Purchasing Fruit Tree Fertilizer in/for South Florida

[DRFixembones]

I was using Excalibur's 8-3-9 Fertilizer and am all out. I won't be in that area for some time & know nothing about Fertilizers. Can anybody recommend a good Fert that I can purchase in South Florida? Thanks!!

[jez251]

Pine Island Nursery sells 8-3-9 fertilizer. Forgot the price, though!

jaime

[CTMIAMI]

Diamond R in Homestead sells fruit tree fertilizer. Unfortunately their web site sucks.
18375 SW 260 STREET
HOMESTEAD, FL. 33031
305-247-8800
305-247-3328 FAX
1-800-432-3413 IN FLORIDA ONLY

[DRFixembones]

Anything decent @ Home Depot??

[zands]

Anything decent @ Home Depot??

Home Depot has a Vigro 6-4-6 with minor elements that is billed as citrus fertilizer, mango, avocado too. You can buy a cheap 10-10-10 at Walmart that has half the nitrogen as time release. I use this on some plants. There are no minor elements in it. If you have high alkaline soil I wonder how much of the minor elements are uptaked anyways in those more expensive fertilizers w minors. This is why many here resort to foliar spray fertilizers/supplements to supply the minors such as iron, copper, manganese, magnesium especially if they have alkakline soil

Lowes has Sunniland citrus fertilizer that is identical (or nearly so) to the Vigro at Home Depot mentioned above

[puglvr1]

I've used Vigoro from HD and it seem to work fine...I am however using 8-3-9 right now from Excalibur.  When I purchased my Maha a few months ago... I went ahead and purchased a 50 lb. bag also, it was such a great price. The Vigoro is more expensive...but once its gone I'll have to go back to Vigoro since Excalibur and Pine Island are about  a
6 hour r/t from me...way too far to drive for fertilizer unfortunately.

I also use Foliar spray from Southern Ag "Citrus Nutritional spray".

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Vigoro-20-lb-Citrus-and-Avocado-Plant-Food-160327/203091325#.UbeyBZxFEmM

[demingcr]

I've used Vigoro from HD and it seem to work fine...I am however using 8-3-9 right now from Excalibur.  When I purchased my Maha a few months ago... I went ahead and purchased a 50 lb. bag also, it was such a great price. The Vigoro is more expensive...but once its gone I'll have to go back to Vigoro since Excalibur and Pine Island are about  a
6 hour r/t from me...way too far to drive for fertilizer unfortunately.

I also use Foliar spray from Southern Ag "Citrus Nutritional spray".

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Vigoro-20-lb-Citrus-and-Avocado-Plant-Food-160327/203091325#.UbeyBZxFEmM

I also use the Vigoro. There's an identical product at Lowes, or if Lowes is the one with Vigoro then carried by HD. It seems to work great, everything grows rapidly and green I have not personally seen it burn any plant, including more sensitive ones or potted plants. I do also spray with southern ag but the only thing that really seems to need it is my citrus.

[zands]

I've used Vigoro from HD and it seem to work fine...I am however using 8-3-9 right now from Excalibur.  When I purchased my Maha a few months ago... I went ahead and purchased a 50 lb. bag also, it was such a great price. The Vigoro is more expensive...but once its gone I'll have to go back to Vigoro since Excalibur and Pine Island are about  a
6 hour r/t from me...way too far to drive for fertilizer unfortunately.

I also use Foliar spray from Southern Ag "Citrus Nutritional spray".

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Vigoro-20-lb-Citrus-and-Avocado-Plant-Food-160327/203091325#.UbeyBZxFEmM

Excalibur sells their 50lb bag of 8-3-9 w minors at such a fair price/ $20 last time I was there/ It pays to buy more than one bag and store it in the garage. You visit Excalibur and they have bags of this fertilizer sitting on a pallet close by the cash register.

[OrganicJim]

Espoma makes a 'Citrus Fertilizer' that works well and is organic. Can be found in some box stores and many garden centers.

[phantomcrab]

Lowes has Sunniland citrus fertilizer that is identical (or nearly so) to the Vigro at Home Depot mentioned above

Sunniland citrus fertilizer has a lot of salt in it: guaranteed <4%. I would not use anything >2%, preferably lower.

