Meet The True Organic R&D Team

Our Research & Development Team at True Organic truly sets us apart. This crew of dedicated science and agriculture professionals works to find even better ways to deliver powerful, organic, food-safe plant foods to you — and to the large-scale farms we’ve been serving for decades.

So we thought it was due time for them to share the spotlight with the products they help develop.  

From orchards and lettuce fields to chemistry labs and conferences, this team brings passion and positivity to everything they do. Meet our R&D Team!

Meet Mike Menes, PhD: Vice President Food Safety & Technology

Hello, Mike! What’s your role with True Organic? 

I’m responsible for providing the systems and resources to manufacture a product at the highest quality standard. I am also a representative of True Organic in relation to the government and the wider organic industry.

Why is your work important to you?

In a few words: I can make a difference. I’m able to affect change and tell the world about it — like protecting the USDA Organic Seal and food/product safety (we’re proud to hold the highest possible standard for food safety), which are aspects that are important to me personally. We do this work with the objective to improve the lives of people in our company, the lives of people who buy our products, and to improve the planet.

A little more about me:

I am an avid woodworker. I learned some carpentry skills from my father and in a cabinet shop in college and in the summers after. I’ll try and make anything…I can’t guarantee that it’ll be very pretty, but it usually turns out okay.

Meet Ramy Colfer, PhD: Vice President, Research & Development / Agronomy

Hi, Ramy! What’s your role at True Organic?

I work to improve our understanding of the many benefits of True Organic products for

organic farmers: improving soil health and plant nutrient availability, bolstering plant health and resilience, and helping our customers succeed. I really enjoy working with growers (our customers), our sales team, our production team, and my excellent R&D and Agronomy team. 

What do you love about your work? 

We help grow amazing organic crops and make soil better too while giving a home to waste products. True Organic is a great company to work for and has very strong integrity: in our commitment to customer service, organic integrity, and food safety, and in giving strong, scientifically-based guidance to our customers. True is a world-changing company in the way we take agricultural byproducts, process them for premium quality and safety, then quickly deliver them on a massive scale to growers all over the country. When I see how much organic food we help grow, and how much carbon material is added to the soil every year because of True Organic products, it brings me pride and satisfaction.

We have a very tight family culture here. We work hard together and try to improve the company every day. True is an exciting company, growing incredibly over the last two decades, with great potential to grow even more. Our goals are lofty and our only limits are our imaginations.

A little more about me: 

I love my family, I love my home and the place I live, and I love working in organic agriculture. I have a wonderful wife and three daughters that are all doing incredible things in the world. I really enjoy regular activities in our local mountains and ocean here on the Central Coast. There is rarely a week that goes by when I am not hiking in the mountains or surfing in the ocean. I am a person with great gratitude. I hope to help the world a little before I leave.

Meet Ehsan Toosi, PhD: Director of Research & Development

Hello, Ehsan! What’s your role with True Organic? 

Apart from particular research directions that I lead, I work with the rest of the R&D team at our Helm, California facilities on projects as well as research facilities (research lab and greenhouse), but also with the Operations team and external partners, especially technical and research units.

Why is your work important to you?

Our team at True is dedicated to turning upcycled waste/by-products into premium inputs for use in intensive organic cropping systems. I am fortunate to be a part of this effort and work in the industry, given a number of environmental and agronomic benefits of organic cropping, and nutritional value of organic crops.

A little more about me:

Indulging myself anywhere outdoor in the Sierras is my primary interest when I get a chance.

Meet Andrew Pedersen: Central Valley Senior Agronomist

Hey, Andrew! What’s your role at True Organic?

I support our sales team, customers, and growers in understanding and using True Organic products. I also create crop fertility programs to help guide organic growers on how best to apply our products (like determining application rates and timings).

During the production season (February through October), I oversee trials on organic farms, mostly to compare fertility using True Organic products to another program the grower might be using. Many times, I’m comparing a new True product or program to other True products the grower is already using — that’s how we continuously improve the productivity of organic systems. We use soil and leaf tissue tests to determine nutrient availability, capture aerial imagery with drones using specialized sensors that can help compare plant health, and evaluate yield and quality (critical points, as they’re the bottom line for the grower). In the late fall and winter, I interpret, summarize, and present data from our trials to the sales team, customers, and growers. 

