Nutrients — Specials

Almost everything in this category assumes the same plant: a fast-growing annual you steer from growth into bloom and then harvest. These two feeds do not assume that, which is why they sit on their own.

Herbs are harvested for their leaves

CANNA Kruiden Special is made for kitchen herbs such as basil, parsley and mint. With those plants the leaf is the harvest, so you steer for growth continuously rather than working towards a bloom. A bloom feed from Bloom does exactly the wrong thing here: it pushes the plant towards flowering, and a herb that bolts turns bitter and stops making usable leaf.

Orchids do not root in soil

CANNA Orchidee Special runs a low EC and its own composition. Orchids naturally root on bark and in air rather than in a substrate that holds feed, so they are used to very dilute nutrition and burn on a normal dose. Here the low EC is the property that matters, not the ratio between elements.

Why improvising does not work

The temptation is to dilute an ordinary feed heavily and use that. It rarely works: diluting lowers every element at once, while these plants need a different ratio and not merely a lower concentration. On herbs on a windowsill that difference shows within a few weeks.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use these on houseplants?
For foliage plants Kruiden Special is the closest fit, because it also steers for leaf. For a genuinely flowering houseplant the ratio is wrong, and a feed made for that species is the better choice.

Do I need a pH meter for this?
Less strictly than in a grow room, because potting soil on tap water absorbs a lot. To do it properly the same rule applies as everywhere else: measure after mixing. See pH Control.

Does this work in hydro?
These two are written for pots and substrate. To run herbs in a system, look at Hydro and keep the EC low.