I have two apple trees: red delicious and a granny smith, two peach trees: redhaven and red globe: and a plum tree: santa rosa, does any one know what the best fertilizer for these fruit trees are? thank you
For a bearing fruit tree that you need to add fertilizer to, (for each tree,) start with 0.67 lb Calcium nitrate & 0.33 lb Potassium nitrate. Split this into two applications: for South Carolina do half now (March 21), and half on May 1. Add 20 days to each date for northern-tier states (there should be leafs on the tree at the time of the first application; the second application should be post bloom). Increase by 50% in subsequent years only if the amount of new (terminal) growth is inadequate. The amount you want is about 8 inches for a bearing tree, 24 inches for young, non-bearing tree. It is better to have a little less than to have excess, as that can be asking for pest and disease problems. A simple organic fertilizer for a bearing fruit tree would be 10-15 lbs of "mushroom compost soil", or 2-3 lbs for a young, non-bearing tree. Here is a page with info about chemical fertilizers: http://www.canr.msu.edu/vanburen/e-896.htm
