acid loving plants.
Cons: None.
The Bottom Line: Read the review
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| laura10801's Full Review: Hollytone 10lb |
My poor rhododendrons have been traumatized! I naively had them moved to a spot that is really not rhododendron friendly. It is at the top of a hill and, it turns out, that particular site has virtually no nutrients (I found this out from a soil test done after I had already moved them).
Oh the guilt and the shame! These are huge rhodos and they were withering before my eyes! As soon as I found out that they were getting no nutrition I ran out and bought a 10 pound bag of Hollytone, from the ubiquitous Espoma Company. Espoma makes a lot of different soil amendments and has been around for as long as I can remember. Every self-respecting garden center I've ever been to carries something from the Espoma line of products. Espoma is well known to produce organic products and has done so long before green meant anything other than a color.
Hollytone is made specifically for acid loving plants. It is supposed to lower soil pH and add essential nutrients to the soil. Hollytone is rated 4-6-4, which has to do with the amount of Nitrogen, Phosphate, and Potash it brings to the soil. All fertilizers carry a rating of these specific nutrients and it is your job to know what your plants needs, or to find someone to tell you what your plants need. I am told this is a very good balance for my rhododendrons.
Espoma.com, the website for Hollytone and other products in their line thoughtfully provides a partial list of acid loving plants, I was quite surprised at how vast this partial list is: Amaryllis, Andromeda, Aster, Azalea, Bayberry, Bleedingheart, Blueberry, Camelia, Dogwood, Evergreen, Fern, Fir, Gardenia, Heath, Heather, Hemlock, Holly, Huckelberry, Hydrangea, Inkberry, Juniper, Leucothoe, Lily-of-the-Valley, Lupine, Magnolia, Marigold, Mountain-ash, Mountain-laurel, Oak, Pachysandra, Phlox, Pieris, Pine, Raspberry, Rhododendron, Spruce, Strawberry, Whitecedar, Woodsorel. Impressive, don't you think?
Hollytone comes in 5, 10, 25, and 50 lb. bags. I used the 10 lb bag to treat the soil around 5 rhododendrons, 2 hydrangea, 3 azaleas, and 1 Andromeda shrub. Most of the shrubs were located fairly close to each other, but about 3 of them were in different, more healthful locations. I had about 1/3 of the bag left.
Here are the instructions for use:
"1 pound equals approx. 3 cupfuls
Note:
Azaleas, rhododendrons and laurel are shallow rooted plants. Keep them mulched and well watered in dry weather. Do not cultivate near them as surface roots may be cut and the plant damaged.
Planting
Dig hole larger than root of plant so that roots can spread naturally. Discard 1/3 of the soil removed and replace it with good humus. Add 1 cup of Holly-tone and mix thoroughly into planting soil.
Feeding
Established acid-loving plants should be fed twice yearly, spring and late fall. Sprinkle Holly-tone around like adding salt and pepper to food. If the area to be fed is mulched it is preferable to remove the mulch, feed, and then restore the mulch on top of the application of plant food. If this is not possible, double all recommended feeding rates.
Spring
Trees:
1 lb. (or 3 cups) of Holly-tone per inch of trunk diameter. Triple the quantity for diameters 3 inches and over.
Shrubs:
1 cupful of Holly-tone per foot of branch spread. Double the quantity if branch spread is 3 feet or larger.
Beds:
Preparation of new bed - mix 10 lbs. of Holly-tone per 100 square feet (or 1 cupful per 3 sq. feet of area) and incorporate into the top four or five inches of soil. Feed established beds 5 lbs. of Holly-tone per 100 square feet (or 1/4 cup per plant).
Fall
The plants should be given a light feeding in the late fall. Use 1/2 the quantities recommended for spring."
I cannot explain why, but I found these simple instructions intimidating. Perhaps it is because I was so shaken by the fact that my rhododendrons were dying before my eyes. I did my best to follow the instructions exactly; I then fortified the fertilizer with sulfur to further acidify the soil (especially around the hydrangeas, which need acid soil to produce blue flowers, instead of pink flowers). The final icing on the cake was to mulch with compost (the ultimate soil conditioner), and to water everything like mad.
I had no hope of seeing anything bloom on my pathetic rhodos. I just wanted to nurse them back to health so that some day they might bloom again. Lo and behold, 2 months later the rhododendrons are blooming! They aren't smothered in blooms, but I'm thrilled to see them produce anything at all! Not only that, my Endless Summer hydrangea, which I negatively reviewed last month here: Endless Summer Hydrangea has left me feeling inadequate , is looking kind of perky, and has the beginnings of flowers on it!
So why are things looking so much better for my shrubs? Is it because of Hollytone? Is it because of all the other things I am doing to revive my shrubs? I like to think it is a combination of all these things. Hollytone has been around for a long time and I honestly don't think it would still be as popular as it is unless it worked. It contains wonderful organic ingredients: Dehydrated Manure, Feather Meal, Crab Meal, Cocoa Meal, Corn Gluten, Bone Meal, Sunflower Meal, Kelp Meal, Alfalfa Meal, GreenSand, Rock Phosphate, Sulfate of Potash, Sulfate of Potash Magnesia, Blood Meal, Humates, Ammonium Sulfate, and Triple Super Phosphate, which are not only feed the plants, but improve the soil.
I plan to follow the directions to fertilize again come autumn, and I will probably mulch with compost again after the first couple of frosts. If anyone has advice on what else I can do to help my plants, I welcome it.
Recommended:
Yes
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laura10801
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Member: Laura
Location: Somewhere over the rainbow
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About Me:
A patient asked if I ever have problems.
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