What matters to you about your work?

I live in Tulare County, the heart of the San Joaquin Valley. This valley is one of the most productive agricultural regions in the world, specializing in nuts, grapes, fresh fruit, and a variety of vegetables. Growers in this region are facing tremendous challenges, the biggest of which is water availability for irrigation. I believe organic production has the potential to provide growers the opportunity to improve long-term economic profitability, while improving soil health and farming in a more sustainable way. Farming organically can be difficult, and resources about how to do it successfully are limited. True Organic has been and will continue to be an important resource for these growers as they transition to organic farming.

A little more about me:

My family and I are lucky to live on 4 acres. My wife, who is a veterinarian, has plenty of room for animals (horses, goats, and chickens) and I have a lot of space to grow my own fruits and vegetables. I have about 20 different fruit trees and grow a variety of vegetables year-round, thanks to California’s climate. It’s so satisfying to watch my 2 kids enjoying tomatoes, peaches, or mandarins that I grew and harvested myself. And since I started at True, I’ve got lots of free organic fertilizer to play with!

Meet Justin Russak, PhD: Senior Chemist

Hi, Justin! What’s your role at True Organic? 

I have the privilege of taking ideas and turning them into useful products. The research begins in the R&D lab, which is equipped with all the instruments and tools we need to ensure our products are stable, compatible, and meet specifications. Working with production and engineering, products that are ready for primetime need to be translated from their small lab-scale tests to large-scale production. A good portion of my time is dedicated to supporting these efforts as well as many others at our facility in Helm, CA. 

What do you love about your work at True? 

It is extremely satisfying to work in an environment with like-minded people who inspire greatness. The work we put in as a team has a direct impact on the products we sell to organic growers. The final reward is seeing a grower’s product in the grocery store and putting it in my basket, knowing that in some small way I contributed to that process.

A little more about me:

I tackle the New York Times crossword daily — it’s been a thing for maybe 5 years or so now, along with the Spelling Bee and Wordle. If you know…you know.

Meet Margaret McCoy, PhD: PNW R&D Agronomist

Hey, Margaret! What do you do at True Organic? 

During the summer, I do data collection and analysis including soil and tissue samples for trials and grower collaborators. We meet with growers to go over trial data and progress to help inform their organic production.

What do you love about your work at True?

I find happiness in helping growers and hopefully making a difference to the industries we work with. Organic farming is in my blood, and I want to honor those who have taught me or helped me along this path in life. 

A little more about me:

I love to snowboard and I make wine from my own vineyard. 

Single-ingredient plant foods can make a huge impact in your garden. Why? Because they contain high concentrations of specific nutrients that plants need. Let’s take a look at one of our most powerful single-ingredient plant foods: True Organic Bone Meal.

What Is Bone Meal?

Bone Meal is a nutrient-rich soil amendment made from ground animal bones, processed into a fine powder that can be easily applied to soil like any other granular plant food. It has a complex, potent makeup of nutrients that go a long way for soil and crops.

So what’s it good for? Bone Meal, which only needs to be applied to soil once in Spring and once in Fall, is celebrated for helping flowering and fruiting plants.

1: Bone Meal is a powerhouse provider of phosphorus and nitrogen.

Single-ingredient plant foods like True Organic Bone Meal are powerful supplements for plants and soil that can resolve problems in your garden caused by specific soil nutrient deficiencies.

Bone Meal doesn’t have a balanced nutrient profile — meaning that it’s not evenly distributing the “big three” nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium) to soil like many of our multi-ingredient granular blends.

What is does deliver is a big boost of phosphorus and nitrogen! That means Bone Meal (like our organic Blood Meal and Seabird Guano) is best used in situations where you know exactly what the soil needs — in other words, what it’s lacking.

Bone Meal delivers a strong supply of these two big nutrients: 

Nitrogen, which is essential to many factors of a healthy plant — and all of life on the planet! For one, nitrogen is a major component of chlorophyll, the compound that allows plants to photosynthesize.

Phosphorus is an all-around plant supporter! It’s essential to support photosynthesis, rooting, flowering, seed production, and other vital functions. When soil is deficient in phosphorus, plants will have trouble flowering, fruiting, and seeding.

This makes Bone Meal an excellent choice for gardens with low-nitrogen soil, for flower gardens, and for gardeners hoping to produce lots of vegetables like zucchini and tomatoes, and root crops like beets, carrots, and potatoes.

