This week, for Plant Tip Tuesday...

Who knows what it means to Top Dress your plants? We’re going to tell you what it is and why it is so very important!

In nature plants grow in the ground and receive nutrients from falling leaves and decomposing insect matter. Plants that are grown in our homes do NOT have this luxury. The nutrients available to the plant are limited to what is available in the container and what we provide for them. It is imperative that these nutrients be replenished as the plant grows.

Top dressing is just as important as a regular fertilizer program. Top Dressing is the process of adding fresh nutritious soil to your plants without having to repot the plant. The majority of houseplants only need to be repotted every couple years but Top Dressing is best done twice a year, in the spring and in the autumn.

Go look at the soil in your plants... it’s okay, we’ll wait. Does it look pale or crusty or lack the components that make for a well-structured potting mix?

To Top Dress:

• Start by taking out some of the existing soil.
• Then, aerate the soil with an aerating tool (or a wooden skewer or chopstick) and gently poke holes into the root ball.
• Next, add the fresh, good quality soil to the container. Ideally some of the soil will fall into the aeration holes.
• Water the plant as usual.
• As the plant is watered nutrients from the new fresh soil will leach down to the roots.