How well do you know your plant foods? This complete guide will help you choose the right one for your plants

Does plant food remain a mystery to you? With so many different types on the market, it can be hard to figure out which ones you really need and what they even do for your plants.

Whether you're trying to make your grass look greener this summer or simply want to maximise your roses' blooming period, you've probably tried using plant food. And whilst they're pretty straightforward essential gardening tools for getting more from your plants, the sheer number of different types available can get confusing.

To make feeding your plants simpler, garden design expert and influencer at @Gardening.with.Ish on Instagram, Ish, has given us a complete rundown on all the different feeds, what they do and whether or not you need them.

Even if you're not trying to keep costs down in the garden this summer, buying a bunch of plant food is not only expensive but possibly unnecessary.

"Are all these plant foods really necessary for your plants? Well, let's find out, because there are so many different varieties for so many different plants, a lot of people are actually quite confused. So I thought I'd break it down today so you know exactly what's what," starts Ish.

"Let's start with the good old multi-purpose. I've got slow-release feed, which you put directly into the ground or into the compost, and this will last about four to six months, giving a steady release of nutrients to those plants. So for this one, it's a multi-purpose, which is good for leaves and flowers," he continues

"Now you've got the liquid feed, which is more of an instant feed. So you do this every couple of weeks or so during the high-growing months. As a result, it thrives, but it's not targeting anything specifically; it's just good for flowers, good for leaves, so you'll get a kind of mixed bag," Ish adds.

Should you be a beginner vegetable gardener, you've probably used tomato feed before, but there's more than one way to use tomato feed in your garden.

"If you want something a little bit better for flowers and your fruit, go for a tomato feed or a strawberry feed. Now, tomato feeds are high in potassium, which means they're great for strawberries, raspberries, even your apples, pears, peaches, but also really good for flowers too. So the dahlias that you've got growing at the moment love tomato feed, which helps them generate more flowers, and even your strawberries," explains Ish.

"But a little interesting fact, for you, strawberry feed and tomato feed are usually the exact same thing. So get whichever one works for you or is cheapest because they do the same thing," he says.

"Next thing we're looking at high iron feeds. Now, these are your lawn tonics and your ericaceous feeds. So, lawn tonics are really, really good at being watered straight on, and because they're so high in iron, the lawn loves it, but things like weeds and moss absolutely hate it; it actually burns them," Ish points out.

Not only will these tonics help get rid of moss in your lawn, but they'll also help darken the green colour of your grass.

Should you have some of the best cottage garden plants in your space, like hydrangeas or rhododendrons, then Ish recommends looking out for a particular feed.

"And then if you ever see pink on a feed, it usually means it's an ericaceous feed. Which is slightly acidic, so things like your rhododendrons, some of your hydrangeas, even camellias as well, will absolutely thrive with these," Ish says.

"Acer feed, feed in March and September, handful in and water in, all you need to do, as it's a slow-release feed that's perfect for acers," he quickly adds.

Now, you might still not want to buy every single feed mentioned here, but at least now you know which ones you actually need and why.

If you have your own homemade compost heap, then you'll know the nutrients in this can also be a great way to feed your plants, just be sure to check it's properly broken down before adding it anywhere.