Once I got my hands on an old book “Indoor gardening” published in 1956, where I found interesting material about feeding weakened plants with sugar. The book described the results of the work of experienced flower growers, and there was no doubt about the reliability of the information. I used mineral and organic top dressing, but I did not have to hear about sugar.
However, as a child, I conducted one sad experiment. After the botany lesson, when I first heard about photosynthesis, I felt sorry for the poor plants that work so hard to form starches and sugars with the help of light, carbon dioxide, water and mineral salts. My father had a small collection of indoor plants, and I decided to help them-let them try the finished product and not waste their energy on photosynthesis. After mixing a thick mixture of water, sugar, starch, adding a handful of salt, I generously poured this drug on Dad’s flowers.
Unfortunately, my parents noticed my “help” too late…
Having grown wise with such a child’s life experience and subsequently becoming a professional florist, I was cautious and distrustful of new information for me. It turned out that plants can absorb pure sugars, but the doses should be minimal. They are even part of some growth stimulants, in addition, sugar top dressing promotes the development of beneficial microflora of the substrate.
A successful experiment with top dressing from sugar
Choosing the weakest plants that could not survive until spring, I started the experiment. The result exceeded all expectations: ferns, Marantaceae, cacti and ficus trees responded well to fertilizing.
For top dressing, I used a solution of 1 teaspoon of sugar per 1 liter of water. I watered it on a slightly moist earthen coma once a week. The plant needs 2-3 such top dressing. Exceeding the dose will lead to the opposite result (suppression of the microflora, increased osmotic pressure in the substrate).
Strong, healthy plants themselves actively produce sugars and do not need additional sugar. Such top dressing is needed for weakened plants, for example, after winter, or those that have stopped growing.
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