Here are some general guidelines for fertilizing. 1. Don't use weed n feed products. If you have weeds, then fertilize first with plain fertilizer and come back in two weeks to spot spray individual weeds with something like weed-b-gone. WNF products sound ideal but they don't work like they promise to work. You are much better off using fertilizer when you need fertilizer and separate weed control when you need weed control. 2a. With chemical fertilizers, fertilize once in the spring and twice in the fall. In the spring wait until after you have mowed real grass for the second time. That will ensure you are not fertilizing the early weeds. 2b. With organic fertilizers, you can fertilize any day of the year or every day of the year. Just don't smother the grass with it. Apply most of them at a rate of 10-20 pounds per 1,000 square feet. Ordinary corn meal, alfalfa pellets, soy bean meal, and cottonseed meal are typical organic fertilizers that can be found in 50-pound bags at any feed store. If you want to speed up your lawn's image but feel frustrated that you should not use more chemicals now, then use organic fertilizers from now until Labor Day. Then you can do the first app of chemical fert and again on Thanksgiving. You can apply both chemical and organic on the same day if you want. They do not interact with each other. Now here is the basic 123 of lawn care. Water deeply and infrequently. Deeply means at least an hour in every zone, all at once. Infrequently means monthly during the cool months and no more than weekly during the hottest part of summer. If your grass looks dry before the month/week is up, water longer next time. Deep watering grows deep, drought resistant roots. Infrequent watering allows the top layer of soil to dry completely which kills off many shallow rooted weeds. Mulch mow at the highest setting on your mower. Most grasses are the most dense when mowed tall. Bermuda, centipede, and bent grasses are the most dense when mowed at the lowest setting on your mower. Dense grass shades out weeds and uses less water when tall. Dense grass feeds the deep roots you're developing in 1 above. Fertilize regularly. I fertilize 4 times per year using organic fertilizer. Which fertilizer you use is much less important than numbers 1 and 2 above.

In my experience with all the phals I have. No matter if it's in bloom or not I continue to fertilize every other week with my general orchid fertilizer. Since I fertilize every other week, I don't use full strength fertilizer every time. I cut the scoop in half and fertilize that way. Ive always had beautiful phals and I continue to have them yea after year. It's prolly more of a personal preference, but I don't have any problems. Best of luck with your phal.

You know this is really the most debated topic. Everyone will give a different opinion on what to do, what to use, etc but the ultimate goal is for you to trial and error for you climate. However there are a few things that are consistent no matter where you are. In particular Meyers are heavy feeders and very sensitive to light and environmental changes. Going in and out can be stressful. Also going from in the house to straight out in the sun is a recipe for disaster so please acclimate it by going to shade first for a week or two then slowly giving it more light. Reverse this process in the fall. My routine for fertilizing is this. During the growing season my trees get Foliage pro 1/2 strength once per week from about now to September. I have used vinegar also but this year Im trying without see if the effects are different. from October to March I give them the same only once per month. My trees go in a greenhouse so they are fairly actively growing in winter. my trees also have a slow release mixed in to supplement during the week. Now this is what works for me and a few others fertilize "weakly" and "weekly" so that may be something for you to start trying and adjust from there. mike Mike

I would say that in order for something to be considered gritty mix, it needs to be good and porous, and needs to stay that way. Basically, it can't have decomposable contents that will clog the pores as they break down, thus making it not gritty anymore. Mixing stuff in with bagged potting mixes would fall under that category. I'm not saying this in order to put anyone's mix in some elite category, or exclude others from some status or gritty mix club, but it's important that what is called gritty mix is actually what a lot of us think of as gritty mix. Otherwise, the advice you may be given could lead to problems, such as the advice I gave above, assuming that when you said gritty mix, that it was actually gritty mix. Joe