Foliage Feeding

[Ray M]

Hi Everyone,
I have mentioned in a few of my posts the use of foliage feeding. I have had really good results using foliage feeding and a number of people at the School of Bonsai have taken this on as part of their fertilizer regime.

I have mentioned several times the use of Miracle-Gro MaxFeed for Azalea, Camellia, Rhododendron. This was a great product and gave very good results. Unfortunately this has been taken off the market by Scotts. After contact by email and phone, it doesn't appear there is any likelihood of it's return.

I did quite a bit of research for a replacement, contacting several fertilizer companies. It has proved too difficult, for me at least, to continue pursuing these companies.

After some thought and comparing chemical makeup of various products I have come up with the following. I mix equal parts of Charlie Carp and Powerfeed to make up a spray. The following is some examples:

1.5ml Charlie Carp - 1.5ml Powerfeed = to 1litre of water.
4.5ml Charlie Carp - 4.5ml Powerfeed = to 3litre of water.
9ml Charlie Carp - 9ml Powerfeed = to 6litre of water.

NOTE: Mix a fresh batch each time you use it.

PROCEDURE
1. Mix up a batch of spray
2. During watering spray the foliage with water
3. Spray the mixture onto the foliage

CAUTION: When doing foliage feeding take into consideration the temperature. It is best to do this when the temperature is below 30deg Centigrade. If you live in a very hot area you could consider doing this in the morning before it gets to hot, or the afternoon as the temperature drops. The good thing is that foliage feeding is taken up by the trees fairly quickly.

Leaf Reduction
If you are trying to reduce leaf size, foliage feeding may not be suitable. Remember, testing is always a wise strategy.

Exhibiting Trees
If you are preparing a tree to exhibit, and the tree could do with a little boost, foliage feeding and liquid fertilizer could be a great help.
Two or three weeks before the exhibition you could give some liquid fertilizer and do some Foliage feeding.

Equipment
1. Charlie Carp and Powerfeed. Pour each of the fertilizers into an appropriate size jar. The jar needs to have a lid that will seal. This makes it very much easier to use the syringe to measure out the right amount of fertilizer.

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2. Syringe. Purchase a 10ml syringe from a Chemist shop. If you only mix a small amount of foliage feed, you may find an eye dropper more suitable.

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3. Spray bottle. Depending on what quantity you mix, choose an appropriate spray bottle.

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Results of Foliage Feeding

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More sample photos

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Regards Ray

[Scott Roxburgh]

Hi Ray,

Very clearly written up, thanks.

Did you also fertilise the soil surface of these trees?

I have never consciously used foliar ferts, I have always thought that I can get enough into the tree through the roots. However, the company that I work for manages 1,800ha of Almond orchards, and foliar feeding is a part of the fertiliser program that is used. Apparently it can account for up to 10% of crop yield.

[Biofusion]

I would also be interested to know if your fertilized the soil surface, and with what .

Also, have you alternated using a seaweed extract at all in your foliage feeding regime?

Just for you Info, if you didn't know, both power feed and Charlie carp are fortified with chemical fert to get the levels of NPK up, they are also both emulsions, not hydrosylates, which have been shown to give different results from the levels of oils and amino acids in them, both in foliar applications but especially for soil conditioning.

Have you also considered the use of compost teas for foliar feeding ray? I have had excellent results with it. But haven't been doing it lately.

[Ray M]

Hi Ray,

Very clearly written up, thanks.

Did you also fertilise the soil surface of these trees? Yes, the trees get the normal fertilizing.

I have never consciously used foliar ferts, I have always thought that I can get enough into the tree through the roots. However, the company that I work for manages 1,800ha of Almond orchards, and foliar feeding is a part of the fertiliser program that is used. Apparently it can account for up to 10% of crop yield. The difference I and others have noticed is quite obvious. A number of people at the School have used it for some years now and had great success.

Regards Ray

[Ray M]

I would also be interested to know if your fertilized the soil surface, and with what . For all my trees, both exotic and native I use Seamungus. The only exception is my Azaleas. I use Kahoona for these.

Also, have you alternated using a seaweed extract at all in your foliage feeding regime? No, I haven't at this point.

Just for you Info, if you didn't know, both power feed and Charlie carp are fortified with chemical fert to get the levels of NPK up, they are also both emulsions, not hydrosylates, which have been shown to give different results from the levels of oils and amino acids in them, both in foliar applications but especially for soil conditioning. Thanks for this info. I will do some more research on this.

