I haven't used Hollytone but many people do successfully. It's a lot safer than ammonium sulfate. The later is safe if dissolved first at a modest concentration. I got my fastest growth in pots by mixing 1 teaspoon per 2.5 gallons and applying once a week. In ground once a month should do. Small frequent doses are much safer than one large shot. Right now I'm mixing 1 ml per gallon which is, I think, a fair amount less than rate above. Where I've burned plants with ammonium sulfate is applying it dry at excessive rates and watering in. That can fry the roots. PS: A teaspoon is 5 ml. So rates above are 2 ml per gallon vs 1 ml per gallon. This post was edited by fruitnut on Wed, Jul 30, 14 at 12:00

Milehigh, Quite in to the figs with 70 or so varieties but it is a relatively new obsession for me and while I am reading and learning as much as possible I can make a mistake BUT from the way I understand it..... Some figs do have a big breba crop but need the wasp for the main crop, they are called San Pedro types and Desert King is one of them. On most common figs the breba fruit is bigger but inferior to the main crop figs in quality and that is why most people if they can only get one crop due to the length of their growing season shoot for the main crop figs and forgo the brebas. In really really short season areas the breba fig is about all they can get to mature. BUT it still needs protection because the embryo figs for the breba crop will be damaged at like 15-20 degrees. In zone 5 you should be able to ripen main crop figs if the plant is in a favorable south facing location, ideally against a wall. Probably easier for you to have it in a pot though. Pots offer the advantage of being able to move it out on warm days and the pot heats up and the fig grows earlier. Yes that means if cold weather is predicted you would have to move it back inside where it would not freeze. Breba figs grow on last years wood so it would be lignified (brown).....main crop figs grow on wood that grew in the current year and would still be green...well should still be green when the tiny fig first forms. Later in the summer that wood will turn brown. There are a ton of growers in the north east part of the country and up in to Canada that grow the figs in pots and successfully ripen the figs. It does take some dedication. There are some very hardy types that will grow planted in the ground and survive though in zone 5....they may need protection. I'm in Florida so that part of the hobby I am not well versed in:) Part of the process that helps is the pinching out of the apical tip every 6 leaves. If you don't do that the fig wants to just keep making green growth and by the time it decides to make figs it is way too late to be able to ripen them. If you pinch the plant it will produce the figs much earlier in the growing season so they will ripen before your first frost. This post was edited by bamboo_rabbit on Mon, Sep 30, 13 at 11:48

I set out 15 blueberry plants about 5-6 years ago in the same bed. The bed is in full fun, from north to south, two rows of 7 and 8 plants. The bed has a gentle slop from south to north. The spacing is 4.5' between plants and 5' between rows. When I planted them, I mixed with 50% peat moss and 50% existing soil. I did not put on any sulfur. I have not tested the PH for a long time. I mulched the bed with about 1"-2" of composted wood chips. The 5 plants in the south size (the high ground) did really well and they are about 5' tall, putting out good berries for at least 3 years. But two plants died, one Rubel and one Elliot. At first, I thought drainage is to blame since the plants in high ground did extremely well. But the Northland and Brigitta are in the middle of the rows. The Polaris is the 2nd plant from the south and it has not grown much at all. The bed is not water clogged. So I decided to replant the slow growing ones to another location. When I replanted them today, I mixed with 50/50 peat moss/soil and add 1-2 cups of sulfur and a cup of bone meal in each hole. I hope this will somehow make the PH lower and make the plants happier.

I'm sure in colder climates the warmer soil of pots would be a critical difference. I wonder if it would be here. In summer one thing we don't lack is warm (hot) soil. When I potted up these giveaway plants, I took them "as is", garden soil and all. I'm not sure my situation is relevant to my question as much as to the question "does a little pruning help to revitalize plants that have not been growing". However, I have been considering the reverse situation - potting to provide colder soil temps in winter. I read that hostas can do better here if planted in the ground in pots and then pulled out in winter to receive greater exposure to the little chill we get. I was wondering if that would benefit Hybrid Perpetual roses such as Baronne Prevost and Marchesa Bocella. I plan to un-plant BP into a pot and maybe sink it in the ground during hot weather only. Anybody have a guess if these colder climate roses would benefit from chillier roots in winter? Sherry