{"id":5782,"date":"2022-12-24T01:07:00","date_gmt":"2022-12-24T06:07:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ifoxany.com\/?p=5782"},"modified":"2022-12-26T01:20:13","modified_gmt":"2022-12-26T06:20:13","slug":"why-are-nitrogen-phosphorus-and-potassium-in-plant-fertilizer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ifoxany.com\/index.php\/2022\/12\/24\/why-are-nitrogen-phosphorus-and-potassium-in-plant-fertilizer\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Are Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium in Plant Fertilizer?"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Not all fertilizers are the same. Here’s what you should know before you buy.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Whether it’s lettuces or hollyhocks, all the plants in your garden\u00a0require certain essential nutrients<\/a>\u00a0(17 of them) to grow properly. However, you usually only have to worry about the\u00a0Big 3<\/a>, called the primary or macronutrients: nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K).<\/p>

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Look at the label on any fertilizer package, and you’ll see three numbers separated by dashes, which correspond to the amounts of primary nutrients in the product. For example, one with three of the same number, 4-4-4, is called a “balanced” fertilizer because it has equal amounts of the Big 3 N-P-K (always shown in that order). A container of\u00a0tomato food<\/a>\u00a0($12,\u00a0The Home Depot<\/a>) might be labeled 2-5-3, which indicates higher amounts of P and less N and K. Why do these levels matter, and what do nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium do for plants anyway? Here’s what you need to know.<\/p>

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What Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium Do for Plants<\/span><\/h2>

While all the Big 3 nutrients work together in a plant, each has some specific jobs. A simple trick for remembering what each component of N-P-K does is “head-arms-legs” for “leaves-flowers or fruit-roots.”<\/p>

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Nitrogen<\/strong>\u00a0(N) gets the growth show on the road. It’s a building block for growing new stems and leaves, plus it is a necessary part of chlorophyll, which makes the leaves green and helps plants photosynthesize.<\/p>

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Phosphorus<\/strong>\u00a0(P) is needed for developing flowers, fruits, and root systems.<\/p>

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Potassium<\/strong>\u00a0(K) keeps roots healthy and also aids flowers and fruits. It helps plants\u00a0tolerate stress, such as drought<\/a>.<\/p>

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What Happens When Plants Don’t Get Enough N-P-K?<\/span><\/h2>

Annuals such as\u00a0petunias<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0marigolds<\/a>\u00a0and most vegetables live out their lives during the warmer months of a single year. They’re often called “heavy feeders” because they pull a lot of N, P, and K out of the soil to fuel\u00a0all their rapid growth during their short lives<\/a>. Because of this, they’re usually the first types of plants to show signs that the soil is low in nutrients. So keep your eyes peeled for these symptoms:<\/p>

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