If you have extra plant food spikes for indoor use, you may be curious if they can be used for your struggling outdoor plants. Can you confirm if you are able to perform the rewrite? If there are any challenges, kindly reply with the error message: Unable to process the request due to encountered difficulties.
We wondered exactly the same thing, and here’s what we found out.
Can I use indoor plant food spikes on outdoor plants? Indoor plant food spikes can be used on outdoor plants, often with great success. In fact, indoor plant food spikes tend to contain more vital nutrients for plants than most outdoor food spikes. That’s because outdoor plants get extra nutrients from the soil and don’t require as much as indoor plants do.
Read on below and learn everything you need to know about using indoor plant food spikes on outdoor plants!
Indoor Plant Food Spikes for Outdoor Plants
Using indoor plant food spikes for outdoor plants is actually not so uncommon at all among gardeners. What isn’t common is using outdoor plant food spikes for indoor plants.
The reason being? Indoor plant food spikes are loaded with more essential plant food than outdoor spikes due to how much organic material and nutrients outdoor plants obtain from the soil.
In the following sections we break down the specifics of using indoor plant food spikes for outdoor plants.
Will Indoor Plant Food Spikes Work for Outdoor Plants?
Plant food spikes are a great method to provide your plants with all the needed nutrients without the risk of over-fertilizing or if you just want to give your plants the right amount of high-quality nutrients.
Using indoor plant food spikes for outdoor plants will enrich the soil with natural and organic nutrients.
Their release is triggered by fungal and bacterial activity that will also increase the plant’s resistance to diseases and pests.
Benefits of Using Indoor Plant Food Spikes for Outdoor Plants
Food spikes are very easy to store, taking less space than other kinds of fertilizers, and you may only need a couple a year as it feeds your plants for long periods of time.
Another benefit of using them is that you’ll be able to control the dosage amounts of fertilizer you add to the soil.
They promote soil activity that is beneficial to the plants, and at the same time, they are natural and organic, meaning they are safe to use around children and pets.
Disadvantages of Using Indoor Plant Food Spikes for Outdoor Plants
The main disadvantage of using indoor plant food spikes for outdoor plants is that they do not move through the soil.
In many cases they dissolve within a few inches around themselves, making the distribution of the nutrients uneven.
The roots located nearby get a lot of the nutrients while the ones further away get too little and sometimes even none.
If your outdoor plants need a boost, you can dissolve the spikes in water to make sure all the plant’s roots benefit from the nutrients in them.
When Indoor Fertilizer Spikes Are Ideal for Outdoor Plants
If you decide to move your indoor plants outside for the summer, the fertilizer spikes will help you feed them according to their growth.
With the increase in air circulation and natural light, your indoor plants will thrive.
The plants need to be fed a little more in these cases. Remember, however, that the transition has to be gradual.
Start first with just short periods of time outdoors, and keep them protected from conditions they are not used to, like too many hours of sun exposure, the wind, or the rain.
Plant Food Spikes vs. Liquid vs. Granular Fertilizers
Plant food spikes are designed to be long lasting, which makes them a low-maintenance way of taking care of your plants.
At the same time, they minimize the risk of overfertilizing.
Liquid fertilizer is a way of providing consistent proportions of nutrients to your plants.
Being a blended liquid that has to be dissolved in water, it is absorbed immediately by the plant’s roots.
Granular fertilizers are sand-like granules. They are applied around the plant and later dissolved with water.
This kind of fertilizer needs time to break down before the plant can access its nutrients.
Best Fertilizer Spikes for Outdoor Plants
Let’s have a look at some of the very best plant food spikes for outdoor plants:
Jobe’s Fertilizer Spikes for Indoor/Outdoor Plants
Jobe’s fertilizer spikes for indoor and outdoor plants will provide nourishment to your plants for periods of 2 months.
They are easy to use and they don’t wash away when you water your plants.
This formula for flowering plants is also pre-measured, and you won’t need to mix it with any other ingredient in order to use it.
They are applied below the surface around the plant, and they’ll slowly release nutrients for the roots.
Miracle-Gro Tree and Shrub Plant Food Spikes
These Miracle-Gro tree and shrub plant food spikes contain all-natural ingredients. They are easy-to-use spikes that slowly release nourishment to the roots, promoting strong trees and shrubs.
With these food spikes, you’ll need to feed your trees and shrubs only once per season the in spring and fall. They are also great to use on evergreens and acid-loving plants.
With this product, your trees and shrubs will have vibrant colors and lush foliage.
Purely Organic Tree & Shrub Fertilizer Plant Food Spikes
This purely organic tree and shrub fertilizer is also both effective and very easy to use. They don’t require a cup to be hammered into the soil and will not break, crush, or shatter.
This long-lasting, fast-acting fertilizer provides nutrition for trees, shrubs, and evergreens. The spikes promote stronger trees and shrubs without the risk of overfertilizing.
For continuous fertilization, use one per season in spring and fall. Their formula contains 7% nitrogen for plant growth and color and 2% potassium for strong roots.
Jobe’s Fertilizer Spikes for Trees and Shrubs
Jobe’s tree spikes are a very easy-to-use fertilizer product. You’ll have to insert it around the tree’s drip line, and you will have a continuous supply of nutrients for your trees and shrubs.
Apply them in early spring and late fall, and they will slowly release nutrients during the whole season.
There will be no wasteful runoff, and everything will be kept clean as they don’t smell and are placed below the surface where the roots are growing.
Miracle-Gro Fruit & Citrus Plant Food Spikes
Fruit and citrus plant food spikes increase the harvest of fruits and promote lush foliage compared to the ones that are not fertilized.
These Miracle-Gro food spikes are very easy to use. They are applied below the surface, and they’ll gradually release nutrients into the root zone.
They contain natural ingredients to feed your plants. Use one per season during the spring and fall to promote strong fruits. They also work great on palm trees.
Jobe’s Fertilizer Spikes for Vegetables
Jobe’s fertilizer spikes for vegetables are easy to use, with no risk of waste or run-off. This is a certified organic product, meaning it does not contain synthetic chemicals.
These spikes release pre-measured amounts of fertilizer slowly to provide nourishment to your plant’s roots.
It contains Jobe’s biozome, the proprietary microorganism that aggressively breaks down material for faster results.
Among the main benefits of Jobe’s biozome, you will find that it improves the soil condition and helps resist diseases and insects.
Related Questions:
How Long Do Fertilizer Spikes Last?
The length of a fertilizer spike’s lifespan depends on the individual product.
That said, most spring and summer food spikes for plants have an effectiveness of around 30 days, while fall and winter spikes last up to 60 days or more before they need replacing.
Does Plant Food Expire?
Most dry plant food is practically ever-lasting while it is on the shelf.
Plant food with microbial ingredients expires after two years of storage, and the average shelf life for weed-and-feed fertilizer is around four years.
Conclusion
Now that you understand why it’s more than okay to use indoor plant food spikes on outdoor plants, you can go put those extra spikes to use!
Just remember, if your spikes are older than a few years old and contain ingredients other than the crystalized or granular form, they may not be as effective as new plant food spikes.