How do you feed your trees?

Lesley

I just took a ride on Matt's link to Persiano's web page and started reading not only about JBP's but also superfeeding. How do you all feed your trees? How often? With what? And is superfeeding a popular practice? I started feeding mine with a powdered, balanced fertilizer in the soil and alternate it with a foliar spray and occasional muracid for those that like it. I do it weekly, Spring thru Fall when I drop back the nitrogen and then no fertilizer thru the Winter.

So, what's common out there?

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mushashi

I have had pretty good success using seaweed extract. I prefer to use organic fertilizers when possible.

jguyett

From an old book by a bonsai master, c 1960. He recommended rapeseed cakes (canola oil) with a little wood ash (potash) mixed in for the potassium. No residual, or salt build up from this mix. Cottonseed meal cakes are an accpetable substitute.

jg

Ian_Homer

Hi Lesley,

Having just re-potted about 2/3 weeks ago, I sprinkle on a Little Blood, Fish & Bone, (available from Garden Centres) which gives a VERY slow release fertilisation for a couple of months. I normally put this on over the courser layer of soil, then cover with my top dressing. Avoids any "blow-away" and is not then unsightly.

Just yesterday, I started with a 3:5:5 mix added at half strength to a small watering can (rainwater). This is applied gently and watered in with tap (town) water from a hose with a fine spray attachment.

Be careful not to feed too soon at full strengths since you will burn the growing tips of the roots and DO NOT get the pots too wet. Leaves and roots are still developing and just need constant moisture for now. Too much fertiliser early on will also give you larger leaves, which is against what we are looking for. Frequency: At the moment, every two weeks. I normally do half my display area one week, then the other the following week to break up the task.

In another month or so when the weather warms, I increase the watering regime and change to a higher dose fertiliser. Usually, 1/2 strength again on a weekly basis.

Once the early spring growth has eased off, you can clip & trim to develop growth in the areas you need, without the worry of increasing leaf size.

Do not know, off the top of my head what NPK my other one mix is, but I will look it up for you over the weekend.

I have tried "naturals" like one that smelt like "horse manure" in liquid form but found that growth rates were poor.

Have never tried foliar feeding, simply because I have always felt it too hit and miss. Others might suggest I try it ?

Hope that helps.
Ian.

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ripssurf

ive used rapeseed cake in the past in varying amounts depending on the tree. before that i was using inorganic food. i made the switch because i wanted something more "natural" to use to feed my plants.

in my opinion, and of course it may not be true, but i perceived that certain plants (cherry and 5-needle pine especially) responded better to the rapeseed cake while others (satsuki, winter flowering jasmine) responded better to inorganics. i dont know why. i have no scientific evidence to back this up though other than observation.

jeff

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annis

Since I know what happens to garden plants if you overfertilize, I'll pass on the "superfeeding." Coarse, floppy trees is not my goal. Of course I want the trees to be as healthy as possible, but in general I am quite restrained about fertilizing most of the time. I want slow, controllable growth in all but the very young trees.

For trees in training (in bonsai soil), I just use osmotic pellets. I've been using these for three years and this seems to work fine. For everything else I've been following the generic advice: every other week half- to 3/4-strength 20-20-20.

Since our water is mind-bogglingly hard here I've started to use liquid iron on the acid-loving trees. This will be my first full year doing this, so I can only report that one of the other club members applies this once a month during the growing season.

I have never done foliar feeding, and I harbor dark suspicious this is a marketing invention of fertilizer companies. Roots are for absorbing nutrients, not leaves.

I'm perfectly happy with the inorganics. Several of the organics stink to high heaven, or attract pests. But I've always been told that bone meal is good for landscape plants to help with the roots. It never occurred to me until I read Ian_Homer's post that I might want to use this on the wee trees, too.

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Ralph

I feed with an organic fertilizer bought from a local nursery. I also use a foliar spray that is fish emulsion, kelp, garlic juice, vinegar, and liquid compost @ 1 tablespoon each to a gallon of water.

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007

I had been using an inorganic liquid feed diluted to 1/4 strength . . . schultz i believe.

Recently however after I realized that I was apparently incapable of remebering to feed on a regular schedule with that, I swithced to an organiz pellet for that I now sprinkle on top of the soil.

I now use TreeTone organic fertilizer and I have to admit I am VERY pleased with the results. My ficus tree's love the stuff and started sprouting a lot of new growth within one feeding . . . never got results like that from the Schultz. Plus its only $3.99 for a three pound bag!

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Arnie

Dependent on the tree and time of year.

Pines weak 0 Nitrogen until candles open then higher nitrogen regularly.

Yews/ Junipers Rapeseed cake and a fortnightly foliar feed of Seaweed extract.

Larch in development, Bio Gold from late Spring till late Autumn.

Maples nothing until leaves harden then one month of Bio-gold then one very high Nitrogen liquid feed (Rose food) thats it usually for the year.