(Macronutrients are the elements that plants need in large quantities to build cells, grow, fruit, root, and survive. Micronutrients are needed in smaller quantities.)

Pro tip: It’s a great idea to do a soil test to assess if you need Bone Meal for your garden. Learn about soil testing in our interview with Margaret McCoy, PhD, our resident soil doctor.

2: It gives plants a needed boost of other macronutrients.

While you might immediately look at the N-P-K ratios of fertilizers as “headliner” macronutrients, plants also require smaller doses of other minerals to thrive. And Bone Meal contains a bunch of ‘em!

Calcium! As you can imagine, calcium is one of those nutrients supplied by Bone Meal. Calcium is a secondary macronutrient that helps plants build strong cell walls and grow robust roots. Therefore, Bone Meal is great for your root veggies — beets, carrots, potatoes, etc.

Calcium also helps prevent blossom end rot — which makes Bone Meal an excellent food for tomatoes.

Zinc and magnesium, two small-but-mighty nutrients, support overall plant health and are essential for photosynthesis. Zinc helps with chlorophyll production and magnesium supports photosynthesis.

Altogether, the nutrients in Bone Meal support fruit and flower production, strong roots, and all-season vitality.

3: Bone Meal only needs to be applied twice a year for sustained support.

The major nutrients in True Organic Bone Meal are released gradually over time, so this supplement feeds your garden (soil and plants) long-term.

We recommend applying Bone Meal to your soil once in Spring (before planting) and once in Fall (at the end of your season). This powerful plant food will feed your plants all season long!

Remember, this isn’t a supplement intended for “quick fixes.” When you use True Organic Bone Meal, you’re forming a long-term relationship with your soil. The nutrients in Bone Meal can take a few months to break down and be available for your crops.

Ehsan Toosi, PhD, our Director of Research & Development, calls Bone Meal a “sustained release” supplement. “It supports plants for the growing season and the next season.”

While this plant food is definitely not fast-release, the supply of certain nutrients (particularly calcium and phosphorus) depends on how finely ground the “meal” is and what type of bone is used, says Toosi. So keep in mind that using various brands of Bone Meal may yield different results!

4: True Organic Bone Meal is sustainable and certified food safe.

Just like every other True Organic plant food, our Bone Meal is certified food safe by Bureau Veritas, the highest standard in testing, inspection, and certification services. Read more about our food safety practices and what that means for you.

Of course, we know you’d never intentionally consume plant food! But think of it this way: what you apply to your edible garden will eventually end up on your dinner plate.

Along with being food safe, True Organic Bone Meal diverts animal waste from slaughterhouses, turning it into an organic, chemical-free addition to healthy soil which means a healthier ecosystem.

By utilizing a natural by-product that might otherwise become waste and feeding your crops with organic plant food, you’re working double-duty to develop a more sustainable lifestyle. Way to go!

6 Reasons to Use Blood Meal in Your Garden

Looking for a new plant food that supports luscious foliage, gives plants a quick boost for healthy growth, and builds the long-term wellness of your soil? Blood Meal is a perfect choice.

If you’ve never used Blood Meal before, it may sound intimidating. Rest assured, just like every other True Organic product, our Blood Meal is easy to use, food safe, and supportive of both plants and soil.

1: Blood Meal is an easy-to-apply, dry amendment.

As True Organic’s Director of Research & Development, Ehsan Toosi, PhD, puts it, “The Blood Meal you get in a True Organic bag doesn’t resemble blood in any way.”

So what exactly is Blood Meal? The name really does explain it all. Blood Meal is a dry amendment made from animal blood — in our case, cows. Blood is dried, processed, and packaged into a granular fertilizer that’s simple to apply, just like any other.

2. Blood meal is an amazing source of nitrogen.

This natural resource is very rich in nitrogen and gives plants a quick-release supply of this vital nutrient. Nitrogen is an essential macronutrient for plants’ photosynthesis process and supports luscious foliage. It helps plants grow fast, strong, and green!

Good nitrogen content in soil will result in lush, green leaves and healthy plant growth and fruiting. Yellow, withered leaves are often a sign of too little nitrogen in soil.

Nitrogen also helps lower the pH of soil, so acid-loving plants benefit from blood meal applications.

