Best time to fertilize Larch

[Nishant]

Hello Friends & Bonsai Experts,

Can you please tell me when is the best time to fertilize Larch? I have two larch both over 30 years old. Thier buds have just started opening up and the needles started showing their tip. Should I fertilize at this stage? Some say that I should wait till the needles fully grow out.

I need to get as much folliage as possible so as to strengthen the tree. There were a few branch drops on both larches this year. Thought of asking the experts so that I can maximise usage of time window.

Thanks for your inputs.

 

[Lutonian]

Depends on your goals and how far along the development of the tree is. on a refined tree I would wait for the needles to harden off. On young material or trees in development I would start as soon as is see the needle tips. This is a bit of an over simplification

 

[Shibui]

Trees can use nutrients any time there is green leaves.
When to feed can also depend on the type of fert used. Solid organic fert takes time to dissolve so is put on earlier so it will be available when the tree is ready. Most liquid fert is available immediately so you can wait a week or so until needles are open.
Fert will encourage better growth so many growers reduce fert for advanced trees so they don't grow too much.
Young, developing trees are usually fed well right through growing season to boost growth and trunk development. your aim is to get plenty of foliage so start feeding.

Excess, unused fert will usually just leach out with water so while early application is wasteful and may cause problems in the environment it should not harm the tree.

 

[Graft]

I have a small Larch. I re-potted in February and started ferts in early March at bud break. No ill effects. In fact it is leafing out nicely. For older trees this advice might not be pertinent.