Fertilizer
Every time I ask a question about my trees I get the answer it depends of the tree’s requirements I’ve done a web search to try to find out what my tree’s needs are and I can’t find them so I’m asking the collective group the question
Maple tree’s Soil and fertilizer please
European Larch again soil and fertilizer
Last tree is the elm soil and fertilizer please
I have swopped out Naruko to miracle gro liquid fertilizer I am using it for all the trees as I don’t know any better
I am brand new to this forum, but have been a total plant nerd for two decades and have grown a lot of green, including cannabis, tropicals, succulents, herbs and greens, and bonsai of various species. I want to stress, I have a grow room, so everything is indoors. I do not live in a situation where I can leave my bonsai outdoors... Manhattan doesn't do 'yards'. You may need to adjust the concentrations given depending on how much light your trees are getting. Anyway, I want to tread carefully, both because I am new, and because I find endorsing products a bit sketchy. I started to write a very long response but I don't think that's what you want. I won't touch the soil question, but
for fertilizing the Elm and Maple, there are two products that I would recommend. First,
TPS (Total Plant Science) makes a bonsai formula. I have used their TPS-One formula for years in hydroponics, but unless you want to adjust PH every time you water, avoid it. For simplicity, their bonsai specific stuff has an even NPK ratio, which is fine for both Elm and Maple. It is complete, and safe. Though I would recommend using about
2/3rds strength of what they recommend to mix in water. Again, I have no interest in promoting products, only giving you a simple answer. Another is
NPK Industries RAW. They sell individual nutes you can mix yourself, but that is a pain... It is the best way to customize your nutrient mixtures, but I assume that would be a headache for most people. Fortunately, they also make a general Grow formula and a Flower formula. For the most part, their
RAW Grow formula has everything your Elm and Maple would need throughout the late spring and summer months, and the ingredients are pretty solid, with all macro and micro nutes, kelp, humic acid, and silica included. It's a soluble powder. I would use the grow formula, and
feed at half strength unless your trees are in full sun all day (which I doubt). Lastly,
Fox Farm makes a full organic line, but there are too many varieties to go into, and if your roots are often wet, you can end up with rot or mold... I would also
flush with pure water or very low levels of nutes about once every 4 to 6 weeks with either of these to avoid salt build up. The Larch is trickier so I'll leave that one alone. It is safe to say, however, the two I just named above are better than Miracle Grow. Lastly, adding mycorrhizae to your soil will help build a strong root biome. I would highly recommend this, if you don't have a lot of organics in the soil. Hope this helps.
