I'm looking for some advice as to if and when I should fertilize my Acer palmatum seedlings that are about two inches high. If I should fertilize with what? I'd like to stick to organics. Thanks.
I would also be interested if anyone could recommend a suitable organic fertilizer for young Acers. I use "blood, fish and bone" in the garden as a balanced organic fertilizer, but have not used it in containers because I don't know if it is suitable for this purpose. I currently fertilize my young seedling Acers as little as possible with a weak solution of a balanced chemical fertilizer. I have no interest in making the plants large quickly because they are for my own pleasure rather than a commercial scenario, and as such I would prefer the plants entered the winter small and tough rather than large and soft.
I add Espoma "Bio-Tone" organic fertilizer to my potting mix. This is a slow release natural fertilizer that includes 15 Myco fungi and bacteria species, which are symbiotic with plants and essential for nutrient uptake by roots. I do not fertilize the seedlings at all, just have this in the mix. I think this is important since potting mixes are sterile. Regards,
I am using small 3'' pots with a growing media of peet, very old dark bark and perlite that is enriched with compost and seaweed. Is this sufficient?
George, Your media sounds good. Compost tea and the Espoma product K4 cites should be fine for seedlings. In my limited experience diluted dyna-gro (not organic) works well. This year I too used Bio-Tone on my 1st year seedlings.
I am partial to a dilute solution of seaweed extract, which provides almost every conceivable nutrient except nitrogen. If you want to give the young trees a gentle nudge with nitrogen, fish emulsion makes a natural companion. In some places you can find a single product that combines both these components -- here in New England, you might look for a product line called Neptune's Harvest.
