{"id":11149,"date":"2018-11-15T12:00:32","date_gmt":"2018-11-15T17:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/?p=11149"},"modified":"2018-11-13T22:59:13","modified_gmt":"2018-11-14T03:59:13","slug":"fertilizing-trees-and-shrubs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/2018\/11\/15\/fertilizing-trees-and-shrubs\/","title":{"rendered":"Fertilizing Trees And Shrubs"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Fertilize area under tree 1.5 times the tree’s spread<\/p><\/div>\n

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Apply fertilizer in planting area under the sweetgums<\/p><\/div>\n

Maintaining good \u00a0plant nutrition is of key importance.\u00a0A tree and shrub\u00a0which is growing vigorously can resist\u00a0infestation from most diseases and insects.\u00a0Symptoms of poor nutrition:<\/strong>\u00a0pale green or chlorotic leaves; undersized plants;\u00a0 slower annual growth rate; many dead or dying branch tips;\u00a0increased insect\/disease problems.<\/p>\n

Trees under 10 years\u00a0of age should be fertilized annually. There is\u00a0little need to feed newly planted specimens and those\u00a0suffering root damage from recent trenching or construction. Yard shade trees\u00a0generally receive\u00a0adequate fertilizing if the lawn is fed twice annually. Old established trees do not need to be fertilized every year.<\/p>\n

High pH (alkaline) soils can\u00a0result in\u00a0chronic deficiencies of nutrients in some tree species, such as red maple, birch and pin oak, as well as nitrogen-deficient soils. Nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) are essential plant nutrients found in bags of fertilizers. The analysis will vary from one fertilizer manufacturer to another. Some products may be organic-based and are “slow-release”.<\/p>\n

The fertilizer label on the package lists the exact proportions of available nutrients. For example, a bag label\u00a0of 20-10-10 contains 20% N, 10% P (phosphoric\u00a0acid), and 10% potassium (K) as potash. A 50 pound bag containing 20% nitrogen fertilizer (10 pounds of actual nitrogen) and also 5 pounds each of P and K.<\/p>\n

Your\u00a0soil should be tested every 4-5 years\u00a0to\u00a0check and correct (if necessary) a\u00a0nutrient deficiency or soil pH that may be out of balance. Many land grant universities and\u00a0full service garden centers offer fee-based soil testing.<\/p>\n

General Fertilizer Program for trees and shrubs: <\/strong><\/p>\n

Here in Tennessee or Virginia, the best time to fertilize is late March or early April or in late fall once plants are dormant. In New England or Midwestern states, application time may be 2-4 weeks later. Weigh out the recommended fertilizer and\u00a0distribute it evenly under the tree or around the shrub. Do not fertilize within 12 inches of the main trunk. Do not exceed rate of 3 lbs. of actual nitrogen per 1,000 square feet. Tree roots usually spread 1.5 times the diameter of the branch spread or that of the shrub width.\u00a0Around mass groupings of plants, calculate the surface area around the entire planting to be fertilized (see photos above).<\/p>\n

Information Source:<\/strong> Morton Arboretum in Lisle IL<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Maintaining good \u00a0plant nutrition is of key importance.\u00a0A tree and shrub\u00a0which is growing vigorously can resist\u00a0infestation from most diseases and insects.\u00a0Symptoms of poor nutrition:\u00a0pale green or chlorotic leaves; undersized plants;\u00a0 slower annual growth rate; many dead or dying branch tips;\u00a0increased insect\/disease problems. Trees under 10 years\u00a0of age should be fertilized annually. There is\u00a0little need to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[444,398,665,9,1378,853,623,1435,616,866,551,627,202,843,729,1321,643,1210,1287,630,7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11149"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11149"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11149\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11166,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11149\/revisions\/11166"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11149"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11149"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11149"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}