Fertilizing Streps

People use various ferilizers and there are various schools of thoughts. Some use orchid fertilizers and some use violet fertilizers. Almost everyone recommends 1/8 tsp to a gallon of water. Some recommend 1/4 tsp. After several years of experimenting myself I decided about two years ago that I would look for a better fertilizer. The one that I found that I love and recommend is Dyna Grow's Foliage Pro. The reason why I went this route is that Streps flower from the leaf, and not from the rosette or core of the plant itself. Foliage Pro is designed for just that, lush green foliage. My thought was that if the leaves were as healthy as they could be then it would stand to reason that there would be more flowers on the plant, and that does hold true. I started with the 1/8 tsp per gallon I had always used but discovered that the Hydro Pot, or wick watering pot, you can use the 1/4 tsp and not create brown tips to the leaves as I had been told.

During the recent COVID lockdown I started communicating with a botonist online, who I have never met, but was very helpful. After discussing the Hydro Pots, and the Foliage Pro I was using I asked his recommendation. He had to take a week to study Streps online in order to better give his opinion on what is the best fertilizer to use. When he got back to me he did say that Foliage Pro was an excellent choice but the he would recommend adding something to it. What he recommend shocked me, but he was so right. What he recommmended was to add 1/4 tsp of Epson Salt to my fertilizer water.

I had heard of people flushing their plants with Epson Salt water to remove salts from the soil, but to actually add it to your fertilizer water I was shocked. I had also been told that when a plant has yellow leaves you can green them back up by watering once a month with Epson Salt and water.So I asked him to explain and this is what I got back in an enmail. "Epsom salt helps improve flower blooming and enhances a plants green color. It can even help plants grow bushier. Epsom salt is made up of hydrated magnesium sulfate (magnesium and sulfur), which is important to healthy plant growth. I have been totally but very pleasently shocked to see the results after three months of using it in my water. Plants that once had droopy leaves now has leaves that stand upright and those that seldomly bloomed for me now bloom profusely and quite often. I recommend that you try it and see what results you get.

The other thing that I recommend is to let your plants rest one week of each month by watering with plain water for that one week. No fertilizer, no epson salts.

Now available from World of Streps. A 16 page booklet with the basics of how to best grow these wonderful plants. We update it twice a year with new information and new links. The booklet can be purchased on our new cart system HERE