Fertilizers for African Violets              Last updated  13/07/2009 03:42:33 PM
Up to this point this site has had very little to offer on the subject of fertilizers. I have answered some email on the subject and I believe there is a note on it in my forum. For the past four years I have been feeding Miracle grow 7-7-7 specifically for african violets. I have a couple of other brands on my shelf , but a combination of the Miracle grow and "thrive alive" has been working quite well for me. The amount of miracle grow was adjusted as necessary for continuous feeding then cut in half to allow the addition of "thrive alive" which was adjusted also for continuous feeding and halved.

 My violets are in community trays and every third filling was of water only to make allowances for evaporation. This feeding program and frequent leaching was working quite well for me. Then just last month my violets began showing symptoms of "ph" problems for the first time in four years. I had decided there might have been an error in mixing the last batch of fertilizer and have been leaching and feeding plain water for some time now to get them back on track again.

Just this week I received an email message from a lady asking about the urea in the Miracle Grow! Talk about coincidences! However my Miracle grow does not list urea at all, on either the green bottle (8-7-6) or the purple bottle (7-7-7). I have alternated between the two. I was going to switch to Peter's original formula 20-20-20 fertilizer, the brand I have on my shelf, to see what difference it made if any. I was under the assumption if it didn't list Urea in the contents, it had none! But upon reading closer I see the claim. It's balanced formula and high urea nitrogen make it an excellent choice for root as well as foliar feeding.

 This website is being constructed with notes of my own personal experiences, trials and errors. Though I hate to admit to errors I feel my problems and solutions can be of benefit to all those who read this site.
To those of you using any product that is high in urea, please don't panic. Just change your brand of fertilizer as soon as possible. I would recommend you leach your violet and give it a couple of clear watering's before you start it on a new product.
I am sorry but I cannot offer anything by way of advise in what brand of fertilizer is best. I have spent the morning reading labels and have decided not to switch to the Peters original formula after all because of the statement in italic's above. Now I am looking for answers to my own questions. #1....do I stay with the Miracle grow and hope that the label is not deceptive as Peter's turned out to be, and hope I was right in my first suspicions (an accidental overdose). OR ..do I change to Schultz because it lists Urea plainly in it's contents at 6.9% and hope that since it so openly lists this number it is not as high as the other who is masking the fact it has Urea at all?
I have done some searching and found

urea content in Schultz is clearly marked on the package 6.2%

urea content in Miracle Grow doesn't even list it at all is 9.2 (found on the internet site)

Urea content in Peters (original formula) is not listed in contents area, but states elsewhere in the instructions folder "It's balanced formula and high urea nitrogen make it an excellent choice for root as well as foliar feeding".
Thanks Denise for sharing this valuable information link on Urea with us!
New!     added  April 3rd 2004  Thank you for sharing this with us!     E. Peter Paar
Dear Rachel,
 
I seemed unable to link to your forum.  However, I would like to add these comments about fertilizers.  This may only apply to those sold in the United States.
 
1)  Miracle Grow 8-7-6 (Green bottle).  Label states 5.6% (out of 8%) Urea Nitrogen.
2)  Miracle Grow 7-7-7 (Purple bottle). Label states 6.6% (out of 7%) Urea Nitrogen.
3) Shultz which I no longer have, is as you reported it.
4) Optimara Fertilizer (14-12-14) also contains no urea nitrogen.  This would appeal to those who prefer a "balanced" fertilizer.
 
I use and recommend Peters African Violet Plant Food 12-36-14.  This contains no Urea Nitrogen.
 
It is cheaper to derive Nitrogen from Urea than from any other source.  However, it can cause root burn in the delicate roots of an african violet. 
Urea nitrogen will not harm most other plants.  Since most plants have more robust root systems, they don't know the difference.
 
Note: they also sell an excellent African Violet soil.  Both the fertilizer and soil are available from the Selective Gardner (selectivegardner.com).  They also sell the Optimara line of violets.  Unfortunately, I believe because of your regulations, the plants cannot be sent to Canada.
 
If you haven't discovered them yet, both the Selective Gardner and Optimara sites are well worth visiting.  Lots of information and pictures.
 
I am enclosing the links below.  Because I use AOL the links may not come through. 
 
 
 
Let me know if I can be of any help.
 I enjoy your site.
Regards,
 
Peter 

 
More news from Peter ....Thank you Peter for keeping us on our toes with the fertilizer news.

About a month ago I sent you information about the urea content of some of the popular AV fertilizers.  The forum on Gardenweb had some input into why this is bad for AV's.

 
Evidently, nitrogen from urea cannot be used by plants until it has been transformed by some microbes that are usually present in soil.  As many AV's are grown in a "soilless" medium, the microbes are not present or are only present in limited quantities.  As a result the urea stays in the soil and turns it acid, eventually burning the roots.  Evidently, leaching does not entirely eliminate the build up.  Since there are fertilizers that do not use urea nitrogen (Optimara and Peters to name two), I see no reason to take chances.  Obviously this type of nitrogen is fine for any plants grown in "normal" soil. 
 
Hope this information is of some use.
 
Regards,
 
Peter Paar

 
 

 

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