Yuppers, just fine. Azaleas and gardenias need acid soil, and Loropetalum likes slightly acid soil from what I've read (doesn't grow here). But I would only do it very lightly right now, since it's right at the tail end of the time to fertilize (even in the South I would assume).

Of course. It's only the marketing that has convinced us that we need different kinds of fertilizers for all of our plants.

hi

in my rather barren mineral sand.. i am of the opinion that shrubs "NEED" just about nothing.. other than water .. if necessary .... especially if you have any kind of GOOD SOIL ..

a LITTLE of this or that.. USUALLY will not do harm ...

time release comes in many formulas.. from 9 to 3 months ...

IF you happen to buy a 9 month formula.. AT THIS TIME OF YEAR... you will be fertilizing all the way thru winter.. which might be VERY BAD ... plants are supposed to go thru various forms of dormancy in winter .... not be all hyped up on plant drugs ...

also.. it is my position that such is 'engineered' for the nursery trade.. for potted plants.. that are watered so often.. that all the nutrients run out the bottom.. repeatedly .. so the time release part is important ... and a necessary cost ... i feel that cost is not needed in the general garden ..

as such.. a 50 pound bag of something like 12-12-12 for $15 .. can be used all over your garden, and used up on the lawn in fall .... and serve its purpose.. rather than a 10 pound bag of time release ... for $50

and finally ... they are shrubs.. not children.. again.. in decent soil.. they do NOT need to be fed.. nor clothed.. nor educated.. etc ... meaning you are trying to love them too much ....

all that said.. just make sure you have the right formula as to the timing of the release ... and i agree with rhiz.. is all marketing hokum ...

ken

Karen,

Why don't you use the search function, both here and in the Trees Forum, and search for 'fertilize'. If you'll take the time to read a few of the threads, I think you can get a lot better understanding of the topic. Look especially for information about determining when/if to fertilize.

I see the conversation about whether different plants need different fertilizer similar to a conversation about whether different people need different food, and often similar to whether different people need the same candy/dessert.

I tried the search but got a blank screen. I live in Memphis, and we have clay soil. Does that make a difference? I'll try search another time to see if I have more success. I also had trouble making this post. Don't know what the problem is.
Karen

It is always a good idea to have a soil test done before determining whether or not fertilizing is necessary. Soil acidity can be altered to some degree without the need for ferts. Clay soils do bind nutients but not necessarily to the extent the nutrients become unavailable - rather the binding prevents nutrients from being leached out or washed away with rainfall or heavy irrigation. A clay soil is not necessarily an infertile soil.

If you do determine the need to fertilize, a single acidifying fert is fine for all those plants. These tend to to be only mildly acidifying and since the vast majority of plants prefer slightly to moderately acidic soils anyway, they work well for virtually any broadleaf evergreen or coniferous shrub/tree and most deciduous shrubs as well.

As long as you select a low nitrogen fertilizer (2nd and 3rd numbers higher than the first) a late season/early fall fertilization application is the most advantageous. The roots of woody plants are in their most active growth stage at this time and nutrients are most easily absorbed and metabolised. What you don't want to do is promote a lot of leafy or stem growth that a high N fert would encourage and that would not have sufficient time to harden off before winter.

The attached link has a very good synopsis of why it is often necessary to fertilize woody landscape plants and the best time to do so. FWIW, fall fertilizing of woody plants is a pretty well-accepted horticultural practice.

Here is a link that might be useful: fall fertilization

Fall fertilization of woody plants is not recommended for most woody plants in the Southeast.

I think if you do the research, most of the publications from the land grant universities DO recommend fall fertilization. There has certainly been considerable study and testing on the issue and it is a common practice in arboriculture and with wholesale growers.

The notion that a mid-fall fertilization will stimulate a lot of new growth that will somehow be vulnerable to winter damage is just not borne out by the scientific evidence. And I can think of no reason why the Southeast would be more susceptible to any issues than other parts of the country that share similar winter weather conditions, ie., other zone 8 climates. (btw, this practice is not limited to just the milder climates but is pretty much applied universally across the country).