That makes it perfect for heavy feeders like corn, broccoli, spinach, and other leafy greens.

Just be mindful of how much you apply! Because blood meal has such a concentration of nitrogen, over-applying is detrimental to plants. Too much nitrogen in your soil can damage or even kill your plants! Follow the application instructions on the back of the bag carefully.

3: True Organic Blood Meal is sustainably sourced.

The cow blood we use for True Organic Blood Meal comes from slaughterhouses that are using other parts of the animal for other finished products. By utilizing a natural by-product of the cattle industry, we’re doing our part to ensure that nothing is wasted.

“When you think about it from the big-picture perspective, we’re upcycling undesirable waste,” Ehsan Toosi says.

True Organic has always been committed to a sustainable approach — it’s why we do what we do. We know the planet’s resources aren’t infinite, especially when it comes to agricultural resources. But with thoughtful production and good research, our industry could be the most influential link to a sustainable future on Earth.

4: True Organic Blood Meal is food safe.

Just like every other True Organic product, our Blood Meal goes through rigorous safety processes to ensure we bring you the safest and highest-quality plant foods on the market.

Of course, we know you’d never intentionally consume plant food! But think of it this way: what you apply to your edible garden will eventually end up on your dinner plate.

We’re proud to be a worldwide leader in food safety, with diligent safety measures certified by Bureau Veritas, a world leader in testing, inspection, and certification services. Read more about our food safety practices and what that means for your garden (and your kitchen table).

5: Blood Meal helps rebuild challenged soil.

Sure, Blood Meal gives your home garden a quick shot of much-needed nitrogen — but one of the best things about Blood Meal is how much it bolsters long-term soil health.

“In a soil that’s sandy and doesn’t have a lot of natural fertility to it, Blood Meal is a good choice because it has a low carbon-to-nitrogen ratio,” our Vice President of Research & Development, Ramy Colfer, PhD, says.

Thanks to its high nitrogen content, Blood Meal infuses soil with helpful nitrogen over a long time (although our Blood Meal is not a slow-release source of nitrogen because of how it’s processed). As Blood Meal decomposes in soil, it gradually supplies nitrogen to microbes and plants for a period of several weeks to a few months, depending on conditions.

And for gardeners who use compost with a lot of brown/carbon-heavy material (leaves, grass clippings, paper, etc.), Blood Meal is a great addition. It will help balance the soil’s carbon-to-nitrogen ratio so plants can thrive.

6: Blood Meal might keep pests away.

Yes, might.

While it’s not a proven method, many gardeners over the ages claim that using blood meal helps deter pest animals like squirrels, deer, and rabbits (Rodale’s Ultimate Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening, 2017). It’s said that these animals dislike the smell of blood. It’s worth a shot!

Should I Use Liquid or Granular Plant Food?

When it comes to choosing which plant food is perfect for your at-home gardening project, it’s best to start with the most basic choice: liquid or granular?

While it may come down to personal preference or past experience, there are a few deciding factors that distinguish granular plant foods from liquids.

Start by considering the basics:

• Where are you using it? Indoor or outdoors?
• Are you growing in containers, raised beds, in-ground, or another method?
• What kind of types of nutrients are you looking for (Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium, and more)?
• How fast do you need to get nutrients to your plants?
• Are you treating a specific problem? Or aiming for general nutritional support throughout the growing season?
• What’s your watering method?

When it comes down to it, our liquid and granular or dry plant foods are more similar than they are different. All True Organic™ plant foods contain specific macro- and micro-nutrients that plants and soil need.

Liquid and granular plant food varieties are both:

• Full of specific macro- and micro-nutrients that plants need
• Supportive of soil health by nourishing the microbes that live in soil
• Great for indoor and outdoor use
• Rigorously tested for food safety and certified ISO 22000

What’s The Difference Between Liquid or Granular Plant Food?

What sets them apart (besides the fact that one is liquid and one is solid) has more to do with how each is applied and how their material differences fit with certain types of gardens and planting methods.

Liquid and granular plant food differ in their:

• Immediate nutrient availability
• Nutrient availability over time
• Best application methods
• Single-ingredient options

Safe for Indoor & Outdoor

Both liquid and granular plant foods can be successfully and safely used for your indoor and outdoor plants, but many people prefer to use liquid for houseplants and seed starts. Yep, our plant foods are safe to use in your houseplants, even around kids and pets!

