August 28, 1936 
SOUTHERN FLORIST AND NURSERYMAN 
7 
Fertilizers Discussed by Dallas Man 
at Nursery Meeting 
Needs of Soil and Virtues of Natural and Chemical 
Amendments Considered 
By B. E. Williams, 
Williams Nur. & Floral Co. 
4301 Lemmon Avenue, Dallas, Texas 
(At Group Meeting of Recent “Amer¬ 
ican Association of Nurserymen” 
Convention) 
No matter how much fertilizer you 
add to the soil it is useless unless 
there is moisture to release it. 
Plants live on liquids alone. They 
depend for their very existence and 
growth on what you might call 
“weak soup,” for they take their food 
only in solution. With sufficient 
moisture and good drainage, benefi¬ 
cent bacteria by the millions are 
present which decompose the soils 
and fertilizers and in doing so re¬ 
lease the three vital elements to plant 
growth—nitrogen, phosphoric acid, 
and potash. Probably the best known 
fertilizer for general purposes is 
stable manure. In many places the 
supply of this material becomes 
scarce and more expensive. This is 
more or less true of cow and sheep 
manure. Cow manure is considered 
better for flower gardens; but in any 
case the manure should be well de¬ 
composed though not too old, in 
which case it is useless except for 
the humus it furnishes. 
Essentials of Good Soil 
A good soil should contain enough 
slowly available plant food to pro¬ 
long its usefulness for a number of 
years, be rich in available organic 
plant food, be porous enough to allow 
surplus water to drain away, contain¬ 
ing a large amount of organic plant 
food to feed plants; and maintain 
the work of soil bacteria. The group 
of soils called loam comes nearest to 
fulfilling these conditions. When 
the loam lacks something we can sup¬ 
ply it artificially. Humus is decayed 
vegetable matter and is responsible 
for many qualities of good soil. 
Humus increases the water-holding 
capacity of the soil, increases soil 
aeration, benefits the soil structure, 
and promotes important chemical 
changes. Sand may loosen a clay 
loam but does not add any plant food. 
Sandy soil, on account of its almost 
perfect drainage and poor water-ab¬ 
sorbing qualities, may be greatly im¬ 
proved with peat moss, as peat moss 
not only holds the moisture but 
binds the sand together; while it 
causes heavy clay soils to become 
loose and friable. 
Peat moss absorbs and holds ten 
times its own dry weight, twenty 
times as much as good soil and fifty 
times as much as sand, is more fi¬ 
brous than compost and less thor¬ 
oughly decomposed. It is a non-fer¬ 
tilizing humus in a state of arrested 
decay, but acts as an agent by stor¬ 
ing the moisture so necessary to re¬ 
lease the plant calories and vitamins 
contained in the soil and at the same 
time supplies that much needed 
drainage. After the soil is mechan¬ 
ically improved, we should consider 
its chemical fitness. Of the elements 
necessary for plant life, hydrogen 
and oxygen are supplied by water, 
carbon is derived from the air, and 
iron and sulphur are usually present 
in the soil in sufficient quantities; 
while the elements nitrogen, phos¬ 
phorus and potash must be added ar¬ 
tificially. The largest proportion of 
nitrogen is provided by decaying or¬ 
ganic matter. For the best welfare 
of our plants, we add the elements 
which are not found in large amounts 
in the soil. Nitrogen is essential for 
the leaf and stem growth, potash for 
the root system, and the phosphates 
for hastening maturity. An over¬ 
supply of any one of these is harm¬ 
ful. We must discover what is 
needed and how much to supply. 
Nitrogen; Phosphorus 
If the soil is dark, it will probably 
be rich in nitrogen; and a weak 
growth and lack of proper bloom will 
be the result. Among the nitro¬ 
genous fertilizers we have such or¬ 
ganic products as dried blood, tank¬ 
age, horn shavings, dried fish, tobac¬ 
co stems and cottonseed meal. Some 
of these are highly concentrated and 
must be used carefully. Horn shav¬ 
ings are used for potted plants 
which are to remain in their pots for 
quite a while. Cottonseed meal is a 
fine lawn fertilizer and is often used 
as grass seed is sown. It has an acid 
effect and is very rich in nitrogen. 
The inorganic nitrogenous fertilizers 
include soot, nitrate of soda, am¬ 
monium sulphate, calcium, nitrate 
and urea. The soot should be three 
to four months old and should never 
be mixed with lime. The calcium ni¬ 
trate and urea must be used very 
carefully; the latter is often mixed 
with sand. Ammonium sulphate is 
applied to leaf plants when they are 
growing. Nitrate of soda is a quick¬ 
ly available plant food, but care 
must be taken not to get any on the 
foliage. It is used either in liquid 
form or as a powder. 
Phosphorus is provided in the 
soil by using various phosphates such 
as bone meal, basic slag, acid phos¬ 
phate, and bone flour. Bone meal is 
a slowly available fertilizer and 
should be applied in the fall. Bone 
flour gives quicker results and can 
be applied in the spring. Basic slag 
is applied in the fall to roses and 
perennials and on heavy soils. Acid 
phosphate is a quick-acting fertilizer 
and is applied to growing crops in 
spring and summer. 
Potash; Lime 
Lack of potash in the soil is due 
to leaching away by surplus rain 
water and poor drainage. One of the 
underlying causes of poor farm and 
garden soils, is the absence of this 
element. Among the fertilizers which 
supply potash are kainit, potassium 
sulphate, muriate of potash, and 
wood ashes. Kainit and muriate of 
potash are applied in the fall. Potas¬ 
sium sulphate is a quick product that 
is applied in the spring. Wood ashes 
are especially valuable for top dress¬ 
ing rose beds in the spring or sum¬ 
mer. 
There are many who use lime year 
after year and others who wonder 
what is the matter with their soil. 
Lime or calcium is an essential plant 
food. It is more valuable for its 
indirect effects. Lime is the mate¬ 
rial which has the power of sweeten¬ 
ing sour soils, rendering other plant 
foods more available, making clay 
soils more porous and sandy soils 
heavier, increasing decomposition 
and neutralizing acidity. In addition 
to these qualities, it is used as an in¬ 
secticide and fungicide. Hydrated 
lime is the safest and can be applied 
as a light “snow” over the soil eith¬ 
er in spring or in the fall. It may 
be cultivated into the soil or left to 
soak in by the rains. On soil that 
has been used for a long time, a 
heavier application is necessary. 
Acid-loving plants should not be 
treated with lime. 
