|
| I am questioning whether it is too soon to fertilize this 'Sky Pencil' Holly in the spring? I was thinking of just mixing Alfalfa pellets in around the base of it. Any thoughts? |
Follow-Up Postings:
|
- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Sun, Feb 14, 10 at 9:27
| it is rabbit food .... and other vermin.. including my golden retriever.. who dug up all the pellets ... make tea and use the water .... seems quite early to fertilize.. in my z5.. should be the same for your 6 ken |
|
- Posted by prairiemoon2 zone 6a/MA (My Page) on Sun, Feb 14, 10 at 9:33
| Good morning Ken, No, I'm just thinking ahead. I won't be doing the fertilizing until April at least. So you use alfalfa tea, Ken? Is the tea as potent as adding it straight to the soil? I guess I am thinking that adding the alfalfa directly to the soil will give the soil some good organic matter too. I don't have any dogs, rabbit or moles or voles problems and I did add it to the base of roses last year without a problem. But the other part of my question, that this being basically it's first growing season in my garden, would I be better off letting it alone this year? |
|
- Posted by gardengal48 PNW zone 8 (My Page) on Sun, Feb 14, 10 at 10:14
| Does it need fertilizing? If not, don't; if it does, then apply fertilizer. We can argue semantics unnecessarily, but alfalfa meal or any single ingredient products are more soil amendments than efficient fertilizers - they lack a well-rounded selection of nutrients and often, are lacking in many micronutrients and trace elements as well. It doesn't hurt to apply alfalfa meal as a mulch as it is a low grade organic nitrogen source as well as providing organic matter, but I'd not count on it to be an all-purpose product by any stretch. If you DO find the need to fertilize, then a blended, all purpose organic fert would work very well, or with any broadleaved evergreen plant (i.e., the Sky Pencil), an acid loving formulation is ideal. Like Espoma's Holly Tone or Dr. Earth's Organic 4 (Azalea, Rhodo and Camellia) fert. FWIW, I would encourage you to move away from the thinking that woody plants need to be fertilized on any kind of a regular schedule. If you mulch your garden with an organic mulch and have even moderately fertile soil, there is usually minimal need for fertilization. If you question fertility, test your soil; otherwise let your plants tell YOU when they need supplementation rather than the other way around. |
|
- Posted by prairiemoon2 zone 6a/MA (My Page) on Sun, Feb 14, 10 at 11:25
| Gardengal, are you saying to wait until it shows signs of not doing well, to decide it needs fertilization? It is a small shrub, I wanted to optimize it's growth because I am waiting for the height. I thought fertilizing every spring would speed things up. I don't fertilize my shrubs at all, except occasionally some of the hollies. I continue to add mulch to a clay soil. I have been thinking that some of them are growing slower than I would have expected even though they look healthy for the most part, so I was considering fertilizing some this season. I don't think I have a problem with fertility. |
|
- Posted by gardengal48 PNW zone 8 (My Page) on Sun, Feb 14, 10 at 11:58
| Ahhh...that's a common misconception of many with fertilizers :-) They are not intended for nor should be used to stimulate growth. In fact, growth that IS stimulated by fertilization may often be weak and leggy and overly attractive to insect and disease issues. A plant grows according to genetic programming - as fast or slow as its genus and species is inclined. You can optimize this by providing the best possible growing conditions - proper lighting, a fertile, well-draining soil of appropriate pH, adequate moisture, avoidance of excessive cold or heat, etc. - but fertilizing if not necessary will not help. And could hurt. The plant should be getting what it needs from the soil. Mulching is the best thing you can do. 'Sky Pencil' and most other Japanese hollies are not especially fast growing. I wouldn't expect much more than 4-6" per year and that not until after the plant is fully established in the garden. Full establishment for woody shrubs is anywhere from 3-5 years. I think you may be expecting too much too soon :-) |
|
- Posted by prairiemoon2 zone 6a/MA (My Page) on Sun, Feb 14, 10 at 13:06
| Well, that settles that. Another job I won't have to do. Thanks, Gardengal. :-) |
Please Note: Only registered members are able to post messages to this forum. If you are a member, please log in. If you aren't yet a member, join now!
Return to the Shrubs Forum
Instructions
- You must be a registered member and logged in to post messages on our forums.
- Posting is a two-step process. Once you have composed your message, you will be taken to the preview page. You will then have a chance to review the contents and make changes.
- After posting your message, you may need to refresh the forum page in order to see it.
- It is illegal to post copyrighted material without the owner's consent.
- HTML codes are allowed in the message field only.
- No advertising is allowed in any of the forums.
- If you would like to practice posting or uploading photos, please visit our Test forum.
- If you need assistance, please Contact Us and we will be happy to help.