Fickmännchen or Ysander (botanically: Pachysandra terminalis) comes from Asia and makes little demands on the soil. If you enrich the soil with additional nutrients before planting, you will have little or no need to fertilize later.
How should you fertilize fat men?
Fat male (Pachysandra terminalis) requires little fertilizer. When planting, mix compost or horn shavings into the soil and water regularly. Optionally, ripe compost soil can be distributed between the plants in autumn. Leaves under the fat man serve as natural fertilizer.
This is what the soil should be like
Ysander is a very robust, undemanding plant. The evergreen perennial also thrives on nutrient-poor soils, as long as the location and soil permeability are right.
A shady location, even under trees, is ideal. However, the soil must be well-drained, as waterlogging causes the roots to rot and promotes the spread of harmful fungi.
Prepare the planting holes properly
- Dig small planting holes
- Maintain planting distance
- Loose the soil
- Incorporate compost and/or horn shavings
- maybe. Insert drainage layer
Prepare the planting holes in spring or fall. Don't place them too close together. A planting distance of 30 centimeters is ideal.
Loosen the soil deeply. Very heavy soils must be provided with a drainage layer, otherwise the soil will become too compacted and the Ysander will not thrive in it.
Mix the soil in the planting hole with some mature compost and/or horn shavings (€6.00 on Amazon).
Fat man gets by with few nutrients
After planting, water the fat man regularly for the first time. Once the plants have grown, you can almost leave the ground cover to its own devices.
If you don't want to skip fertilizing completely, spread a few handfuls of ripe compost soil between the plants in autumn. However, this is usually not necessary.
You should not give the Ysander more fertilizer, as too much nutrient supply encourages it to spread too much and you therefore have more work thinning out and pruning the fat man.
Don't rake the leaves in autumn
If the fat man stands under deciduous trees, the perennials are supplied with natural fertilizer. Just leave the leaves lying there. It disappears under the ground cover within a short time. It is composted on the soil and enriches it with nutrients.
Tip
Initially, Pachysandra terminalis does not completely cover the ground. During this time, weeds can take over from the ground cover. Therefore, pull out weeds as soon as possible.