A commitment to food safety is one of our core values. We’re proud of the fact that we’re the first plant food manufacturer to be ISO 22000 certified by Bureau Veritas (a world-class food safety management seal of approval). Every single True Organic product is tested and certified safe — liquid and granular, single-ingredient, and blends.

Liquid for Houseplants

Houseplants love liquid plant food! And so do we, because it’s just so easy to measure and apply.

Giving plants a precisely measured dose of liquid plant food is as simple as measuring, mixing, and watering. For houseplants, we recommend our Liquid All Purpose Plant Food.

Because liquid is easy to use, though, it can be tempting to add too much. Remember that it’s essential to measure your fertilizer and apply it on a schedule.

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Starting Raised Beds & New Containers

Starting a new container garden or raised beds? Granular plant food is your best friend. In fact, we made a plant food just for your raised bed crops to support vegetative growth with a healthy boost of nitrogen.

Work dry plant food into the first few inches of your raised beds and big boxes in early spring, and over the next weeks and months, it’ll become available for plants as they grow.

“I put a little dry food into the potting mixture so that nutrients are being released over time,” says Margaret McCoy, our R&D Agronomist.

A good, thorough mixing as you start new beds and containers will ensure that your granular plant food is well-distributed throughout your growing medium.

Drip Irrigation

Do you have a drip irrigation system in your outdoor plant habitat? Liquid plant food is perfect for that! Simply add liquid food in at the starting point of your system and let the system do the rest.

“The great thing about liquids,” says Margaret, “is that you can water them into the pot or soil profile or they can be incorporated directly into watering solutions.”

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Nutrient Availability

Do you have plants that need a boost right away? Liquid can help.

Liquid plant foods tend to be more readily available, meaning that plants can more quickly “absorb” the nutrients with each dose of liquid plant food than they can with dry supplements. Dry products generally take more time and energy to be broken down and become chemically available for plants to pick up.

Margaret says, “I use liquids outdoors when I want the plant to get nutrients quickly or I see that there’s an issue — or I want to boost something like blooms or general production.”

You may not see results right away, but that doesn’t mean your plants aren’t feeling the boost of nutrients. (Just another remind to not overdo it with the plant food.)

Ready To Choose?

True Organic plant food is available at more local retailers than ever! Find yours with our convenient store locator or explore our online store.

What’s So Great About Seabird Guano?

With a balanced nutrient profile, time-tested ability to stimulate growth, and TRUE’s food-safe guarantee, Seabird Guano might just become your new favorite plant supplement.

We know what you’re wondering… and, yes: “guano” means droppings. Think of it as manure, but from birds and other flying animals (you may have heard about bat guano, too). Just like when we use the word “manure” to designate something more than bovine excrement, guano is a complex, nutrient-dense substance that is much more than “droppings.”

What Makes Seabird Guano Different? That Fish Diet!

Plants love guano. But don’t assume that every bird dropping is created equal.

Seabird guano is unique from other birds’ guano—and other types of animal manure—because it contains a specific mix of macro- and micronutrients that is incredibly supportive for both plants and soil.

Thanks to the birds’ fresh ocean buffet and the guano’s drying process, seabird guano is packed with Phosphorus, Potassium, Carbon, and Nitrogen. 

Plus, decomposed organic matter from the birds’ prey contributes even more helpful ingredients that soil microbes need to multiply and thrive.

‍Nutrient Makeup

Phosphorus (P) is especially important for root and bloom development, which results in more robust fruit and flower growth. On a microscopic level, strong root development means plants can absorb more water and nutrients from the soil—resulting not only in bountiful yields and big blossoms, but also long-lasting, happy plants.

Potassium (K) supports root systems and photosynthesis. In other words, K is all about growth!

‍Carbon (C) and Nitrogen (N) are essential foods for all plants, as well as soil microorganisms. If you’re a home compost-maker, you’ll know that a balance of carbon-based and nitrogen-based ingredients are what make a healthy compost mix (along with some other important ingredients). Nitrogen is also responsible for supporting foliage growth.

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An Amazing Soil Biostimulant

If you know TRUEⓇ, you know we’re obsessed with soil health.

