The biologist gave advice on the use of natural fertilizers for flowers at home

Tea and coffee residues as fertilizers do not benefit home flowers, and an excess of ash can do more harm. Marina Tatarenko, a biologist and lecturer at the Department of Teaching Methods of the Faculty of Natural Sciences of the State University of Education, told Izvestia on May 25.

"In pursuit of naturalness, home—grown flowers are being fertilized with leftovers from spilled tea and coffee, banana peels, eggshells, and many others. And all this is absolutely useless and does not bring any benefit to the flowers. They survive not because of, but rather in spite of, such top dressing, since in an apartment all these organic residues do not turn into substances that plants can absorb," she noted.

The expert clarified that the apartment lacks the necessary humidity, temperature, fungi and bacteria capable of processing organic matter. As a result, all these organic residues just lie in flower pots and rot.

"But organic fertilizer for flowers is really the best. An option for enthusiasts is to breed California earthworms at home. They are bred using a certain technology in special containers and fed with eggshells, potato and banana peels, and apple cores, and the product of their vital activity, humus, is fertilized with flowers," Tatarenko added.

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In her opinion, it is also possible to bring rotted manure from the cottage — preferably two years old — or compost from organic residues — in the open ground in a year or two they will enter a state favorable for the assimilation of flowers. But before adding them to the pots, it is necessary to sift or review these organic fertilizers so that they do not contain slug eggs or snails that can destroy houseplants.

"You should not use ash at home as fertilizer. Firstly, not all domestic flowers like alkaline soil, for some it is contraindicated. Secondly, it is difficult to choose a dosage for such a small volume of soil. And an overabundance of ash can do more harm than good," Tatarenko explained.

In addition, fertilizers from glycine, aspirin, and iodine, which are actively being popularized, as well as nails buried in the soil to "make up for the lack of iron," are useless for home flowers.

"The simplest and most correct way to care for home flowers in pots is to regularly (every spring) change the soil (substrate). There are specialized primers for all types of plants in stores, and you can choose the one that contains the nutrients your flowers need. If it is not possible to change the soil, it does not matter. Specialized fertilizers with all the necessary trace elements are sold in stores," Tatarenko concluded.

Earlier, on April 3, it was reported that the florarium, a decorative mini-garden in glass, became the leader in popularity among indoor plants among Russians. This was told in the flower and gift marketplace Flowwow. Potted flowers are in second place, and orchids are in third.