Hi PM!

Not sure what you mean by 'will it work' and I can't remember for the life of me if you get a real cold part of the winter and what type of soil you're dealing with.

Fertilizer of any kind is always applied to correct a deficiency in the soil. That means a soil test is required. It's the only way you will know for sure if you're adding things to the soil that are already present, unnecessarily.

That said, plant tone is on the lower side of macro nutrients with 5% N, 3% P and 3% K, although 5% N is still significant and strong enough it could damage new tender roots.

It also has Calcium, magnesium and Sulphur which is good for my soil, but I don't see listed what their sources are for those 3 on the label and that can vary and is a whole 'nother discussion in itself.

Now for the question:

'will it work' ?

^

Any tree will respond to added nitrogen, sometimes good, but I wouldn't use plant tone this first season for the burn reason stated above. And if you're not real familiar with fertilizing things, accidents can happen when using a pretty strong N ratio.

And with fruit trees especially, too much nitrogen can cause runaway growth during the season which won't harden off enough to survive the next winter.

Now if it were my tree, I'd just wait until early next spring, before they bud and give them a very weak mix of a wide spectrum soluble fertilizer of your choice (1/8 to 1/4 of the recommended amount), just once, in a gallon of water, around the root area. That will suffice for a new unestablished tree that's just starting out in life and then let it grow and develop next season and into the following Fall.

Next season after that, sprinkling a little plant tone around drip line, one-time, early spring will be enough, if that's what your soil is lacking. But your guess is as good as mine. ;-)

HTH

Hi Bill! - Yes, we get cold winters here in NE. We haven’t had a frost yet, let alone a hard freeze. And the forecast for all next week is mid 50s during the day and 45 overnight, so I think we are a little later this year with the frosts. Climate change has had an impact here too so we are getting less snow in the winter but cold enough. And then spring frosts too. Zone 6 certainly not as cold as you are there in z4.

I haven’t had a soil test done in awhile. I have in the past. I do test my vegetable garden a little more frequently and after using a lot of leaves for mulch every fall I have not had any deficiencies except low on Nitrogen. And I can often see it in the pale green of the plants.

My issue has always been so many trees very close to our lot lines and Maple roots that reach into our yard. They suck the moisture and the fertility out of the soil. I’ve seen the difference moving shrubs around the yard away from some of these areas, they improve. I had a Ninebark that I move closer to the middle of the property and it started to grow well, then 2 years ago I added some Planttone and wow, what a great result I’ve had both seasons since. So, if the nutrient are there in the soil, doesn’t mean the trees aren’t getting the larger share of them.

I don’t fertilize often. I use liquid Seaweed a lot and compost. Sometimes alfalfa meal on roses. I have bags of Hollytone and Planttone but I use it very infrequently.

Both of these are made from organic natural sources as far as I know.

I am planning to use the ‘Tones’ on established shrubs this November but I agree with your advice to wait until the spring with the Crabapples. Another season to let them establish won’t be a problem. And would you use Seaweed fertilizer for them next spring? And compost in the spring as well?

I would think after being well watered all season and having the added benefit of more sun after we had a major tree branch removed from a nearby Silver Maple, they should be able to push out a reasonable growth spurt on their own next spring.

Thanks, great input, I appreciate it!

The whole idea, with any plant, is to keep it healthy and growing.

So, it can leaf out in the spring and produce food for the roots, using its own mechanisms.

It's how plants are designed to thrive.

It sounds like you have a pretty good handle on keeping your soil well-nourished and you have had soil test so at least you have somewhat of an idea of what you're dealing with.

How far you can 'push' a plant to increase annual growth and what you use to do that, I really can't say. But you can research a certain plants preferences and match that to what you are doing to care for them.

Myself, I generally tend to keep an eye on things and deal with them on a case-by-case basis and many if not most times, it's a learning process.

My best advice would be, just to take it easy on Nitrogen levels, a little goes a long way, especially for woody plants and pricey perennials. ;-)

My biggest concern in my area is, if you fertilize in the late Fall/early Winter, the ground is generally frozen by then, so the fertilizer (not typically the organic kind), sits there and the sun largely desiccates it, after weeks or months in the wide open.

I guess I could try to 'Time the process' and fertilize just before freeze-up but nah, it can get ugly weatherwise here, weeks before freeze-up and my favorite time in the garden is when the weather is nice not with gale force winds and sleet hammering you while you work. ;-)

Additionally, heavy soil types can slow the process of fertilizer getting into the ground, so late Fall application or even incorporating it directly into the soil first, during that time, might be a better method, as long as it's not done so early that the weather warms and causes late season growth to occur.

