Just realized my grandma was right about plant food ratios

My grandma told me years ago to use a 1-1-1 ratio on my houseplants and I always thought she was just old school and wrong. Last month I started losing leaves on my fiddle leaf fig in Chicago and got desperate. I tried a 3-1-2 fertilizer for six weeks and the leaves kept dropping. Finally went back to her method, equal parts nitrogen phosphorus potassium, and within three weeks I saw new growth. The new leaves are bigger and darker green than before. I guess she learned that from her mother who grew African violets for 40 years in Ohio. Has anyone else had an old timer's trick turn out better than the modern advice?

3 comments

3 Comments

abby_cooper15d ago

Modern fertilizer science says your grandma got lucky, not right.

felixlane15d agoTop Commenter

Oh, I'm not sure that's quite right about the 3-1-2 being for lawn grass. Most grass fertilizers I've seen are actually higher in nitrogen, like a 20-5-10 or something similar, because grass is all about leaf growth. The 3-1-2 ratio is actually pretty close to what a lot of balanced houseplant fertilizers aim for, it's just diluted down. But I agree that for most common houseplants like pothos or philodendrons, that old school approach works fine because they aren't heavy feeders anyway. The real risk with those modern concentrated blends isn't the ratio itself, it's that people use too much or apply it too often.

torres.blair15d ago

Switched to a 1-1-1 on my pothos last spring after it got all sad and droopy from a fancy 10-10-10 I bought online. Took about a month but the leaves perked up and got that deep green color, plus two new vines started popping out from the soil. Grandma ratio works because most houseplants aren't trying to pump out tons of flowers or fruit, so they don't need the extra phosphorus or potassium that the modern blends push. That 3-1-2 you tried is designed for lawn grass (I learned the hard way too, don't feel bad). Just keep an eye on the leaf tips for yellowing, and if they stay green you're golden with the old school way.