Holly-Tone by Espoma

Holly-tone, manufactured by Espoma, is a premier organic fertilizer for acid-loving shrubs.

It was the first product ever produced by this eight decade old, family-owned company located in Millville, New Jersey. The company now manufactures the largest selection of natural blends and single ingredient plant foods in the country.

The Espoma Company began production in 1929, naming its first plant food Espoma Organic. The product was a blend of natural materials available near the company’s location in Millville. These ingredients were blended and bagged in a small wooden building using shovels, wheelbarrows, scales and the sweat of employees’ backs.

Espoma survived the Depression years with a lot of hard work, but its growth was slow. It was not until the late 1940’s that H.G. Sanders, the company’s founder, created Holly-tone, which became Espoma’s number one best seller, and it holds this ranking even today.

Holly-tone’s mineral blend is 4-3-4 and contains Bio-tone microbes. It is the perfect food for acid-loving plants that include holly, rhododendron, azalea, mountain laurel, Japanese Andromeda, blue big-leaf hydrangeas (macrophylla), blueberries, most evergreens, heath and heather.

For in-depth information about how and when to fertilize these plants, click here.  This helpful page includes a fantastic how-to video!