"I love how people like to quote things incompletely...
How about the part where I say I use rapeseed cake? How is that an issue with basic care? How am I failing to care for my trees?
People like you and JLK have issues with reading post is what I'm noticing.
Went out and snapped pictures of the trees with fertilizer I've been using for 11 years. It's just getting spendy because I can use a whole bag on two or three trees and in the fall squirrels are snatching them.
If you won't bother reading the post and answer what was asked, please don't bother replying at all."
I love how some people who ask for advice get pi$$y when confronted with something they hadn't really considered...
First off, I cut and pasted a direct quote. Didn't do anything to it. It was not an incomplete quote. I did nothing to edit it. Apparently you're upset for me not quoting your ENTIRE post--which is already there for people to look at in it entirety.
You're looking for a short cut--simple as that. Time-released fertilizers are a short cut--they're supposed to automatically feed plants without the grower doing anything. That's why they were created--mostly for nursery growers who have a lot of plants and little time to spare. You're after something similar--something that doesn't require your attention to get done. You want it done automatically...That's fine, but there are consequences to that--inexact or hit and miss fertilization.
Which brings up the rapeseed cakes--they are really just time release in poo ball form. They perform basically the same way as the more "high tech" polymer encased stuff, only not as effectively, especially when they're mostly in the stomachs of the local squirrel population.
Look, I'm not saying the time release and poo balls won't get the job done in some fashion, but to really be effective, fertilizing your bonsai requires your time and attention. Plain and simple. If you want to do it most effectively, you have to go out and look at the trees and apply fertilizer on their timeline, not on yours.