@Kcrafty Some help understanding fertilizers, which you should be providing if you want your plant to have the opportunity to realize as much of it's potential as possible within the limits of other cultural factors.
The first important point is, there are no plants that actually use nutrients in a 1:1:1 NPK
ratio (fertilizers with NPK %s of 5-5-5, 14-14-14, 7-7-7, etc., are all 1:1:1 ratio fertilizers). That isn't to say you can't or shouldn't use one, only that there are better choices for plants grown in containers, whether the container is filled with a solid medium or water.
Below is the range at which plants actually take up nutrients. Because nitrogen (N) is the nutrient used in the largest amounts, all other nutrients are listed as a % of N.
N 100
P 13-19%
K 45-80%
S 6-9%
Mg 5-15%
Ca 5-15%
Fe 0.7%
Mn 0.4%
B(oron) 0.2%
Zn 0.06%
Cu 0.03%
Cl 0.03%
M(olybden) 0.003"
The average plant uses about 16% as much phosphorous (P) and 62% as much potassium (K) as nitrogen, respectively. All 1:1:1 ratio fertilizers' phosphorous content is 43% that of N (2.7x more than the plant can/will use) 83% as much K as much K as n (roughly 20% more than ideal necessary).
Fertilizers with 3:1:2 ratios come closest to supplying nutrients in the same ratio as the average plant uses them. 24-8-16, 12-4-8, and 9-3-6 are all popular 3:1:2 ratio fertilizers. All 3:1:2 ratio fertilizers supply 14.3% as much P and 55.3% as much K as N, respectively.
What all this says above, is that a 3:1:2 ratio fertilizer is almost always a better choice than a 1:1:1 ratio fertilizer for container culture. For use in gardens and beds, everything is just going to be a SWAG w/o a soil test.
The best fertilizer I've ever used, and I've been experimenting with soils (grow media) and fertilizers for 43 years, is Foliage-Pro 9-3-6. It has ALL nutrients essential to normal growth including calcium, magnesium + all the micro and secondary macro nutrients, all in a single container. It is immediately available upon application, and it derives more than 2/3 of its N from nitrate sources, which is meaningful for low light conditions because fertilizer in nitrate form can keep plants noticeably fuller and more compact than fertilizers that provide all or most of their nitrogen as urea.
I realize the all the numbers might not mean much to you, but they're there to provide the background information anyone can access with a few keystrokes, and they support what I just shared.
Brand does make a big difference. As noted, most fertilizers don't contain all essential nutrients, and many derive much of their nitrogen from urea. Also, if you have any questions about why your choice of NPK ratios are important, I can provide that information as well.
From University of Florida's Pothos production guide. Fertilizer NPK ratio recommendation in bold:
Pothos will survive a wide range of environmental conditions, but grows best at 70- 90°F. Minimum temperatures below 70°F and maximum temperatures above 90°F will greatly retard growth. Plants should be supplied the equivalent of 5 lbs of nitrogen/1000 ft2 monthly from a <b>3-1-2 analysis<b> or 7 grams of 19-6-12 per 6" pot per 3 months. Slow release and liquid have been successfully used. Micronutrients such as copper, iron, manganese and zinc are needed in such small quantities that the impurities in water and micronutrients supplied by the medium are usually sufficient. Tissue composition of good quality foliage plant has been found to be: N, 2.5-3.5% dry weight; P, 0.20-0.35%; K, 3.0-4.5%; Ca, 1.0- 1.5% and Mg, 0.3-0.6%. The growing mix should be well aerated and overwatering avoided. Pothos have been watered with sewage effluent with no harmful effect. Plants growth is modified easily with the growth retardants B-Nine at 10,000 parts per million (ppm) spray and 100 ppm of an ancymidol (A-REST) spray or 0.6 milligrams (mg) of ancymidol per square foot and 100 mg per 600 milliliter pot of paclobutrazol (Bonzi).
https://mrec.ifas.ufl.edu/Foli...
Al