In my cold climate, with coarse, fast draining, sandy soil, early spring, as soon the frost is out of the ground, has proved to be the best time.

That way, the (liquid) fertilizer immediately incorporates into the soil and is available to the awakening roots as soon as temperatures allow them to function.

Another concern with coarse soil, it's easy to have your fertilize leech away into the soil with steady, late winter/spring rains, polluting ground water where water tables are shallow.

So, a little fertilizer in the spring and a little in the early summer works wonders, at least IME.

And remember, while fertilizer is good, that doesn't mean 'More is Better'. Don't ask me how I know but I've pushed the envelope, many times, long ago. ;-)

I haven't had soil tests done for several years but once you know your soil, it's not that hard to figure out what's going on when you analyze problems you're having with your gardens.

Bill & GGal - My main reason for wanting to do it now, is because in the spring I always want to do it but there are too many other things to do and I don’t get to it. I have way more time in the Fall just before the holidays.

If I apply a small amount in a couple of weeks…it may be inactive, might sit there under my bark mulch all winter doing nothing, but isn’t it going to become available in the spring? Especially if the soil stays frozen most of the winter. I would expect maybe a couple of brief thaws along the winter months but that would be it.

I think you'd be fine.

The organic nature of the fertilizer generally makes it a slower release and less harsh than the chemical types, so plant tone probably wouldn't get going good until spring anyways.

But imo, nothing beats a little composted manure worked into the soil before planting time and then a shot of something with low levels of Nitrogen early spring and summer.

eta: but remember, my soil is very light and very nutrient deficient, but I've been growing various types of plants in it nearing 50 years now

Bill - I think composted manure is great. Do you have ready access to that where you are? And what do you use that you feel has low levels of Nitrogen? Is that to prevent too much in the water tables?

Okay....so.... it occurred to me to email the company and ask them about it. Here is the message I got today....

Thank you for your mail.

There are two things to think about with this:

1. We don’t want to encourage new growth that will not mature for the onset of winter.
2. Fertilizer could be subject to runoff if there is abundant rain or snow fall / melt.

The best way ensure the fertilizer is applied for maximum benefit is to apply in the spring in anticipation of warmer weather and plant growth.

We do recommend fall application to most shrubs, but we recommend to cut the rate in half. Fall feeding can help the plants store energy that helps sustain them through the winter.

I also asked him, should I wait until the ground is frozen to apply half rate?

He said, no, please don't apply fertilizer to frozen ground. Apply it now, under mulch.

I thought that was right in line with this discussion. :-)

I think I am going to apply some now at half the rate and some shrubs I'll do in the spring.

Great information here in the Trees forum. Thanks!

Bill - I think composted manure is great. Do you have ready access to that where you are?

Yep, most farm or garden stores carry it. Just call first to find out to save gas.

It contains low levels of NPK but is a good source of organic matter, which is important to my light, sandy soil that is quite low in OM and can use some help. Not much clay, if any. Mostly sand and some silt.

I also use wood mulch around most of what I grow to add nutrients and conserve moisture.

And God knows, I have a hose (a little poetry there) ;-) If I couldn't water, end of story here.

And what do you use that you feel has low levels of Nitrogen?

Like I say, 1/8 to 1/4 of the recommended application amount. Or you can buy a timed or slow-release fertilizer and just keep the applications modest and few and far between.

Basically, I've learned what works with my soil and climate, just by trial and error over the years, and I just stick with that. YMMV.

Like GG said, N is very volatile like a gas when it's in the soil and by applying more than the plant needs, much of it is lost, so light applications, at timed intervals, is better.

Is that to prevent too much in the water tables?

I don't use enough N, or often enough, to worry about it getting 20ft. down into the water table and much of it returns to the environment/atmosphere anyways.

Phosphorus, I've read is much worse, bc run off from heavy agricultural applications, is what gets into the ponds and streams and causes runaway algae growth, that can kill the fish, from what I understand.

Bill - I can see our soils are very different. My soil had a very large percentage of organic matter last soil test. We just have a lot of leaves and we run them over with the mower and then put them back in the shrub borders to break down. Of course, then we have grass clippings mixed in with them some of the time.

At one point I tried to find a local source of composted horse manure and we drove an hour and a half away to fill up containers in the back of the van and drove home with a van full of manure. Not something we repeated...lol. We piled it up and let it break down. So we have contented ourselves with the resource we have plenty of - leaves.

Thank you!

You are welcome.

I personally wouldn't use horse manure, I don't know a lot about it, but the nutrient range is very low, but I suppose it still would be helpful in the OM department.

Composted cow manure works the best for me. Again YMMV.