Would somebody else please take this one? I think I might 'splode!

+oM (I really hate those things, in case you didn't notice;^)

A lot of people don't really like tree spikes. Here in the arid SW they never disintegrate. To be honest, most people will leave negative feedback on this board, just like the poster above.

They're a scam. $0.10's worth of fertiliser packed up in $10 of fancy talk, and wrapped up in a system that doesn't deliver the fertiliser effectively. The manufacturers also do a good line in snake oil.

If a soil test reveals that fertiliser is necessary (which it isn't, in the vast majority of cases), then use a broadcast granular fertiliser with composition as indicated by the deficiencies found in the soil test. Remember that in the wild, conifers are almost all adapted to growing on very low fertility soils.

Resin

dont ever waste your money again ...

in any soil..no matter how bad it is ... trees/conifers.. really dont need food ... they are trees .. not children ... they just about cover the face of the planet without any help from us ....

if you think something is lacking in your soil ... have a soil test done.. and adjust your soil appropriately ...

i like to think of it this way ... how do you know where to pound it in.. so that any possible root ever gets to it... its not like they can smell them out and go for it ....

if your trees are in your lawn .. and you fert your lawn ... the trees will go steal the fert from your lawn ... they dont need anything extra

seem like a new name.. welcome to the forum ..

ken

Do yourself and the trees a favor and dig them all back out one more time and put them in the trash can.

Don't feel bad. At one time or another we all have probably considered using them when we were new at the gardening game.

Dave

Just to give you a little info on WHERE to put fertilizer when using it around a tree,apply it around the drip edge of the branches. This is where the feeder roots are.

Regarding fertilizing trees----sometimes it's necessary. The county I live in is nothing but clay. Clay has very little nutrient in it. I have a lot of conifers here and some of them don't do well unless I fertilize them every couple of years, or so. So it really depends on what type of soil you're working with.

I agree; take the stakes out and toss them. Before doing any fertilizing, be sure to have a soil test done to see IF any fertilizer is necessary (more times than not, no fertilizer is necessary.)
Good luck,
tl³

"WHERE to put fertilizer when using it around a tree,apply it around the drip edge of the branches. This is where the feeder roots are" - not true! The feeder roots are throughout the tree's rooting area, which typically extends far beyond the drip line.

"Clay has very little nutrient in it" - also not true. Clay is typically rich in nutrients, particularly potassium and phosphorus. It is sometimes not easy for trees to access the nutrients due to poor drainage creating rooting problems, but that is only solved by improving drainage and water penetrability (e.g. by adding mulch to increase the organic content of the soil), not by adding more nutrients.

Resin

If a need for fertilizer is established on this site and the spikes have an appropriate formulation these can be crumbled and applied as granular fertilizer, rather than thrown away.

If a site has a nutrient deficiency trees and shrubs are likely to need fertilizer just like small plants. The need for adequate soil minerals does not end when a plant becomes big and woody.

noki-

You hit the nail on the head. Yes, there is middle ground. The research shows a SLOW release water insoluble nitrogen fertilizer is beneficial to trees. I have provided links to reasearch that shows this in past posts. I understand the sensitivity to polluting the groundwater by over-fertiliziation but don't understand the non-acceptance of extensive research. Below are results from extensive research on this subject:

-Lawn trees in general to not get the same nutrients as those in a forest setting.
-Nitrogen is nearly always the limiting nutrient for trees.
-Nitrogen tests are nearly impossible to conduct- those that are, are expensive.
-Nitrogen tests (even the expensive ones) will provide only a snapshot of nitrogen in the soil. After a rain or 2, the results will likely change drastically.
-Trees fertilized in this manner are less suseptible to pests, grow faster, and are in general healthier trees.
-Spikes are one method to fetilize, however a much cheaper and more effective method is spreading SLOW release water insoluble nitrogen over the entire rootzone in late winter / early spring or in late fall. Fertilizing during the growing season will cause late season growth and potential winter damage due to growth not being hardened.

Just don't fertilize seedlings that do not yet have a decent root system (wait 1-2 yrs after planting seedlings).

