Jobe’s Garden Fertilizer Spikes, Organic Fertilizer for Azaleas, Camellias, Rhododendrons, and Other Acid Loving Plants, 10 Count

Thank you

I have some mini azaleas in a relatively new landscaping and this Spring they did not bloom. They looked pretty sad, leaves were not lush and no blooms. I poked in a few of these "spikes." It was not easy to get them in; they are less like spikes and more like large capsules, not pointed on either end, just kind of oval like a really huge "caplet". I managed to poke some in when the soil was soft after a rain. A month later I noticed new leafing and then late in the summer, one azalea bloomed--out of season to be sure, but it seems it was waiting for needed nutrients. (The other still looks kind of weak and did nothing.) So perhaps this Fall I'll add a few more; I only gave one or two to each plant and where the weaker plant is, there are a lot of old roots from a tree that was removed, so that soil has to be pretty poor. Based on this "experiment" I'd say for azaleas, these are very effective and a must-have for any garden with poor soil, as mine has. This package is good for a few large plants and is only needed yearly so a decent value.

5/2018 update: I still have the same 15 potted blueberry bushes and still use these spikes with great results. Early this year I did re-pot all of them. They were still doing great but most of the pots needed more soil. So I slid them out of their pot, put some fresh bagged soil with some peat moss into the pot before putting the blueberry back in. Then topped it with some more soil, peat moss and one of these fertilizer spikes. They loved it and are putting out some huge blueberry's in mass quantities again this year. Regular watering and these spikes still make me look like I know what I'm doing. I started planting these over 4yrs ago when my wife was first pregnant because I wanted my kid to enjoy them. Well my daughter is a little over 4 yrs old now and she absolutely loves them. I have a ridiculous amount of berry's. My 4 potted "triple crown thornless blackberry's" are also loving these spikes. They haven't ripened yet but they definitely look happy. It's looking like I am going to start using these spikes for blackberry's also. If you grow tomatoes, check out the Jobes tomato spikes. They have been giving me great results as well. Nobody has given me anything for my reviews. I'm just a fan of there products. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Original post (Jan 10, 2014): When I first got into my blueberry obsession I would buy the granular type fertilizers and either over did it and burnt them or under did it by forgetting to apply fertilizer for too many months. During winter they would frequently lose all of their foliage and just hibernate for the winter because of my neglect. I now use a single spike for each of my 15 potted blueberry bushes. I put a spike in about once every 4 months (3 per year) and almost immediately after spiking the pot there is an explosion of growth. The blueberries now keep their leaves all year and produce wayyy more blueberries. Amazing what feeding your plants will do... These are what I use. I'm no botanist and i'm sure there are better things that can be done but for a regular Joe like myself, these spikes work great. When guests look at all of my blueberries it now looks like I know what I'm doing. If anyone knows of a better product for "the forgetful gardener", let me/us know in the comments.

Fast delivery. No damage noted to the package or the spikes. They are easy to use. There is a little plastic cap included that goes on the spike before you hammer it into the ground (which you soften ahead of time, btw, by watering your plants). They are easy enough to use that my kids use them. They do what they are supposed to do. My plants seem to respond well to them. I have them on a subscribe and save.

I have one young azalea that was looking stressed after the winter, leaves were pale, droopy and dropping off. I put two of these in the ground near it and within a week the leaves turned a vibrant green, the leaf drop had stopped, and the plant now looks very healthy. The spikes were easy to put in the ground.