The Christmas rose or snow rose is a very robust little perennial that you don't necessarily need to fertilize. The prerequisite is that the plant substrate meets the requirements of the Christmas rose. Tips for preparing potting soil and fertilizing.
Do you have to fertilize the Christmas rose?
Christmas roses usually do not need any additional fertilizer outdoors if the potting soil is loamy, humic, permeable and calcareous. For potted plants, a little organic fertilizer is recommended at the beginning of flowering and in late summer, without overdoing it. Use calcareous, nutrient-rich garden soil in the bucket.
The right potting soil for the Christmas rose
As easy as the Christmas rose is to care for, it places demands on the planting substrate – whether outdoors or in a pot.
It thrives best in soil with the following properties:
- Calcareous
- Loamy
- Humos
- Permeable
Fertilize snow lilies outdoors
Fertilization later is unnecessary if you enrich the potting soil with mature compost, a little lime or horn shavings before planting.
If the snow rose is under deciduous trees, leave the leaves lying. They decompose and release nutrients into the soil.
Otherwise, mulch the bed with the Christmas roses with leaves, grass clippings or bark mulch.
Provide Christmas roses in the pot with nutrients
The right plant substrate also plays a role when it comes to caring for the pot. As a rule, the soil of a purchased Christmas rose is nutrient-rich enough to support the plant until it is planted out.
If you plant the snow rose yourself, use nutritious garden soil to which you add some lime.
It may be necessary to fertilize the Christmas rose in the pot. Apply some organic fertilizer at the beginning of flowering and in late summer. But don't overdo it. It is better to fertilize little than too much.
When the Christmas rose doesn't bloom
Sometimes the lime content of the soil is not high enough. This often happens when the Christmas rose is under coniferous trees. A lack of lime can cause the Christmas rose not to bloom.
Enrich the soil with lime (€19.00 on Amazon), which you can buy at a garden store. Often a piece of chalk that you simply stick into the ground is enough.
If your tap water has a lot of lime, you should always water the snow rose with it.
Tips & Tricks
If you supply your garden plants with organic fertilizer in the spring, you can also fertilize the Christmas rose. Mature compost, horn shavings and plant manure are suitable as fertilizers. Basically, the Christmas rose outdoors can survive for many years without any fertilizer.
