Foliar sprays on houseplants

[Shule]

I've decided I like doing foliar sprays on houseplants.

Pros:
* You don't have to time it with the watering. No worry of overwatering. Some plants might not need water very time you want to fertilize.
* It's harder to over-fertilize.
* It's also a misting of your plant.
* You don't have to worry about what's available in the soil.
* You don't have to do worry about it influencing the soil pH or killing soil microbes.
* If you have a smaller pot and a larger plant, it probably gets more fertilizer to the plant.
* It feeds the plant quickly.
* One spray bottle of fertilizer can last through many fertilizations. You can spread it out a lot longer.

Cons:
* The leaves might look like they need polishing afterward.
* It's easy to spray walls and stuff on accident.
* You might have to wear goggles and a mask for some fertilizers. Also, be sure to turn off any fans you have going before you start, and make sure pets, children and other people are not there.
* Not all fertilizers can be given as a foliar spray.
* Most foliar sprays are with synthetic fertilizers.

Anyway, I've been trying it out with Ammonium sulfate, but I recently switched to calcium nitrate. Calcium nitrate is one of those dangerous ones to get in your eyes and lungs, but I like the results on the plants! I've just been putting the phosphorus, potassium, and other stuff in the soil.

[Shule]

While I still like doing foliar sprays on houseplants (mostly just with calcium nitrate; it gives a very fast growth boost), I don't recommend doing it unless you're okay with showering your plants off once in a while, since it does leave a residue. Fertilizing the soil with other things works pretty well (no need to do foliar sprays there).

[Cole_Robbie]

Fulvic acid is popular in foliar sprays. The molecule is smaller than humic acid, so it is thought to be absorbed better.