You should be fine without fertilizer. Others will undoubtedly chime in more stridently on this topic.

Sara

Well yeah I've read trees don't really "need" extra fertilizer, but I worry because when I've tested my soil it is depleted on everything and there are parts where I've struggled to grow grass, heck even weeds don't grow much (that's not near the trees but it is safe to assume the soil is similar). I also want to make sure the trees get the best treatment they can.

A few months have gone by so I should probably be putting my own fertilizer now. The guy I got the trees from said to use scotts suncote 15-8-11 however I can't find scotts suncote anywhere in town.

==>>> NO TREE EVER!!!! NEEDS FERTILIZER ... EVER!!!

they are trees.. NOT CHILDREN ...

have a soil test done.. and amend your soil accordingly ... but never feed a tree ..

and if you fert the lawn ... then the trees will get more than enough ...

may i repeat.. NEVER FEED A TREE ..

ken

ps: so let me get straight.. there isnt a tree for a mile around your sterile soil ... sorry.. i simply dont buy the notion ...

>ps: so let me get straight.. there isnt a tree for a mile >around your sterile soil ... sorry.. i simply dont buy the >notion ...

Ohh no I didn't say that, heck I even have grass on most of that part. It is just hard to get it to grow there, and I have done soil tests and the soil was depleted on every test. But in the grass area (maybe 100 feet from the trees) where I've had trouble there aren't even weeds growing, which I find odd. But anyways that isn't the area I was making this post about, just asking about tree fertilizer that's all.

So does adding fertilizer to the trees hurt them? what about compost?

it wont hurt if you dont go overboard :)

Compost top-dressing is what I'd do. Aged compost is essentially organic fertilizer, which breaks down more slowly and doesn't run the risk of burning or causing unhealthy growth spurts.

formandfoliage, how often do you top dress? And how thick do you put the compost?

Can you recall what the soil tested deficient in? And perhaps what the pH was?

Richard.

Richard, that was a couple of years ago, I don't really remember but it was some kit with a bunch of tests and they all scored on the last or second to last. It was probably not a great test, I'll probably be sending a sample out to get it tested by the pros sometime this summer.

One of the nice things about using aged compost instead of fertilizer is that you don't have to be precise. My frequency is more determined by my own schedule and whether I remember - or whether I have a big pile of compost and am looking to get it spread. I just toss pitch forks (manure forks for cleaning stall actually work the best as they are plastic, so lightweight, and wide) full of composted manure around the plants, staying away from the trunks.

Not sure about your SPECIFIC condition, but unless tree is unhealthy from deficiency, you want to avoid fertilizing close to the end of the growing season. Last thing you want is a growth spurt just in time for frost! Spring is generally best time to fertilize.

This might help:
http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/horticulture/dg7410.html

Actually, fall is considered a very good time to fertilize established trees and shrubs. Soils remain warm late into the season, plant roots are in active growth and rains tend to be plentiful. These are all conditions that increase the efficiency of fertilization and the plants' ability to metabolize it. The best time is after a hard frost or after the leaves have fallen.

IME, Leyland cypress require very little in the way of fertilization - they grow fast enough without it :-) Watering seems to be the most limiting factor for their growth - too little equals slow growth; too much equals unhealthy growth and possibly root rots.

But if you are topdressing or mulching with a compost type product, you can do that whenever you like.

Here is a link that might be useful: Fall fertilization