Frequently Asked Questions About Tree Fertilization
Posted on: 13 January 2017
Both new and established trees should be fertilized. Unfortunately, many home and land owners are unaware of this and the tree does not get the maintenance it needs. If you have never heard of tree fertilization before or have only heard of it recently, here are a few questions you may have about the topic as well as the answers.
Why Is Tree Fertilization Important?
The majority of trees in a homeowner's lawn have been transplanted there. They are not natural to that space. As such, there is a good chance that the tree is not getting the nutrients it normally gets from the soil and environment it typically calls home. If you fail to provide these important nutrients to the tree, the tree may fail to grow properly or could even begin to die. Providing the tree with the nutrients it needs helps it to grow and remain healthy, living a full and long life.
What Nutrients Should the Tree Fertilizer Have In It?
Unfortunately, every tree has different needs. In order to determine what nutrients your tree needs, you need to look at what nutrients it normally receives where it naturally grows and which of those nutrients it may be lacking in its current environment. This is difficult for the average homeowner to do. If you have questions about which nutrients your tree specifically needs, you should talk to a specialist at a nursery, a tree care company, or an arborist.
When Should a Tree Be Fertilized?
A tree most needs nutrients prior to its major growth spurt of the year. For most trees, this is in late spring. However, some trees do most of their growing in late summer or early fall, so you need to determine what type of tree you have. If your tree does experience the majority of its growth in late spring, fertilizer should be applied around the base of the tree as soon as the ground thaws out in early spring. If your tree is growing in sandy soil, has been recently transferred, or is not thriving, a second fertilizer application can be done in mid to late May to make up for some of the nutrients lost as the tree grew.
Applying fertilizer around a tree is not a hard task in and of itself. However, determining what type of fertilizer to use and when to apply it can be challenging. If you have a tree that is in need of care, a tree care service, such as NORCAL Tree Care, can help to trim, prune, and fertilize the tree for you, ensuring you can enjoy its beauty without having to do any of the maintenance that goes along with it.
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