Osmocote 5 Stories: Ahlers nursery in Germany

Ahlers nursery is an innovative container tree nursery located in Northwest Germany and is a professional partner for wholesalers and garden centers. High-quality nursery plants are the basis for a stable business relationship. The nursery grows 900,000 berry wellness fruits in 2l to 5l containers, 200,000 conifers in 30 varieties in 2 containers, 150,000 Rhododendron, Pieris, and Azalea in a container, 200,000 ornamental shrubs in 2l – 5l containers, 100,000 dwarf blossom trees for summer sale, 100,000 Hydrangea paniculata, 80,000 Cytisus in 1l – 5l containers.

The nursery uses Osmocote Pro and Osmocote Exact Hi.End for the majority of the crops, and, depending on the nutrient requirements, Universol water-soluble fertilizers. Gerard de Regt, co-owner of Ahlers nursery tested the new Osmocote 5 in 2020 for the first time in several cultures. One of the crops used was Azalea with 4g/l Osmocote 5 in 2l pots. Gerard: “For our high-quality plants we need a fertilizer that ensures that the crops are supplied with nutrients evenly until the end of the season. We need plants of stable and compact growth with good coloring. Particularly in our polytunnels, we have to be able to rely on a fertilizer that is able to provide an even nutrient supply without salt stress, even at high temperatures.”

“Osmocote 5 makes it easier for our machines to process the granules, both for plant-hole application and top-dressing.”

Osmocote 5: Grower’s experiences

The trials showed that Osmocote 5 gave comparable results to Osmocote Exact Hi.End. Gerard: “One advantage of Osmocote 5 is the better processing of the fertilizer granules in comparison with Hi.End. Osmocote 5 makes it easier for our machines to process the granules, both for plant-hole application and top-dressing.”