Think there can sometimes be an "I've always done it (or not done it) this way, so.." mentality when it comes to this particular issue. I didn't want to go out and harm all my 6000 trees, so I called multiple soil labs and nursieries, and read extensively on the subject. There is an overwhelming agreement from my research that nitrogen fertilizion is good, if done with the right products and at the right time.

john

Nitrogen is usually what's deficient in many areas. Seedlings planted into a deficient soil will not benefit from being deprived for 2 years.

Think conifers

I'm almost sorry I started the responses to your question the way I did. Johnstaci has neatly summed up everything that I also believe on this subject. My negative emphasis was on this particular method of nutrient delivery.

The easiest method is also the best, IMO. Simply sprinkling granular material lightly over the rooting area, and then watering it in, is the way I'd do it.

Bboy mentions the possibility of crumbling up the spikes you've already applied and using them. This is, indeed, preferrable to adding them to the garbage. I would go VERY sparingly with this crushed up material, and as evenly as possible. As to the unused ones, barring a return of them to the store, maybe a rummage sale item? ;^)

+oM

bboy-

I have been tempted to fertilize right after planting, but haven't. From everything I've read, the most important thing for seedlings the first yaer or two is development of the root system. Fertilizer in the early years moves the growth above ground rather than below ground. See below from research on this subject. The research also shows how watering too much is worse for seedling root development than not watering enough.

Below Ground-
Hopea odorata root length decreased with increasing levels of fertilizer for both watering regimes; the effects were more pronounced under water-stress treatments (Figure 1a). Unfertilized and water-stressed (F0W1) seedlings recorded the highest root length, indicating that root growth was promoted under limited water-stress treatments. Plants treated with 50 g of fertilizer under water-stressed conditions (F5W1) recorded the lowest root length, indicating that excess fertilizer can reduce root formation. Root length of M. elengi seedlings decreased with increasing levels of fertilizer for both watering regimes after 12 months (Figure 1b). The lowest root length was recorded for unfertilized plants under well-watered conditions (F0W0), indicating that low nutrient availability, coupled with well-watered conditions, depressed root growth for M. elengi seedlings.

john

Here is a link that might be useful: fertilizing seedlings

I've seen this posted here before, and commented at that time.

I just ran across this and thought it may apply to subject on conifer fertilization (not the subject on seedling develpment). It is from Clemson University.

You can read the entire fact sheet below, but one of the points in the summary was:

-Keep pines healthy by watering and fertilizing them.

Here is a link that might be useful: Clemson University Cooperative Extension Service

what about trees in a city setting that are basically planted in a small square of dirt in the sidewalk? I want the trees in front of my condo to look nice....

Soil mineral requirements vary with species - wild green plants actually separate out into high nitrogen, moderate nitrogen and low nitrogen groups that can be used to assess soil quality on a vegetated site if where a particular species falls within that range is known. If the trees chosen for your planting like a fertile soil and your street has poor conditions (as might often be the case) then fertilizing them could produce a marked improvement in growth and general appearance.

It would be best to find out what you can about typical needs of the kind of trees you have and then sample the soil around them, have it tested by a soils lab to see how it stacks up.

The "middle ground" referenced above also depends on the use of the plants.
The Clemson Uni. extension (link broken) was advocating conifer fertilization on pines grown on conifers plantation in the sandy-soil south. In that case the use of the plants is not landscaping, but trying to get rows and rows of the exact same species growing as fast as possible to produce as many board-feet of lumber per acre as possible as fast as possible. That goal is a FAR CRY from the normal landscaping use of plants.
Defasio, for a tree planted in an opening for a tree in concrete (I think this actually has a certain name I'm forgetting), if you spoil it for years with regular watering and fertilization, its roots would be less inclined to ever leave the little opening. And you'd end up with a weak, poorly anchored tree. (granted if you're in a truly arid climate like southern California - which people are soon going to pay the price for pretending isn't arid - the tree could need water for the rest of its life unless it's a very drought adopted species. But I'd assume a provision was already made for that by the condo developers.)