Best plant food

When your garden wakes up for a new season, it's imperative to give your plants a jumpstart with the best plant food available. Formula-wise, you can choose from solid pellets or sticks, liquids, and dilutable powders; our best overall plant food from Miracle-Gro is of the first category. Their tiny fertilizer spike 24-pack is safe for most houseplants and outdoor garden plants. In addition, their ease of use is unparalleled, and I'll go into more detail on that shortly. I've included a variety of plant food styles below, including some specialized for air plants and all sorts of bonsai trees. So read on, and feel confident that this year's garden will be your best yet.

Are your crotons and ferns just being dramatic, or are they lacking essential nutrients? Rule out deficiencies in your houseplant soil with Miracle-Gro's plant food spikes. They'll do most of the work to create the lush indoor jungle you've dreamed of. These plant spikes comprise concentrated fertilizer with a gradually released formula over 2 months. All you need to do is follow the directions on the box: slip a single spike into moist soil, cover it, and water as usual. With a nominal price for 24, make sure that Miracle-Gro's spikes are in your cart before checkout.

Joyful Dirt's formula is organic, based upon nutrient-rich fish emulsion, and includes mycorrhizal spores for more robust roots. Fish emulsion is a powerfully concentrated substance capable of boosting plant growth—quickly. However, there's a downside to such efficacy, a price to pay, as it were. There's an odor. So, if you plan to dilute Joyful Dirt in your watering can and apply it that way, use all of it at once and don't leave a sulfurous stench in your apartment. The easiest way to use it, in my opinion, is to shake it onto the soil, directly at the base of your plants. Indoor and outdoor plants, including fruits and vegetables, will benefit equally.

This petite plant food bottle from Cute Farms stood out to me for a few reasons. Air plants, or tillandsia, are a species of epiphytic plant that appears to cling to trees almost magically. Covered in silvery, furry trichomes, their leaves are quite sensitive and will absorb nutrients and water directly. Cute Farms chose a misting bottle, which I like; that way, you can coat the leaves evenly with every application. Better yet, their formula's gentle enough to apply daily, unlike many fertilizers—a couple of spritzes will do the trick. Finally, if you keep your air plants in closed terrariums instead of the open air, just feed them weekly.

Osmocote's cleverly named PotShots plant food nuggets are made with a proprietary coating derived from soybean oil, designed to release nutrients bit by bit. This way, you can be certain that your plants are getting exactly the amount of food they need, and when they need it. Sure, these PotShots command a higher price point, but I think it's worth every cent for the extra peace of mind you'll have about your garden's growth potential. It doesn't get much easier than biannual, gradual-release feeding.

The Grow Co designed their highly specialized bonsai food to promote vigorous root, trunk, and branch growth. Its formula has macronutrients in a 1:1:1 blend, along with magnesium, sulfur, and a variety of micronutrients. It's easy to use, too. Just measure out 1/4 teaspoon of pellets per 2 inches of pot diameter, scatter them on top of the soil, and lightly cover with a final layer of soil. Water deeply, and The Grow Co's plant food has your garden covered for an incredible nine months of peak nutrition.

Bottom line

When searching for the best plant food, it all comes down to one thing: will it be beneficial for the plants in your collection? Our staff pick from gardening giant Miracle-Gro is the perfect all-purpose snack for indoor and outdoor plants, and each serving lasts for a couple of months. This dirt-cheap (yep, I went there) pack of "spikes" is simple to use, and your garden will thank you. Feeding requires barely any effort from you—just push them a couple of inches deep into moist soil and watch even the finickiest fiddle leaf fig thrive.

If you prefer pellets or perhaps a multipurpose dilutable variety of plant food, then consider either Osmocote's PotShots or Joyful Dirt's ultrafine nutrient powder. The former comes in conical nuggets that feed your plant for up to nine months, and the latter can be dusted on via its shaker or diluted in your watering can. Finally, of course, if you're sensitive to sulfurous, downright grody odors—and who isn't, really—you might want to pass on Joyful Dirt's fish-emulsion-based formula, or just use it outdoors where you can't smell it.

Why trust us?

At GardeningEtc, we recommend the best products to enhance your life. As expert curators, we handpick products based on quality and usefulness to positively impact your day-to-day, from cart to doorstep. We take our responsibility seriously — testing products, reading reviews, and sourcing knowledgeable outlets to ensure our selections are worthy of your time and money. We deliver detailed product overviews, balancing objective information with subjective opinions, so making the best choice for your home and lifestyle is as easy as possible.