The best way to feed any plant, newly planted or planted almost forever, is to make the soil those plants are growing in good and healthy by adding sufficient quantities of organic matter, compost and other vegetative waste. "Fertilizers", whether "organic" or synthetic are not magic elixars and will not solve problems created by poor soil.
Since you second favorite forum is "Tennessee Gardening" I would guess you are in Tennessee and your soil will be a clay soil and adding organic matter to clay soils opens them up so water moves through easier and nutrients become more available to the plants, and the plants roots can move through that soil easier.
Environmentally conscious people will also have a good, reliable soil test done before adding any "fertilizer" so they know just what nutrients are needed and do not add those which are not needed. Cheap people do that too, no reason to spend money unnecessarily.

"Needing to fertilize" always sends up a red flag for me :-) Why do you think you 'need' to fertilize? Are the plants showing signs of nutrient deficiencies?

Too often, we have been swayed by the advertising campaigns of the large fertilizer manufacturers that seem to imply that unless we fertilize often (and preferrably with their product), our plants will not perform. Scotts/MG is famous for this. Fertilizers don't feed plants - the plants are well able to do that on their own. What fertilizers can do is supply missing nutrients if there are any, but there are other ways of accomplishing the same thing. Applying fertilizer just because it has become a routine spring gardening chore or for reasons other than the plants are showing signs of lacking the basics is counterproductive and can cause more problems than it solves.

If have amended your soil previously - last season or before this season's planting - in response to a soil test or just because most gardeners do so before planting, then you may not need any fertilizer or any nutrient supplementation at all. The only way to know for sure is to have a soil test done to see what, if anything, is lacking.

Otherwise, adding OM or simply mulching regularly with compost should supply all the nutrient supplementation you need, especially for trees, shrubs and most flowering perennials (longterm landscape plantings). Harvestable crops and annuals may require a bit more, but not necessarily.

Although it is not technically (and legally) called a fertilizer, compost is a wonderful, ongoing nutrient source, providing a full range of necessary plant nutrients and most trace elements. Plus, it encourages a healthy and active soil biology in which your plants should thrive. It's the "feed the soil and it will feed the plants" concept. In over 20 years of gardening at the same location, compost is pretty much the ONLY 'fertilizer' I have used - I have never had need to use anything else on inground plantings. I also use rabbit manure (from my own bunnies) on some plantings as well. Compost tea will act much the same way, but I prefer the benefit of the actual material and what it adds to the soil.

Container plantings are a different issue and a topic for a different discussion :-)

Not sure why you would take the time to tell us what the plants are not, rather than what they are, as that doesn't really help and makes recommendations problematic. Nonetheless, the rule should be '$10 hole for a $1 plant' and , as kimmsr wrote, take care of the soil, esp. for woody plants - add what you need according to the soil test result and leave the rest to the plant. As to the unnamed flowers, you can add rock phosphate in small amounts, and a little bone meal and that'll likely do it, not knowing your soil composition.

As far as the rest of the fertilizer goes, it depends upon the plant.

Dan

Thanks kimmser, u are right on as usual. tnanx to to the rest of you also.

the reason i didnt list what they were- is because there are too many too list. Yes, it's easy to be swayed by claims of bigger blooms, better crop yields, etc.
I love the idea as using compost as a dressing for plants. My pile isn't ready yet, so I'm not adding it to garden soil directly. How do you use it as a "dressing"?
I have three different garden beds, and can't imagine testing them all, just the veggie garden. Yes, OM is the way to go for clay soils, especially for root crops. The veggie garden needs lots of OM, as it is totally clay soil, and needs better drainage and areation, or whatever. Remember, I'm still a novice!
Learning bit by bit.

I like fish emulsion for my herbs and flowers.
Every once in a while.

When you have finished compost you plunk it down on your soil in about a 1/2 inch layer and then you can cover it with a good mulch material (shredded leaves are very good here). All soil tht is not growing something should be covered with mulch.

Recycle nutrients to your yard with grass clippings. By using a mulching lawn mower you can return the grass clippings to increase soil biological activity. Adding natural nutrients such as fish emulsion, kelp, humates and corn gluten meal will stimulate microbial activity and the worms will love it. The organic fertilizer will slowly release the nutrients that the plants need.
The increased biological activity from the natural fertilizer creates a healthy soil enabling roots to go deeper leading to a more drought resistant lawn. That means you won't need to water it as often.

I've found for new shrubs and trees is that generous mulching with a thin layer of compost underneath along with organic fertilizer like alfalfa pellets works great. Even better is soil drenching with hydrolyzed fertilizer to jump start biological activity in the root zone. In the long run, always mow mulch leaves into the lawn. Few times a year, use organic fertilizer on the entire yard to stimulate biological activity in the soil. A heck lot cheaper than applying compost. My way is a lot cheaper than Kimmsr's way. He's always telling everybody to use compost all the time.... Not practical IMO.

Thanks you guys! My compost isn't ready, but there's other things i can use- OM and mulching is key. Plenty of grass clippings for that!

lou, I'd be interested in why you feel using compost exclusively is "impractical". And why you feel your methods would be cheaper. Since compost is recycled waste products, it is pretty darn inexpensive to generate.......like free, except for time and effort. And even purchased bulk commercial compost is relatively inexpensive compared to any kind of prepared organic fertilizer.

I compost very little as I don't have the space to address the volume of waste material my very intensively planted garden generates but I do donate it all to the municipal yard waste composting operation and then reuse it in its finished state as a mulch/fertilizer for virtually all my plantings. How is that "not practical"?

I may not agree with kimmmsr on everything, but his way is much more practical than Lou's, which is dependent upon the false premise that fert should be spread all over the place; this is a marketing ploy from the fert companies. How on earth did gardens grow before WWII and the advent of cheap chemicals?!?

Dan

Okay, I hear a LOT about fish emulsion. Where can you get it? Haven't seen it at any local nurseries, or in any of my organic catalogs. Anyone know? Can I make it myself?
Thanks again!!!!

I don't use fish emulsion, but I hear that Neptune's Harvest is the best. It is not technically an emulsion though it is hydrolysate. I do use and love their seaweed product.

Hope this helps!

For me, drill feed with 1/4 blood meal, 1/2 bonemeal and 1/4 kelp meal.

Or just buy a 25lb bag of RoseTone or HollyTone made by Espoma and drill feed that way. Depending on how many trees you have this 25lb bag could last two years in a smaller fruit tree garden.

I also mow in MASSIVE amounts of leaves around the fruit trees every autumn and mulch mow the lawn grass surrounding the fruit trees. (Plus I sprinkle aged wood chips around the fruit trees like someone would sprinkle fertilizer if you get what I mean. I sprinkle the wood chips every autumn also.)

I use a monthly, or every three weeks, concoction of molasses water spray every season and this seems to help everything in the garden for me also. Be careful with molasses water when the fruit is maturing because it might cause black soot mold in wet seasons.

I'm sure there are MANY more methods but those are mine.

I forgot to add that for regular trees and flowers I generally go with compost spread out to the dripline and use the same MASSIVE mulch mowing of leaves.

Flower beds always get compost. Alot of it.

Molasses spray every month or so. And I do use some of the fruit tree drill feeding fertilizer every so often for regular trees also. Maybe every couple to three years.