Bonsai Food

[BonsaiLiz]

Hi, Can anyone help me with the Bonsai Food Liquid I have purchased, I am ok with the 5ml of feed in 1 litre of tepid water, but my query is how do I apply this mixture to my Bonsai.
Soak my Bonsai so it covers the soil?
Or do I pour just all the food over the soil?

If anyone can help me I would be gratefull.

Liz

[Gnome]

Liz,

You should thoroughly wet the soil with the fertilizer mixture. This can be somewhat wasteful if the soil is dry as it takes a lot of liquid to saturate the soil in the pot.. What I do is to water my trees as normal first, this helps to allow the fertilizer to permeate the soil without having to use as much. At this point you only use as much as is necessary to ensure that the mixture is evenly disbursed.

Norm

[BonsaiLiz]

Thank you Norm, I was reading somewhere that in the Winter Months my bonsai will only need to have Food about once a month?
Mine at the moment seems pretty healthy,My bonsai is 4 years old.


Liz

[Gnome]

Liz,

I was debating whether or not to discuss these issues but since you did not ask and you have posted in the indoor section I decided to leave it alone.

Deciduous trees that are outside are going into dormancy now and will not require any fertilizer until spring. Some types of trees that require a rest period of cool temps will not require much in the way of fertilization either. Some others, Ficus for instance, will continue to grow throughout the winter, especially if you have supplemental lighting. Plantings like this can benefit from more frequent fertilization since they have no real dormancy/rest period.

Norm

[kdodds]

Yep. The "conventional wisdom" says to fertilize only once per month in winter for tropicals. I did it for years, and for years noticed greatly decelerated growth from October through March. This year, I'm foregoing "conventional wisdom". Why? Tropicals grow year round, primarily. But also, "conventional wisdom" says a lot of things, including not to use full strength ferts. Yet, I've had the best year so far using ferts at full strength, mixing in potting soil into moisture-loving trees, and supplementing with house plant spikes. I'm going into my ninth month with Fukien Tea and Sweet/Bird Plum indoors. While this isn't the longest I've been able to keep them, they look much better than any previous trees I'v kept indoors this long. Bird Plum was kept outside all summer, FWIW.

[TomM]

This leads to another question - "conventional wisdom" tells us never to fertilize dry roots (moisten them first) to prevent 'burning' them.

Would you say that it is OK to fertilize while dry? At full strength?

Our new (young) club president is advocating full strength fert. too. I'm still trying to access the effects for this first year of experimentation.

[BonsaiLiz]

Hi All,

Thanks for your replies, still a bit confused and scared to use the Liquid Food I purchased, seems a lot of liquid 1 ltr, for such a small tree, hey then I could waste some, but my main concern was not to burn the roots, and cause root rot. But on saying this my husband liked my tree so much, I have got him one, his is a Sageretia, so if I make up 1tr of the food mixture I can now use it for both trees.

Also I was going to say bonsai trees indoors depends on the climate where you live, I live down here in rainy Cornwall. UK. very damp.

Liz

[BonsaiLiz]

Hi All,

Thanks for your replies, still a bit confused and scared to use the Liquid Food I purchased, seems a lot of liquid 1 ltr, for such a small tree, hey then I could waste some, but my main concern was not to burn the roots, and cause root rot. But on saying this my husband liked my tree so much, I have got him one, his is a Sageretia, so if I make up 1tr of the food mixture I can now use it for both trees.

Also I was going to say bonsai trees indoors depends on the climate where you live, I live down here in rainy Cornwall. UK. very damp.

Liz

Sorry if my original post was posted under the wrong section?

[Gnome]

Liz,

...still a bit confused and scared to use the Liquid Food I purchased, seems a lot of liquid 1 ltr, for such a small tree...

Please re-read my first reply, you do not necessarily need to use the full liter. But even if you do it will not change anything, your pot has drainage holes and the excess will drain away. If you use the whole amount the concentration will not change you will have simply wasted more. Use only enough to saturate the soil with the mixture, any more is wasted.

Norm

[BonsaiLiz]

Hi Norm,

Thank you I think I just needed re-assurance that I would not damage the roots of my Bonsai.

Liz

[kdodds]

This leads to another question - "conventional wisdom" tells us never to fertilize dry roots (moisten them first) to prevent 'burning' them.

Would you say that it is OK to fertilize while dry? At full strength?

Our new (young) club president is advocating full strength fert. too. I'm still trying to access the effects for this first year of experimentation.

I don't like flake, crystal, etc. solid ferts on the soil directly for this reason. But, using a full strength pre-mixed in water, I don't see any problems. Even with Fukien Tea and Sageretia. I think more problems MIGHT be seen IF you overmixed by accident, but dry vs. wet roots, I don't get the problem. Fertilizer is MEANT to be absorbed. If you're worried about wet vs. dry soil, assuming dry roots absorb more of the fert, then just use half strength fert. And that takes us back to square one, right?

[TomM]

Ahh ha. Good point.
My 'old school' brain keeps saying "don't burn the roots".
But I am opening up to new ideas.
Thank you.