Supplying soil with macronutrients (carbon and nitrogen, specifically) and micronutrients (thanks to all those decomposed and decomposing fish parts) stimulates microbial activity. That ensures that the microscopic inhabitants within soil, like bacteria and fungi—and slightly bigger-than-micro lifeforms like earthworms—thrive.

Soil is amazingly alive! Read more about what makes up healthy soil, and how you can support it.

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Nutrients For Now And Later

One of the uniquely wonderful aspects of seabird guano is its combination of readily available and slow-release nutrients.

What does that mean for farms and gardens? Plants get nutrition they need right away and they’re supported with other nutritional support throughout their whole crop cycle.

What’s It Good For?

Seabird guano can be used on both indoor and outdoor plants, in-ground and in containers (but keep reading for a gentle word of advice regarding seabird guano and your houseplants). It’s pretty darn versatile!

The overall nutrient makeup of seabird guano encourages plants to grow rapidly and to develop robust flowers and foliage. Its high humus properties (high quantity of decomposed organic matter, a keystone of soil fertility) helps increase nutrient availability for your plants.

Anything you’re growing with lots of leaves would benefit from some seabird guano. It’s a perfect plant food to help support for:

• Leafy green vegetables
• Fruit trees
• Berries
• Landscaping foliage
• Any flowering plant!

It’s known to improve yields, enhance flavor (especially of fruits and berries), and support the long-lasting health of perennials (thanks to the nutrients that support root systems).
Get to know more about our seabird guano, why we added it to the True OrganicⓇ plant food family, and how we ensure sustainability from our Founder and Chief Agronomist.

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When To Apply

We recommend two applications per year, one in Spring and one in Fall for outdoor plants. Seabird guano helps fulfill plant nutrient cycle demands during seasons when flowering and root development could use some support.

Houseplants benefit from a Spring application, when they begin a new growing season, making lots of leaves and buds.

For some plants, seabird guano can be used throughout the flowering season to support robust blooms. This is especially great for plants with lots of foliage, like trees and berries. Always check with your local garden center, nursery, or farm and feed store to see what frequency is right for your plants.

Just like any plant food, it can be tempting to over-apply seabird guano in hopes that more is better. Always follow our mixing and application instructions on your TRUEⓇ product package! Adding too much or fertilizing too often can damage your plants.

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When To Be Careful

Seabird guano can be used for outdoor or indoor plants, but because of its potent smell, you might want to go light on application to indoor plants.

Outdoors, some wildlife may be attracted to the odor of seabird guano. Be careful if you live in a place with lots of wildlife, or protect your garden plot with a fence.

Sustainably Harvested

The best seabird guano comes from Peru—that’s where we ethically harvest our product for True OrganicⓇ Seabird Guano.

While seabird guano exists in other places in the world, the deposits off Peru’s coast contain the absolutely highest quality guano for agriculture. Why? This part of Peru’s coast doesn’t get much rain at all, so the guano is well preserved, high in nitrates and other macro- and micro-nutrients, and “cured” (dried) on the rocks for ideal consistency.

These thick, dried guano deposits make it possible to harvest and make it very important to preserve the ecosystem that allows them to form—from the birds’ nests to the dry climate.

Seabird guano has been used by humans as an agricultural supplement for hundreds of years. In the 19th Century, before commercial fertilizer was widely produced and used, seabird guano (and other natural ingredients like bone, manure, and ash) rose in popularity. In the 1830s, when Americans first sailed to the Chincha Islands off the coast of Peru to mine guano, the islands were coated with a 200-foot deep layer of seabird guano. In less than 50 years, the supply was nearly completely gone.

Thanks to environmental and economic efforts to preserve these “guano islands” and the birds that produce this incredible fertilizer, the deposits have begun to replenish and are now protected by law.

Sustainably acquiring our ingredients for True OrganicⓇ products is non-negotiable.

We collaborate with the laborers who harvest our guano, the Peruvian government, and environmental advisors who help protect the seabirds to ensure this valuable resource is available for many years to come.

You can start to see why it’s so essential to ethically harvest and maintain sustainable commercial production of seabird guano products. Appreciating the reciprocal relationships between humans, wildlife, and ecosystems is what drives everything we do at TRUEⓇ.

