Any harm in Foliar feeding after repotting?

kompik

I'm familiar with the axiom of not fertilizing your trees for a few weeks after repotting (aside from some Osmocote mixed into the soil) to avoid damaging the roots that are already under stress, but what about spraying the trees with foliar feed? I suppose "finished" trees don't need any extra encouragement, but my trees are all about 10-20 years from that stage. If I'm repotting these guys every year or two, that means they are off their spring feeding regimine every other year at least, leading to a loss in growth potential. (I realize that the act of root pruning and repotting does a lot to produce vigorous growth all by itself, but every little bit helps.)

So, is there anything about foliar feeding during this stage that would be particularly harmful or counter-productive to the trees after a repot?

On a similar track, would foliar fertilizing help or hurt new cuttings? How about trees that have just undergone a major bonsai styling (removing many branches and much foliage in the process)?

I guess my reasoning is that foliage feed seems like a good idea to use on anything you'd be inclined to mist with water anyway; i.e. any tree needing to compensate for the loss of "intake," be it root or foliage mass.

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Dav4

Lots of controversy with this question, both in regards to the benefit of foliar feeding and the question of fertilizing immediately after re-potting. As far as the issue of re-potting and fertilizing, I believe that if you follow the directions when applying your fertilizer of choice (I use miracle grow or peters), you will not cause injury to the roots. I personally don't withhold fertilizer due to root work/re-potting. As far as foliar feeding goes, I will deliberately sprinkle the foliage with the dilute fertilizer while I'm applying it to the soil. I figure it can't hurt and may help, though I don't believe there are any definitive scientific studies to prove it has significant benefits to the trees. I've never had a problem with this approach.

Dave

PS I can't really comment on the cuttings, but my gut says don't fertilize the first year.

Glider

I use foliar feeding a lot and have found it to be very effective, producing a noticable increase in growth. Arguably, most of my feeding is foliar. I use organics from February to November, but that's mainly to maintain a healthy soil ecosystem. As most of my trees are still developing I need more than that so I foliar feed from April to September also.

I don't think I would foliar feed a tree in the refinement stage as it produces very vigorous growth, but I might use a weak solution to correct a deficiency.

I see no problem in foliar feeding after repotting (I've never had a problem with it) and gives the tree a boost when it needs it the most. It's a very efficient way of fertilizing, as long as it's done correctly.

Here's an article on Foliar Feeding. It's quite long, but it explains the principles behind foliar feeding and presents research that has been done.

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