Feeding trees and shrubs

Yorky

When spring feeding with bonemeal for trees & shrubs and sulphate of potash for fruit trees and shrubs, I have the following questions:

When there is weed suppressant matting and bark mulch/stone chippings on top, is it alright to sprinkle the food on top of this and let it work its way down to the soil or should the covering be pulled back,food administered and then recovered?

The instructions give a spreading rate per metre but how does this translate into per tree/shrub? Is just a handful per tree/shrub alright as a rule of thumb?

artieanna

personally I would remove the mulch around the shrub before feeding. My reason for this is to get the fertilizer into the ground as quickly as possible otherwise it may sit in the mulch for longer than necessary and risks being diluted or washed away by rain.

as for the amount of fertilizer, use the amount given for the sq metre and spread it well around the shrub. It's root system is spread out quite a bit away from the main trunk.

Sonnenblumen

A much more effective way is to use a slow release fertilser, usually in pelleted form. There are several options on the market, and feeding is effected through the watering process and is sutainable for as much as 6 months.

FB&B type feeds would be effective near term but wouldn't be as long lasting as 'slow release' types.

artieanna

I agree totally sonnenblumen

Reyman

I think the OP might be trying to use organic fertilizer - hence the bonemeal.

I doubt if the pelleted form is organic?