Food Safe

As if all that wasn’t enough to illustrate just how wonderful seabird guano is for gardens, row crops, houseplants, orchards, and all manner of other green friends, our True OrganicⓇ Seabird Guano (just like every single TRUEⓇ product) is guaranteed food safe. True OrganicⓇ is the only plant food available that is made *ISO 22000 certified from Bureau Veritas* (a rigorous, world-class food safety management seal of approval).

Ready to give it a try? Find a bag of True OrganicⓇ Seabird Guano at your local gardening store with our convenient store locator.

Growing Azaleas & Rhododendrons

‍If you’ve ever gazed upon a rhododendron’s many bright, clustered blooms, you can tell why it has earned the deserving title of “Royalty of the Garden.”

Rhododendrons and azaleas both belong to the Rhododendron genus, and their gorgeous flowers, cold-resistant leaves, and ease of care makes them incredibly popular for landscaping.

If you’re newer to caring for shrubs, these flowery friends are the perfect addition to your landscaping.

There are over a thousand varieties of rhododendrons! Evergreen and deciduous, low to the ground and taller tree-like varieties, with flowers of pink or white or even yellow. That means there’s definitely a perfect choice for your garden or landscaping. In fact, These flowering shrubs can be found in almost every part of North America, although they are native to Asia.

Soil & Fertilizing

Whilst one of the reasons azaleas and rhododendrons are so universally loved is how low-maintenance they are, they do have a few special characteristics that need attention, and for that reason, they do better and are easier to care for when planted in groups.

Azaleas and rhododendrons have shallow root systems, so a well-draining, moist soil is essential. They thrive in a lower pH soil, between 4.5 and 5.5, so a plant food with sulfur is very important, too. Most rhododendrons only need to be fertilized moderately, with a supplement that isn’t too harsh—which is why we developed a True Organic plant food blend just for them.

As buds begin to grow in early Spring, use the recommended application, being careful to avoid the plant food settling  against  the stem. We recommend a Fall feeding too, to prepare your shrub with plenty of nutrients stored in its bark come Spring.

True Organic™ Azalea, Camellia & Rhododendron Food contains 5% sulfur to help lower soil pH and improve availability of micronutrients. We also use other natural, organic farm-grade ingredients like ethically sourced poultry manure and ‍seabird guano (a great source of phosphorus and slow release nitrogen), and shrimp and crab shell meal for calcium and nitrogen.
Like most shrubs, rhododendrons benefit from a decent mulching in the Spring to protect their shallow roots and help the soil retain moisture in this important season.

Choosing Your Varietal

When shopping for rhododendrons or azaleas, pay attention to:

1. When the plant flowers.
2. What Climate Zone is right for them.

These two major differences will help you narrow down your choices. Of course, your local garden store won’t likely sell plants that can’t grow in your Climate Zone!  Check out your Climate Zone on the USDA website if you’re not sure what it is.

Early varieties blossom in early Spring; later bloomers will flower in July and later. A few varieties even flower in Fall. Many types keep their large, green leaves into Winter, making them very popular for colder climates.

Where to Plant

With so many different varieties of rhododendron and azalea, be sure to study the specific needs of your plant of choice.

While they can grow in so many diverse environments, they like it best in places with plenty of rain and moist summers. The amount of sun a rhododendron needs will depend on your climate zone.

• In cooler and mild climates, choose a location in full or mostly full sun, where they’ll get at least 6 hours of full sun.
• In warmer climates, plant in a site that receives afternoon shade, especially in hot areas.
• In tropical zones, azaleas will bloom in full shade!

Remember that they have shallow root systems, so choose a location that either already has a moist, humus-rich soil to plant in, or a spot where you have enough room to create that environment.

Pruning

These easy-care landscaping gems don’t need much pruning. Deadheading is always a good idea for Spring-flowering plants if you want to promote vegetative growth over seed production.

If you need to reduce height or really want to encourage more flowers, here are some pruning tips for your azaleas and rhododendrons:

• Prune after flowering in the Spring.
• Remove dead or diseased branches at any time of year, of course!
• Always use a clean, sharp tool to take off spent flower stalks.
• Remove dead flowers from rhododendrons carefully, making sure to not disturb next year’s buds, which are growing just under the old ones.

One of the delights of tending to rhododendrons and azaleas is enjoying their luscious blooms inside! When flowers are blooming, carefully trim your favorite blooms from mature stems to bring the beauty of these beloved flowering shrubs into your home.