Baby Chinese Elm - Liquid Fertilizer

[cetanorak]

Hi all,

I have a baby Chinese Elm that I'm hoping to make into a bonsai over time. I'm curious about fertilizer application. I have the Dyna-Grow Bonsai-Pro 7-9-5 which I've mixed to the proper concentration of 1/2tsp per gallon.

With a well-diluted water-fertilizer solution like this, am I to once every two weeks or so provide one entire watering with the only the water-fertilizer solution or can I add smaller quantities more frequently supplemented with normal water?

I want to make sure that I'm feeding this baby Chinese Elm adequately but am uncertain about how much and how often I should fertilize.

Also, the strings are in place to relax the lower branches down a bit and keep the truck as vertical as possible.

 

[Housguy]

I not an expert in fertilizing, but you shouldn't have to fertilize it more than 2 or 3 times a year. You should put a wire on the trunk instead and give it some movement?

 

[leatherback]

I would stick with once every 1-2 weeks fertilizer. The fertilizer is a needed building block. But the bulk of growth comes from sunlight.
It also depends a lot on the substrate. A coarse substrate you can fertilize daily, as the leftover flushes out. In a more organic it builds up and that will mean your roots start gettinf fertilizer burn at some point.

 

[Nanuk]

I feed my Chinese Elm every week to two weeks.
Its in very good draining soil so it gets flushed out shortly.

As Leathback said it depends a lot on the type of soil/substrate that it is growing in.

Good luck with it.

 

[Shibui]

Fertilise every week or 2 with fert mixed to recommended levels. Regular watering and well drained mix means nutrients are leached out of pots quickly so needs to be replaced. Liquid fert can replace a normal watering but if the mix is dry water first then water with fert mix.