TREE AND SHRUBSLeaf it to me

Fertilizing Your Trees

You want healthy trees and maybe the first thing that comes to your mind is to add fertilizer. While fertilizer is important, it is not plant food. Plants use water, carbon dioxide, elements from fertilizer, and energy from the sun to produce their own food. While fertilizer can help promote healthy flower production and foliage growth – too much fertilizer can decrease plant health and can lead your trees decline.

There is another reason not to over apply fertilizer and that is due to environmental concerns. Believe it or not, fertilizer can pollute our rivers, streams, lakes, and estuaries.

Over fertilizing your trees, and we say “over” – can increase the likelihood of some plant diseases. Ideally, you want your tree to grow in moderation. A tree that is pushed to grow too fast will have lush, green leaves and shoot growth, they also will become more susceptible to injury by cold in winter, are more likely to be broken during wind and ice storms, and usually will require more pruning than plants making moderate growth.

If your plant looks unhealthy, it is common too assume it just needs fertilizer. Fertilization may be helpful but only after the problem causing poor growth has been corrected. Reasons plants show such symptoms are numerous, they include inadequate soil aeration, moisture, or nutrients; adverse climatic conditions; incorrect pH; or disease. If you have recently transplanted your tree, it is common that the tree will not resume a normal growth rate until the original root system is reestablished. Plants disturbed by construction within the past five to ten years can also go into shock and exhibit limited new foliage growth. Adding fertilizer will not quickly remedy any problem, which is encountered, in many cases it can make existing problems worse. Determine the specific cause in each situation and apply corrective measures first.

What does a plant require? Plants need 17 elements for normal growth. These include carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, which are found in air and water. The nitrogen, potassium, magnesium, calcium, phosphorous, and sulfur are absorbed from the soil. The latter six elements are used in relatively large amounts by the plant and are called macronutrients. There are eight other elements that are used by the tree in much smaller amounts; these are called micronutrients or trace elements. The micronutrients include iron, zinc, molybdenum, manganese, boron, copper, cobalt, and chlorine. The nutrients that are most likely to limit plant growth are nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium.

While you understand over fertilizing can hurt your tree, it is still important to fertilize. To fertilize, one must understand why you are fertilizing and what it is you are adding to your tree.

A primary need of a tree is nitrogen. Nitrogen is usually more responsible for increasing plant growth than any other nutrient. Shortages can cause slow growth, reduced leaf size, cause yellowing, short branches, premature fall color and leaf drop. While shortages can cause problems, again, abundance can also cause problems.  An over abundance can cause excessive shoot and foliage growth, reduced root growth, low plant food reserves, and increased susceptibility to environmental stresses and some plant diseases.

Nitrogen is a mobile nutrient it is in constant motion. Nitrogen applied to the soil can be used by plants, washed off the soil surface, lost to the air as a gas, or leached through the soil). Nitrogen from granular fertilizer can enter streams from surface runoff. Nitrogen loss is higher when a heavy rain immediately follows a surface application of fertilizer, especially on sloped areas. Incorporating fertilizer into the soil or lightly watering (1/4 to 1/2 inch) after making a surface application will reduce the amount of nitrogen loss.

Phosphorus (P) is also important to trees and plays a role in photosynthesis, respiration, energy storage and transfer, cell division, and cell enlargement. It promotes early root formation and growth, and the production of flowers, fruits, and seeds. When applied as fertilizer, phosphorus is quickly bound by soil particles. Phosphorus is extremely immobile in soils (except sand); it moves about 1 inch from its original placement. Unless phosphorus is incorporated into the soil, watered in, or applied as a band, plants may not be able to use it.

Potassium in involved in many plant growth processes; it is vital to photosynthesis and helps regulate water in plants. Potassium fertilization helps plants overcome drought stress, increases disease resistance, and improves winter hardiness. Potassium can be leached through the soil by water, but not as quickly as nitrogen.

All fertilizers are labeled with three numbers, giving the percentage (by weight) of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P2O5), and potassium (K2O). A 100 pound bag of fertilizer labeled 0-20-10 has 0 pounds of nitrogen, 20 pounds of phosphorus, 10 pounds of potassium, and 70 pounds of filler. Filler is added to make the fertilizer easier to spread and to reduce the likelihood of burning plants with too much fertilizer. A fertilizer may contain secondary nutrients or micronutrients not listed on the label.

Fertilizer applications are used during the growing season to improve the health and appearance of trees. Most deciduous trees should be fertilized once every two to three years. Evergreens may be fertilized in the spring, but less often than deciduous trees.

Since trees have their greatest need for nutrients in the spring, fertilizer should be applied any time between leaf drop in the fall and leafing out in the spring. The health and vigor of a tree may be improved by fertilizers up to July 1. Beyond that time, new growth stimulated by the fertilizer may not have sufficient time to harden off before winter.

Trees growing in naturalized areas where little or no mowing takes place and leaves are not collected usually will not need regular fertilizing.

The fertilizer should be spread evenly over the entire root zone which can extend two to three times the width of the branches. Remember that some of the root zone may have already been fertilized when fertilizer was applied to the lawn or flower bed. Sprinkle the fertilizer on top of the soil or mulch and water lightly. Since the fertilizer will quickly move through the mulch there is no need to remove it or to place the fertilizer below it. Spread the fertilizer evenly under the branches. Dumping fertilizer in one spot can caused the roots below the fertilizer to be burned and die. Apply fertilizer when the foliage is dry so the fertilizer does not stick to plant foliage and cause burning. If fertilizer lodges in the whorls of plant foliage, use a broom to brush the fertilizer off.

Fertilizing doesn’t have to be complicated, just remember not to use it as a cure-all when your plant is looking a little off.

About the Author

Andrew Johnson is the owner of Central Texas Tree Care, a leading tree service provider in Central Texas (Travis County and surrounding areas) offering services such as pruning and removals, cabling and bracing as well as arborist reports, diagnostics, pest management, fertilization and Austin tree service trusts. For more information please visit http://www.centraltexastreecare.com.

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