I’ve been using Dynamite All Purpose 15-5-9 for all of my container plants for four years, in a modified version of Al’s 5-1-1 that I’ve been tweaking here and there. I do some herbs, flowers, and veggies, but most of what I grow long-term are tree seedlings for eventual planting out in the ground.

I use 1 tbsp/gallon and my plants grow almost TOO fast. To the point where I get some winter dieback on maples in particular, due to the trees not hardening off fast enough!

I don’t do anything consistently to supplement the missing zinc, I think the zinc in the pine bark (and possibly the lime) is enough, although occasionally, I’ll water with some Foliage Pro at times as well, but I don’t do that regularly, just a couple times during mid to late spring.

Even in one-year-old 5-1-1, where the Dynamite has been depleted, and the plant isn’t ready to be up-potted, I can just “top dress” with another TBSP/gallon and get good results, as long as I work it in at least the top inch, or put a thin (no more than half an inch, to avoid burying roots too much) layer of 5-1-1 over top to keep moisture around the pellets, and keep watered thoroughly. It still seems to work about 80% as well as it does in “fresh” mix where it’s worked in throughout the mix.

All I can say is, almost all my trees grow FAST – from seeds I get the following average heights after ONE growing season:

Acer palmatum – 12”

Acer japonicum – 24”

Acer saccharum and nigrum – 20”

Quercus alba – 8” (seems like nothing will make them grow much their first year), going into their second season now

Quercus michauxii – 36” (!)

Quercus coccinea – 15”

Quercus bicolor – 15”

Taxodium distichum – 36”

Metasequoia – 18”

Cercis canadensis - ~18”

Acer triflorum – 8”, but has already doubled in height this spring (second season) less than 2 weeks after bud swell

Acer buergerianum – About 20”

Cladrastis kentukea – around 8”, but made it to 30” the second season

Magnolia grandiflora – around 6”

Quercus myrsinifolia – 6”