2) I grow my tomatoes in 18 gal containers and usually end up fertilizing at full strength every weekend when they have put on some mass & are growing robustly. The increases in either strength or frequency would/should be most closely tied to temperatures, planting mass, and your watering habits, so it's difficult to offer a one-size-fits-all answer to the question. Your plants will tell you if you make it a point to observe them closely. Soon, it will be second nature to 'know' when to fertilize after only a glance or based on experience. You actually want to be able to anticipate your plants needs and fertilize just before they experience the effects of any deficiencies. 3) I'm familiar with the product, and know that it forms insoluble precipitates when mixed with some fertilizers, but I can't tell you which ones. I know that the FP fertilizer when mixed with ProTeKt does form a precipitate, but I'm unsure if the same occurs with the LL. I've never had a need for it. 5) No, by reducing the dosage of your fertilizer you limit N - to prevent a K deficiency, you increase the K supply. You didn't ask about using a different fertilizer - you asked how to make 9-3-6 work. ;o) By all means - use another fertilizer with lower N if you wish. A 2:1:2 ratio is what I would suggest. 6-2-4 is the same fertilizer as 24-8-16, it's just that the amount of 6-4-2 you would be instructed to mix into a given volume of water to reach a recommended dosage would be 4x that of 24-8-16. You can make 6-2-4 by diluting 24-8-16 5:1, water:fertilizer. Al Here is a link that might be useful: This might help more

Well, I'll chime in with a straight face, MOL..... my 'maters are all in pots, and need water at least twice a day, I mix up some MG in a bucket and pour some into each bucket I have next to each plant, I keep that water-bucket there so all I have to do is dip out some water and not drag the hose all over the yard.. so essentially I am giving each 'mater some liquid fertilizer each time I water...I won't even speculate at what strength but the water is blue, from the MG... most of my 'maters are getting pretty big, they are from last year's planting Tom brought me.... but they are still setting fruit so I keep them going even tho' they are pot-bound now.....I speculate that the only thing that keeps them going is the liquid fert., by now, because any other nutrient in the potting-mix has been long-gone..... works for me.... sally

Sorry if this sounds like a teacher giving a lecture... cause I was a teacher and it is kind of a lecture... but you asked... and I know sometimes when I'm questioning a problem in my garden, it helps if somebody takes me back and talks me through the basics. I know you are already a successful gardener, so take this as a friend helping you walk through the question... As has been previously noted, it is hard to respond to your question because the plants you listed are mostly not "Small Leafed" Lakeside Dragonfly registered with a 7x4 leaf and a 30" diameter plant. Most of us would call that a medium. This one was actually registered as a fast grower, but I started them from tc and have found them slow - but not difficult in any way compared with others. Lakeside Elfin Fire This is actually a mini... leaf 3x1... and with all the white, it can be touchy. Minis do require special care in tough climates... small root systems mean they can heave out of the soil during the winter... they can be covered by larger plants or suffer in competition for food and water. I grow mine in raised beds where I can better control growing conditions. i've kept one LEF alive... had to pull off a bunch of green last year, and the remaining looks pretty good-but-tiny this year... I probably wouldn't plant another... Stiletto glad I grew a bunch of these from tc before I heard they were problems for people... I have 3 or 4 around the place... easy to grow mounds about 2 feet across... nothing special required to grow them, but I have found them difficult to divide... tend to disintegrate into lots of plant fragrments and lose the nice mound shape. That might be the issue with people getting them going... a transplant is often just a bunch of rhizomes and eyes with little "root" structure. Hanky Panky for me it is staying much smaller than most of the other Striptease plants,,, mine have not done well in deep shade, and have not done particularly well in a lot of sun... I think it needs lots of light but not midday sun. With all its color changes, one might guess it is not a particularly strong photosynthesis plant. Also watch for sporting... I've got one that is almost overwhelmed by a sport that looks like Moonlight. Fire & Ice Notoriously difficult... too much white, not enough chlorophyll... Warwick Comet I don't have it Lakeside Paisley Print got a small one last year... no issues so far... good first year growth. I did put it in a bright-light holding bed where I can monitor soil and moisture. Allegan Fog - grows like a weed for me... or should I say, like an Undulata ;-) I keep chopping mine back to keep it in a 30" diameter space... mine is on the north side of a garage, so relatively low light... still grows surprisingly well considering how much white it has... (note: London Fog, the sport with little chlorophyll, is growing for me... but not nearly as fast and staying much smaller...) Wolverine - considered a pretty easy plant for most... and not small leafed... actually, with a registered mound size of 38" and leaves 10x6... I don't know if that is a medium or a large. Mine always stays around 24" So... the real question... why does an experienced grower like yourself have success with larger plants and less with these medium to small plants? Part of the answer you are getting here is - except for a couple on your list, it is not the plants. A Wolverine or Lakeside Dragonfly should not take any substantially different care than your successful medium - xlarge hostas. So there are only a few things to look at. Light... are they getting bright shade and not too much direct sun? Many hostas in too much light will have smaller leaves - the plant doesn't need as large a leaf to make food because of the brighter sunlight and it also protects itself against water loss from the hot sun by keeping leaf surface area down. If the conditions are too harsh, the plant will hang on but dwindle... until it passes on to that big garden in the sky. Soil - well drained soil? Young or struggling plants have trouble in heavy soil... hard to expand the root system into heavy soil, plus a tendency for moisture to hang on too long and rot the roots when it is wet and cold. They also have trouble in too light/sandy soil as the moisture doesn't hang around long enough for their small root system to keep them hydrated. Water... with well-drained soil, it is pretty much impossible to overwater hostas. Younger plants and smaller plants, with less-established root systems, are particularly susceptible to set-backs from insufficient water. root competition - young and small plants, with less-established root systems, will have a hard time getting the water and nutrients they need if they are competing with roots from established trees and shrubs. Larger hostas that are already established can (sometimes) hold their own. Your term dwindling may give the hint. They live, but don't thrive. One or two of the above conditions are not being met, resulting in struggle and/or death. Lots of good gardeners have designated special areas... a "holding bed" or nursery bed... melissa even has a NICU bed for those that are really struggling. You might want to consider creating a mounded area or raised bed with excellent soil and light conditions - I've even seen these in full sun, with a sun cloth canopy - where you can put the little ones in and monitor them... keep the moisture right... get them established... and then move them into more challenging garden conditions later.

In containers or in the ground? Makes a big difference. Container plants normally require dilute feeding on a regular weekly basis anyway regardless of plant type. In ground plants are routinely fed after first fruit set and again 6 weeks later etc. But in that case it all depends on the type of feeding routine you are using (ie: fertigation vs. side dressing), the soil prep done before planting, etc. Dave