Question about bone meal

[Linny]

A friend suggested bone meal for my plants. Do I use it as fertilizer? Or with fertilizer?

[pow wow]

Bone meal is phosphorus which helps plants and bulbs to flower and bone meal is a phosphorus that is easy for plants to take up. You can use it with other soil amendments like rotted manure which is high in nitrogen. The bone meal will balance out the soil. I usually apply compost into my flower beds in the fall and then right about now I apply bone meal and dig it into the beds. I don't know that it has to be done this way, it's just how I happen to do it.

[Linny]

Thank you for your response. I bought Miracle grow potting soil which has fertilizer. Can I add the bone meal to that when planting or would that be too much?

[pow wow]

Hi,
If you mean in potted plants and flowers I would skip the bone meal and stick with a slow release pelleted fertilizer. I only use the bone meal in my flower beds. Too much phosphorus will kill plants eventually. Miracle grow potting soil won't have enough fertilizer for your wonderfully long growing season in Florida. All my outdoor potted plants get a bit of slow release in the potting soil when I pot them and every two week I still give them a feed of half strength all purpose 20-20-20 all summer long. I haven't killed any yet with too much fertilizer.
If you are talking about plants that remain in the same pots year after year, I would stick with a all purpose liquid fertilizer.
I hope this helps, I kind of wandered around a bit.lol

[Linny]

You answered my question very well. You've been a great deal of help! Thanks for wandering!