Those Avatar photos are 2 similar for to Ada's! Good thing for Twisted Trees or we may have 3!
For Pre-Bonsai....
The biggest "it depends" for me is their growth habit.
Of course, this takes an understanding of fertilizer I have yet to observe, but text gives some things to consider while making these observations for each of your individual pre-bonsai...
They Say Fert, or overfert, can lead to long internodes....so on a maple, if you are trying to build a "next trunk segment", you may get it very quickly with a lot of fert, but with a stretch of 6inches with no nodes, without grafting, you'll never get branches in that entire segment.
But lets say you plan to build that next section next year....and are using this year to JUST fert pump....fert away, since everything will be cut off.
Even on trees that WILL pop buds away from nodes..Elm...they are more likely to pop buds at nodes...so even then it is better to grow slow.
So basically, in early spring, its almost always better to wait....let that first growth come out slow and tight....since it is usually what we cut back to, and fert the rest of the year.
Then of course.....
What kind of fertilizer are you using?
That depends too....
New cakes applied and you're not really feeding right now anyway.
Chemicals? You may or may not be! Lol!
May not be?
Again....it took me 7 years to witness GROWTH as directly related to fert....
Last summer/fall I witnessed HEALTH from a year of much fish that smelled like fish.
But Growth...like..fert = growth ...water = living....I only witnessed this winter....
KEY? It didn't smell like fish, it smells like sewage....
It is already broken down, the nutrients are more readily available.
This is Soooooo important to note ....
All these ferts are meant for Dirt.
Even Biogold or any Japanese fert isn't what it is without AKADAMA.
HYDROPONICS nutrients are designed for water.
But what is the fertilizer that is designed for modern substrate? (MG sells potting soil, not modern substrate)
The closest would be one built for a rise and fall hydro system yes? Are these the same hydro nutrients? If so I would argue a constant contact hydro system would work better, and a proper fert for our modern substrate has yet to be designed.
I steered away from MASS chems because I never witnessed growth.
I don't "see" it working.
What I DO "SEE" is a direct correlation between a very dry soil....watered often...
Causing the tiniest of root tips to die and branch, each watering.
Same as a colander, making many fine feeder roots, just Inside the soil.
All those fine roots thriving in an environment full of water and oxygen...
I "see" that powering very healthy growth.
With a "chemical reverse placebo" so strong, of you stop using chems you stop getting the growth. But that's the power of the mind, and our very real connection to our trees.
Argue it....shade, shelter, food, water, clothing, weapons, vantage points, a toilet....
Our relationship with trees is deeper than we Remember.
The trees are not so plagued by the human condition.
They have not forgotten this long ongoing relationship.
As soon as I listened to man less...
And the trees more...
Everything started working better.
But I WILL continue to rot my fish (not a cool dry place!) and fert....
Not how the DasEfx rhyme pattern is the same as a spring branch.
Kiggity close nodes that get a little longer.
Sorce