Feeding container shrubs

[Becka]

I've a few shrubs growing in containers and I'm wondering what the best all purpose method of re-feeding the soil would be? I was thinking about adding some fresh compost with a sprinkling of calcified seaweed? Any recomendations would be much appreciated!
Thanks,
Becka

[Alice]

Hello Becka, you can feed your tubs with whichever feed you prefer. I use a sprinkling of growmore and water them regularly with phostrogen. And yes do top up the tubs with fresh compost. I find the tubs which do best are the ones where I mixed some manure with the compost (bought in a bag from B&Q) so maybe you could mix some in with your top up compost.

[gcroft]

chicken pellets

I use chicken pellets around my potted roses and sometimes i pop one or two of those fertiliser ball things in the ones that break down slowly and add a mulch too and they come up trumps every year...

[lyndap]

I've just been told by an older gardener to chop up a couple of banana skins, and put around stem/trunk of my potted rose bush,which will rot down and feed it, so I'm giving it a go.What with the garlic bulbs, now this it should keep healthy and happy!

[sewer rat]

I too have heard the banana skin story, though I was told that it was specific in the nutrients it supplied - pottassium being the principle one. However, I have read an article somewhere that the whole banana thing is gardener's folklore and just not true, though I did it last year and it never did any harm - don't know if it did any good but it certainly didn't hurt anyone by trying.