I generally do not add fertilizer to any of my plants.

Sometimes I use those time release fertilizers and throw some on plants in the spring, but I use that fertilizer in the greenhouse mostly for potted plants. I bought a 5 or 10 pound bag last year and still have some left.

in the past years I have purchased a couple of truckloads (18 yards x 2) of leaf compost. I used this as mulch and for planting new plants. Yes, if you have 18 yards of compost dumped on your driveway it takes a while to distribute:)

When I trim shrubs I usually cut in small lengths and let them lay where they fall. I used to burn my ornamental grass, but any nearby shrubs suffer (like dead).

Last year I was looking for composted cow manure, but could not find any. I wanted to use it for new plantings. I live the country, so un-composted cow manure is plentiful, but it has this unpleasant fragrance. However, my farmer neighbor purchased about 60 yards of turkey manure for his field. I have to admit that I prefer cow manure.

I probably have an acre of grass that has never been fertilized in 20 years. However, I sometimes spot kill weeds.

At any rate, I remember buying a bag of Milorganite. Probably 10 years or so ago. It worked just fine.

Hazelcrestmikeb said:Someone on here said that it won't burn daylilies. I might be wrong, @Sooby, Sue comes to mind. Too much of a good thing can be bad depending on the circumstances. A plant can only use so much NPK. Moderation is the name of the game. Daylilies will thrive just about anywhere without fertilizer. We are just trying to get the maximum effect by adding to the soil. That's what I am aiming for anyway.

I think that might have been @Tink several seasons ago. Seems like she described herself as the 'Queen of Alphalfa Pellets' or something like that . I don't really know how to look for a post efficiently or I'd try to find what she said.

I use it generously when I'm mixing up planting medium for the containers and I have used it generously in flowerbeds in the ground combined with bagged manure and some chemical fertilizer along with dried leaves and twigs. The combo in ground can make the soil temperature rise noticeably for a few days, but I've planted young seedlings and other plants in it immediately without suffering bad effects. I haven't noticed the container mixes heating up so much, but I expect the same chemical breakdown generating heat is occurring. I've never notice the pellets alone giving off that heat, but I rarely used them alone and since they are basically dried green material I think they probably can heat up in the decomposing process. I don't use the pellets as top dressing. They make a mucky mess which dries quickly and repels water. I don't like that.

@Kousa,
Having too much organic material I think is almost impossible for daylilies from my experience, but all plants might not fair so well under those circumstances.

Frank, do they have turkey houses in your area? I know of one locally. Someone has to grow those birds for Thanksgiving!

I have purchased some slow release to put down, my dl are up 6 inches or so and many are looking pale

@bluegrassmom

I know of only one small, local farm that raises turkeys. fresh turkey tastes "gamey" to me.

My neighbor has his turkey manure trucked in from northern Michigan

most of my Daylilies are not showing any life yet.

Is it too early to spread the Milorganite in zone 5b?
We have very little life on our daylilies either.

I think now would be a great time to put it out. It would give it a little time to be getting to the usable stage when the plants need it.

I don't think milorganite will burn your plants but as someone said above, moderation is the key. No need to use more than recommended. If you add compost it will give different nutrients to your plants so it sounds like a good combo to me. I mulch with 2-3" of compost on top of the milorganite and alfalfa.

Legalily said:Is it too early to spread the Milorganite in zone 5b?
We have very little life on our daylilies either.

The microorganisms that make the nutrients in Milorganite available to the plants are only active between 55-85 degrees F soil temperature. It probably doesn't hurt to put it down earlier as long as there isn't a chance it will get washed away with heavy rain or more snow, but if you're a long way away from 55F soil temp currently I'd be inclined to wait a bit unless you're also needing it for deer repellent. That was a long sentence!

I was using it for both deer repellent and fertilizer. Our soil temps are definitely not in that range. I might wait a couple weeks unless the deer get the munchies.