Have you also considered the use of compost teas for foliar feeding ray? I have had excellent results with it. But haven't been doing it lately. This sounds very interesting. Would like to find out more about this. Would you have any photos you could share showing results?

Regards Ray

[Guy]

immersing as many as I can today-deep enough to cover most of the foliage-soluble fertilizer,worm juice, charlie carp and seasol mix--- just the smell makes you nearly vomit- the things we do for our little trees

[Bougy Fan]

So Ray do you consider Seamungus to be a fertiliser ? I thought it to be a conditioner like Seasol - and Neutrog push it as being safe to use on anything, even bare rooted roses. What are your thoughts ? Also how often would you recommend using the CC and PF foliage feed ?

[Ray M]

So Ray do you consider Seamungus to be a fertiliser ? I thought it to be a conditioner like Seasol - and Neutrog push it as being safe to use on anything, even bare rooted roses. What are your thoughts ? Also how often would you recommend using the CC and PF foliage feed ?

Hi Tony,
In a word, yes, I certainly consider this as a fertilizer. The following link will give the analysis of the product. http://www.neutrog.com.au/seamungus-2/

I bought Dynamic Lifter by bulk and used it for quite some period. I actually lost a few very nice trees. I was searching for a fertilizer that would be good for Australian Natives and this is when I found Seamungus. I have been using it for quite some years now and I am not aware of it being the culprit for killing and of my trees. I use it on all my trees except acid loving plants like Azaleas. Neutrog put out another product called Kahoona. I have found this to be excellent with my Azaleas. I am working on a 80 year old Azalea at the moment that I have had for many years. It was let go and I am now working on getting the foliage back toward the trunk. It has thrived on the Kahoona.

Foliage Feeding: I have use the foliage feeding anything from each time I water to two or three times a week. It will depend on how you want to boot on the foliage and of course how muck time you can spare to do this.

Here a few photos I have taken lately for another project. Some are being grown on and others have had some work done on them. They have all been fertilized with Seamungus and foliage feeding.

When I purchased the Banksia it would have been about 300mm tall. It is now over 2 metres tall. It is a Cape York Dwarf variety, so it has grown very well.

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Regards Ray

[DustyRusty]

Ray, I went to the big green shed this morning and the shelves are stocked full with Miracle Gro Max Feed. Spoke to one of the staff who knew about it. Said the Scott's rep told him they had it off for awhile but it's back and here to stay now.

It is good stuff.

[stocaz]

Hi is it safe to foliage feed with all species ?
Cheers Ross

[dandybonsai]

Ray, I went to the big green shed this morning and the shelves are stocked full with Miracle Gro Max Feed. Spoke to one of the staff who knew about it. Said the Scott's rep told him they had it off for awhile but it's back and here to stay now.

It is good stuff.

There was a seperate Product for Azalea, Camellia, Rhododendron as quoted by original OP.
The normal stuff will be unsuitable for these plants (I may be wrong).

[DustyRusty]

Ray, I went to the big green shed this morning and the shelves are stocked full with Miracle Gro Max Feed. Spoke to one of the staff who knew about it. Said the Scott's rep told him they had it off for awhile but it's back and here to stay now.

It is good stuff.

There was a seperate Product for Azalea, Camellia, Rhododendron as quoted by original OP.
The normal stuff will be unsuitable for these plants (I may be wrong).

Ah right. I did read the original post and read it again. I understood him as saying Miracle Gro was good for Azalea etc rather than meaning a Miracle Gro product specifically for Azalea etc. but I must have misinterpreted things.

[dandybonsai]

I just reread my post too, and looked at photo it looks like normal bottle..i'm wrong i think by photo,OP can clarify this.(sorry!)

[bonsais]

Can't be any clearer than this. Thanks for sharing this informations with us. Todd

[Ray M]

Hi everyone,
With the recent comments in this thread there appears to be some confusion. Please read the very first post. The original Miracle-Gro MaxFeed for Azalea, Camellia, Rhododendron is no longer available. I have had a look at their WEB site again and it is not there. The make up of this product worked very well for everything. When it was taken off the shelf I couldn't see another of their products with the same analysis. This is why I have recommended the use of Charlie Carp and PowerFeed as explained in the first post. I use this mixture on everything from natives to exotics.

Regards Ray