[BENDERSGROVE]

Pine Island sell 8-3-9. 50lb bag $30

[puglvr1]

Pine Island sell 8-3-9. 50lb bag $30

Don't tell Excalibur,lol... 

[Guanabanus]

Lesco 8--2--12 for Palms and Tropical Ornamentals, very good, and they know it and charge dearly for it.   Often at Home Depot.

[Tropicalgrower89]

I looked at the Home Depot website for my local home depot and they have the 13-3-13 lesco palm and tropical fertilizer. I'm going to wait until July before I buy that and apply. They also have the 8-10-10 lesco palm and tropical fertilizer for a slightly cheaper price. I think the 8-10-10 would be better.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/t/100330742?storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&productId=100330742&R=100330742#.UbphDdjNlXo

31.98 bucks for a 50 pound bag.

[zands]

I looked at the Home Depot website for my local home depot and they have the 13-3-13 lesco palm and tropical fertilizer. I'm going to wait until July before I buy that and apply. They also have the 8-10-10 lesco palm and tropical fertilizer for a slightly cheaper price. I think the 8-10-10 would be better.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/t/100330742?storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&productId=100330742&R=100330742#.UbphDdjNlXo

31.98 bucks for a 50 pound bag.

Lesco looks very good but Do the minor elements in it even get taken up when your fruit tree is in a high Ph soil like mine? Kinda doubtful I might as well buy the 10-10-10 I see at Walmart which I do buy for bananas anyway. I should use it on my mangoes too and use foliar sprays to get the minors (such as iron, magnesium) into the trees

[davidgarcia899]

8-3-9 at diamond is 50lbs for $15.50

[zands]

8-3-9 at diamond is 50lbs for $15.50

That is a wholesale kind of price. Do they make the fertilizer there? That is almost the same price as the cheapo 10-10-10 with no minors I get at Walmart for bananas. The Walmsrt stuff is 50% slow release nitrogen but I better check up on that

[bsbullie]

I don't believe all of the 8-3-9s floating around out there have the same minor package...check and compare the labels.

[CTMIAMI]

No one seems to be taking into consideration that a large percentage of what you buy in the 50lb bags is sand. Is best to buy a more concentrated formula and apply less. I use a 15-7-15 and variations there of. I don't use iron because I apply Sequestrine 138 via irrigation. I also add some liquid Manganese.
The important thing to me is the quality of the nitrogen. Most of my blends are 50% controlled release nitrogen, not from sewer slush!!!!. That is what some call organic slow release nitrogen. At least with avocados is all about nitrogen.

[zands]

No one seems to be taking into consideration that a large percentage of what you buy in the 50lb bags is sand. Is best to buy a more concentrated formula and apply less. I use a 15-7-15 and variations there of. I don't use iron because I apply Sequestrine 138 via irrigation. I also add some liquid Manganese.
The important thing to me is the quality of the nitrogen. Most of my blends are 50% controlled release nitrogen, not from sewer slush!!!!. That is what some call organic slow release nitrogen. At least with avocados is all about nitrogen.

Thanks for showing the label on the fertilizer bag. The urea nitrogen it lists is the slow release nitrogen I would say?  Polymer coated urea nitrogen shows up on the internet

[CTMIAMI]

All of the Urea 10% is Polymer coated, Some of it releases quick that is why its 8% slow release.

[Bananimal]

8-3-9 at diamond is 50lbs for $15.50

The 8-3-9 sold at Excalibur is made by Diamond R.  But my local Diamond R in Ft Pierce doesn't carry it.  Go figger!?  I have some, but when I run out I use the Dia-R 6-3-16 with minors that I use mainly for bananas.

[zands]

All of the Urea 10% is Polymer coated, Some of it releases quick that is why its 8% slow release.

Kind of amazing how they can coat the nitrogen component in fertilizer so it is slow release. This imitates nature somewhat, that natural manures and green manures release nitrogen slowly. You can burn plants with chicken manure but in general it is easier to burn your plants with NPK manures. More difficult with the slow release ones

[CTMIAMI]

My trees like it very much.

[Guanabanus]

That 6-3-16 you mention would probably be excellent to increase mango fruit set and flavor.