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GT Foliage Focus directions for use

Congratulations on joining the GT gang. You've got yourself a best seller that your plants are going to go nuts for. A little GT Foliage Focus goes a long way. One 1 litre bottle makes up to 200 litres. Here's the Foliage Focus directions for use... (Foliage Focus below, or Complete Focus directions are here)

 

Growth Technology Foliage Focus pack shot and directions for use

 

How much Foliage Focus do you need?


Choose your dose to match your plant's needs...

Mixed jungle: Use the General Maintenance dose of 7.5mls per 1 litre of water. 

Light feeders or slow growers: Dilute 5mls (1 teaspoon) per 1 litre water.

Heavy feeders or fast growers: Dilute 10mls (2 teaspoons) per 1 litre water.

Winter: See the winter feeding guide below. If you notice growth slowing or stopping over winter, reduce to slow grower dose above.


What plants is Foliage Focus for?


Formulated for indoor plants where foliage is the feature, including Aroids such as Monstera, Pothos, Philodendron, Ficus, Epipremnum, Syngonium, Sansevieria, ZZ and Ferns.


How often should you feed Foliage Focus?


Little and often. To avoid irreversible deficiencies in immobile nutrients (such as calcium), it's recommended to fertilise with Foliage Focus every time you water.  

 

Should you keep feeding in winter?


In general, yes. Most of our indoor plants come from habitats where it stays humid and warm all year-round, so they don't need a 'rest' or 'break' in winter. Unless a plant goes fully dormant, most indoor plants continue to grow leaves over winter, just more slowly, still require nutrients to support root growth and to avoid deficiencies.

Reduced sunlight hours in winter also triggers plants to shift their energy to 'recharge mode' where they focus on growth below-ground, bulking up and building new roots, ready to support active above-ground growth in spring and summer (like recharging their batteries). 

A few, like Caladium, do die off and go dormant over winter. For plants that go dormant, no, don't fertilise over winter. For everyone else, yes, although you may like to reduce to the slow grower dose (see above).


Should you feed more in summer and less in winter?


The short answer is yes, but probably not in the way you're thinking. Frequency and dose go together. Keep following the instructions on the label. With less light and heat, and slower growth, water requirements reduce too, with most plants requiring less frequent watering in winter. Simply by watering less, you'll be fertilising less, but by following the instructions you'll still be providing your plants with the right amount and balance of essential nutrients they need.

Fertilising through winter helps plants bulk up below-ground, rewarding you with even bigger, better, more lush growth above-ground come spring and summer. Skipping fertiliser over winter can inhibit above-ground growth later when temperatures start to warm up, and sunlight hours increase.

For heavy feeders and fast growers, support them with up to 10mls per 1 litre, all-year round. For light feeders and slow growers, adjust your dose to 5mls per 1 litre. For a mixed jungle, go for 7.5mls per 1 litre, or go down to the slow grower level of 5ml per 1 litre when growth above-ground slows down. Don't ignore the roots! Keep fertilising with Foliage Focus over winter when plants often shift vegetative growth above-ground, to root growth below-ground.

 

I've seen people mix-feed fertiliser with growth boosters. Can you mix-fed Foliage Focus?


Yes, you can. Foliage Focus is a complete and balanced fertiliser. By providing the essential nutrients plants need, Foliage Focus supports growth, which also helps you get better results when using growth boosters.

If you want to boost growth further, using a growth supplement like HB-101 or Groconut, cloning paste like Crazy Keiki or Urban Botanist, or rooting hormones like Clonex or IBAdex, it's recommended to keep fertilising.

This is because growth boosters push a plant to grow faster than usual, which plants can't sustain long-term without the essential nutrients that fuel that growth. It's no good pushing down on the accelerator if there's no fuel left in the tank.

Without replenishing those nutrients, you'll find the growth booster slows then 'stops working' over time. It hasn't really stopped working. It's often a nutrient deficiency getting in the way of growth (the fuel tank's empty), so fix the deficiency by fertilising, and the growth booster will 'work' again.

Before mix-feeding, it's best to get advice from the manufacturer of the exact product you are mix-feeding with, however when I mix-feed with a growth booster, I usually reduce the growth booster but keep my fertiliser the same or increase the fertiliser.

The following is my personal advice, not the manufacturer's advice, and is what's worked for me, however I still recommend checking with each supplier for yourself as this is based on my plants and my conditions, which won't be exactly the same as yours...

+ Groconut

When I mix-feed GT Foliage Focus with Groconut, I reduce Groconut from the usual 1 teaspoon per litre, to 1/4 teaspoon Groconut per litre of water and feed from 5ml to 10ml of Foliage Focus per litre of water as normal.


+ Cloning paste

When I mix-feed with cloning paste, I use cloning paste as normal following the directions, and when the area the paste has been applied to starts to put out new growth, I increase to 10ml Foliage Focus per 1 litre water when I remember.

To make it easy though, I tend to feed all my jungle on 7.5mls Foliage Focus per litre of water, as with so many plants, changing the dose per isn't the easiest! If your plant's taking its time to get growing, stick with 5ml to 7.5ml Foliage Focus per litre (in other words, change the dose of Foliage Focus to match the plant's needs, but don't change your use of cloning paste).


+ HB-101

When I mix-feed with HB-101 I drop HB-101 down to just 1 to 2 drops per litre, and feed 5ml to 10mls Foliage Focus per 1 litre water to match the plant's needs. The combo of HB-101 and Foliage Focus together is a bit of a hobbyists secret that seems to really boost the results compared to using each separately. I'm still experimenting with my jungle and so far, really good.


+ Rooting hormone

When used along with rooting hormones, I use both products as normal, however for new cuttings dipped in IBAdex or Clonex, I tend not to start feeding again with Foliage Focus until the first new root hairs start to grow. GT actually makes a propagation fertiliser - called CCS - that you can use at this stage instead. CCS temporarily replaces Foliage Focus until cuttings and seedlings are ready to pot-up. Note that GT also makes Clonex rooting gel, so their fertilisers are made to work synergistically with Clonex.

 

Where can I buy Growth Technology Foliage Focus in New Zealand?


From me! Love That Leaf is proud to stock all GT best sellers including GT Foliage Focus, Complete Focus and CCS (as well as Clonex, made by GT, licensed and marketed in NZ by Yates).

 

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