Black pine in development stage

[Lannabulls]

Hi,
I received a japanise black pine as present, It is around 4 years old, cleary in prebonsai stage. I already slip pot it into a colander with proper size with a soil mix of leaf compost, pine bark nuggets and perlite, around 60 % organic, 40% inorganic.
One simple question, I am in development stage therefore pine needs a burst expecially in nitrogen. Could you please tell me in general wich NPK ratio should I aim? Especially about N, wich % is proper, should not be overcome?
Thanks so much for your help!

 

[Shibui]

It doesn't matter what fertilizer you use for growing a pine.
Not sure what fert are available in Thailand but any general fertilizer will be OK for growing a pine.
Don't be fooled into equal ratios like 10:10:10 or 20:20:20 because plants don't use the nutrients in equal quantities. Those ratios don't cause any real harm just a waste of nutrients the plants cannot use.
One of the ferts I use is 12:1.4:7. Another is 25:5:8.8
Just find any complete fert at your plant shop.

 

[Lannabulls]

Thanks so much!
Correct me then if I assume wrong, lets say that a N % 0f 12-15 is the average limit?
Thanks again for your hekp!

 

[Shibui]

N can be almost any concentration from 3 through to around 20 in complete fertilizers (complete means they have P and K as well as N)
What is more important is the DILUTION rates. A 10-2-5 fert used at 20g per litre of water gives exactly the same nutrients as 5-1-2.5 diluted at 40g per litre so you need to look at the dilution and application rates in conjunction with the raw ratio numbers.

High concentration ferts with larger NPK numbers can be more dangerous. It is easy to mix too strong and maybe overdose the plants. I guess that's why most most general fertilizers have relatively low numbers. Higher ratios can also leave residual metal salts in the soil unless you water a lot to flush them out of the pots.

Trees are very resilient so your trees will manage on almost any fertilizer regime. Most plants have the ability to take what they need and leave excess which then leaches out of the soil as you water.

 

[Lannabulls]

Thanks so much Shibui, learning, your teaching are music to my ears, really, really apreciate !!!