With allot of you enjoying yourselves at the Citrus Expo on the weekend, I was running around Ft Lauderdale and Miami seeing as much as can be seen in a 2 days on a post cruise whirlwind sightseeing tour with the family and the in-laws.
Anyway, I managed to pick up these Miracle. Gro - Fruit and Citrus tree fertilizer spikes with MicroMax nutrients!!! (...against my better judgment!) - I was willing to buy any citrus fertilizer that could be easily transported in my luggage. So, this was it! Has anyone used this product and if so, has it worked for you? I was planning to use these for my citrus growing in the ground only. Is there anything else I should be wary of? For my climate I was thinking about inserting the spikes around March 1st according to the instructions on the package.

Thanks, Greg

Hi Greg. Hope you enjoyed your vacation ! I never use the spikes & I don't know anyone who does. They are not very efficient and usually can still be found in the same spot in the yard the following year.

There's nothing terribly wrong with the spikes, but they are an expensive way of getting nutrients to a plant. Unless they're on some sort of close-out special, it's nearly always cheaper to use a granular fertilizer with the same formulation.

I think one mistake people tend to make is to assume that citrus trees need "citrus" fertilizer, when of course, there is really no such thing. A fertilizer formulated for citrus on Florida's light, excessively well-drained, acid sands, may be entirely inappropriate for an alkaline loam soil of California's central valley, and equally inappropriate for an artificial peat-perlite potting soil for an indoor plant. The goal is to provide the nutrients the plant needs, from the soil you have. And even here, in the heart of citrus land, if I go to Lowe's, I find 2 or 3 different "citrus" fertilizers, which vary wildly in their NPK ratios, the source of N, whether or not they contain micronutrients, etc. And I always have to wonder, who decided that this particular formulation was "perfect" for citrus, and then, which/whose citrus?

In the long run, citrus trees are not very picky. They do like a slightly (not strongly) acidic soil, and adequate quantities of nutrients. And to accomplish that, you could use a wide variety of fertilizers.

So, I think your fertilizer spikes will likely work just fine. But when you run out and need more, you can likely find an equally good fertilizer locally, that will do just as good a job, probably cheaper.

The problem that I have always associated with spikes, whether correctly or not, is that they supply a lot of nutrients in a small spot near where the spike is driven into the ground, and do not give a good broad even fertilizer application over the root area. ?????????? I never buy them.

Thanks Malcolm! I kinda figured that at the time, but I tend to buy anything citrus. They were not too expensive - they were priced in the $7 range for a 3 Lb package.
Greg
By the way I really enjoyed your state. Beautiful palm trees. I would like to spend 2 or 3 weeks traveling around and exploring more. Where are the Big Citrus growing areas? The only orange I saw was on the Florida license plates! I also saw some hot house tomatoes imported from Canada! Happy Thanksgiving !

I once bought "citrus spikes" from a garage sale, and used it on my potted bananas, because I know bananas are heavy feeders. I noticed that after a while, plenty of salt-like crystals accumulated in the surface and around the edges of the pot. The banana looked okay but the pot looked scary. The banana did not grow any better than my other potted ones under normal care.

I agree with all three. They are expensive and I still find the sticks intact after a year or two when I accidentally dug them up around my trees; whereas granules or liquid you'll never find them again once applied. So what does that mean? the fertilizer was not used by the tree.
I also think that the surface area of the spike fert is so small and compacted compared to the granules and therefore have a hard time to disintigrate to a wide area and also the fert just as Millet said is concentrated to a very small area and I believe that that is detrimental to the root system. My opinion.

Try driving from Sarasota to Fort Pierce. It is almost 100% citrus groves on each side of the road. The 80s freezes and Orlando mega development has sent the groves south to the north side of Lake Okachobee.

The problem with using the much more soluble
fertilizer spikes than they used to be is that for
in ground trees, depending on the soil type that
we may have to apply lots of them. Another way
to go about things is to space them out such as
use 8 spikes for one application depending on the
age of the tree and then come back in and do it
again about 6 weeks later. I've used the spikes
for indoor trees in the past but have been hesitant
to use tree spikes for outdoor in ground plantings.
The reason why I have not liked the spikes for trees
in a landscape is that the spikes do not dissolve well
for us here and that I can come back in about 4 months
later and dig around where I put them and see that
they have not broken down much is what turned me
off them years ago. I have used the fertilizer spikes
for ornamental plants and Orchids indoors with what
seems to be good success. I felt it was better for our
landscape trees just break the spikes up by hand and
spread the remains around the base of the tree instead
and then let water work it down for me. At least then
I could have some control as to where the nutrients
went to in the ground. Going to various nursery
trade shows allowed me to pick up several of the
freebie fertilizer spikes and so I used the crumpled
up versions for indoor potted plants and for the
landscape Citrus that adjoins, borders mine and
our neighbors properties as well.

I agree that it really does not matter what fertilizer
we use as I've used Tree & Vine fertilizers for our
Citrus for years for Spring applications and come
back in later with an Azalea and Rhododendron food.
With a Honcutt silt loam here with a neutral soil pH
and a Hanford series clay loam with a saline soil pH
where the majority of the Citrus are, I'd be a little
more conscious about how much chlorine is in the
fertilizer formulation. I'd be more concerned about
chlorine for container plants however as too much
chlorine can lead to salt build up in the cans with
native clay or silt, even a sandy loam in the mixes
using well water with lime in the water or municipal
water with chlorine added to the water. For areas
with Boron in the water then an acid food may be
the prudent fertilizer method of choice for both in
ground and for container plants.

Jim

Just wondering if breaking them up and distributing bits worked in to top soil would work?
Just an idea..

Gina *BabyBlue*

Hi Gina. That is exactly what I did the only time I ever used them...

Yes it will work that way.
There was a time when I did not have that plastic that you put on top of the spike to strike so I tried to hammer them into the soil (without plastic)and they shattered on impact and I never saw them again after a month or so. But it's an expensive way to fertilize your citrus.
If I remember right, it's almost a dollar per spike. So, spike fertilizer would be my last choice.
But one fertilizer that is becoming my favorite is called a Dynamite. It is the closest proportion Millet recommends and it will last for 9 months. It has an abundance of micro/macro nutrients. So although it maybe a little expensive, it is giving me good results. I use it only on my favorite plants like the clemenule and some of my bananas. The plants are very happy with it in terms of growth and green leaves. I am fully satisfied with it.

Well,
I use organic pellet fertilizer. Simple... jsu spread it at the root ball surface, that's all.
Spikes are very uncommon in open soil, as the accumulate the nutrients, and those were salts, in a small area of the root distribution zone, which can lead to root damage, at this spot!

So.... isn't more easy so buy and use a pellet fertilizer, as those spikes?