I’m a serial plant murderer. Well, I suppose it’s actually plantslaughter, as they were all accidents. Regardless, despite my good intentions I never successfully kept a plant alive until 2020. Instructions on how to care for plants often seem similar to me to recipe instructions: they assume a whole bunch of contextual knowledge that beginners don’t have
It's interesting that fertilizer timing was counterintuitive for you. It didn't seem counterintuitive to me. The reason is that fertilizer isn't food for plants; the term "plant food" is misleading. Plants use sunlight and air as their sources of nutrition. Fertilizer is more like a supplement, providing extra nutrients when plants are actively growing. When plants are not actively growing they don't need this extra supplement.
It's interesting that fertilizer timing was counterintuitive for you. It didn't seem counterintuitive to me. The reason is that fertilizer isn't food for plants; the term "plant food" is misleading. Plants use sunlight and air as their sources of nutrition. Fertilizer is more like a supplement, providing extra nutrients when plants are actively growing. When plants are not actively growing they don't need this extra supplement.