AusBonsai

Hello everyone

I was wondering if I may check... With a fertiliser for general use on bonsai (other than acidic loving plants, azalea etc.) what sort of NPK should I be using?

From what I have read I should be aiming for something like 10:6:6 in Spring, and 6:6:6 in Summer, and 3:6:6 in Autumn. Is this correct? What would happen if fertilisers with higher NPK are used, would it potentially burn the tree/roots?

Thanks,
Cam

You should be mindful that many native Australian species, such as Melaleucas, Acacias, Leptospermum, Syzgiums, etc are phosphorous sensitive so fertilizing with a high or even moderate P level can be fatal.

Hi

Have a look at this B-Green http://www.multicrop.com.au/home-garden ... iliser.php

It is low in nitrogen so that means if your tree is at a stage you are after health then this is good as it is only low nitrogen and you will not get massive growth, but more compact growth.

It is a good allrounder suitable for natives as well.

Hi Cam,
Fertiliser is a confusing business.
Personally, I use the same ferts all growing season here. We don't have the same bitter winters as Northern hemisphere so there is no real need to feed trees for winter hardiness. I think most Aussies use the same stuff all year round.
To help flowering you can swap to a higher K fert ('flowers and Fruit', 'bloom booster', 'Tomato', 'Citrus', 'azalea', 'rose' etc are all very similar) in late summer when flower embryos are forming for the following spring.
Raw NPK numbers are not the only consideration. Dilution rates need to be taken into account. 10:6:6 diluted at 10 g/litre gives exactly the same nutrients as 20:12:12 diluted at 5g/litre so higher numbers will not adversely affect the trees if application instructions are followed.
I use Thrive soluble at 25:5:8 and Powerfeed at 12:1.4:7 most of the time and both of them give good results on all the plants I grow. I would probably be just as happy with any other complete fertilisers. Those 2 are just the ones I can get reasonably easily at good prices per nutrients.

You should be mindful that many native Australian species, such as Melaleucas, Acacias, Leptospermum, Syzgiums, etc are phosphorous sensitive so fertilizing with a high or even moderate P level can be fatal.

Much misinformation about Australian natives and fertiliser. The genera that Shaady has just listed are NOT P sensitive. All those love 'normal' fertilisers and so do most of our natives. Some of the proteacea family including Banksias, Grevilleas, Hakeas, Proteas and Lecodendrons CAN SOMETIMES be sensitive to higher P but note that the last 2 listed are not even Aussie natives so I submit that the whole premise of Aussie Plants being sensitive to P is flawed. Just a very few of our natives can be and so can species from other parts of the world.

I have a question. I can't find the answer on the internet.
My brother and I have a large bonsai planting base in the countryside. We need a lot of fertilizer, but these two years are not very productive, we plan to save costs.
My brother suggested working with a chicken farm in our village, buying a chicken manure separator(like this:https://www.zhehanfilter.com/solid-liqu ... rator.html), the farmer of that chicken farm has agreed to provide chicken manure free of charge. He was happy because someone could help him deal with chicken manure for free.
But the problem is that their chicken farm feed contains a lot of drugs, I want to ask, will the remnants of chicken manure harm my flowers and plants?

You should not need a manure separator for poultry manure. It is already quite dry. I don't think the additives in the manure will harm the plants but poultry manure is usually very strong and the ammonia can burn the plants. You should compost it to reduce the ammonia or just put small amounts onto the plants.
It is also possible to put the manure into tubs of water for a week or 2 and then use the water on the plants as a liquid fertiliser.

wouldn't that also need to be diluted even further

Good Q. I figure it is a matter of total amount of nutrient. A cupful of concentrate on a plant which is then watered with 5 litres of water is exactly the same as a cupful of concentrate mixed with 5 litres of water applied to the same plant.
I've never bothered to dilute the liquid from my worm farm or home brewed liquid fertilisers. I just pour less on each tree.
Whatever you do with any fertiliser try it out on a few first in case there is an unexpected reaction.

hahahaha Neil, we can't experiment, we don't have your trees and acreage

Interesting discussion about the natives. The local Landcare indigenous nursery here on the Bellarine use regular fertiliser on all their stuff and they are growing from seed. Besides Grevillea, I have given all my plants, both in pots and the ground regular fertiliser and haven’t had any toxicity issues.
Cheers

3 cheers for Pat and Shibui for kicking the low phosphorous for natives BS into touch.

Even Gardening Australia repeated this BS a few weeks ago, along with several bonsai newsletters I read. The field tests proving most (80% plus) Australian plants were ok with phosphorus were done 20 years ago. Yet the myth persists. I suspect the fertiliser industry has a vested interest in selling native fertiliser, to go with their assorted, and virtually identical flowering, citrus, pot plant etc fertilisers.

Remember how Nurofen had different products for different types of pain until they were fined by the regulator for misleading advertising?

References:
http://anpsa.org.au/APOL8/dec97-4.html
http://sesl.com.au/blog/the-myth-of-p-s ... e-natives/

I suspect the fertiliser industry has a vested interest in selling native fertiliser, to go with their assorted, and virtually identical flowering, citrus, pot plant etc fertilisers.

Hmm they got me for sure. I got my first natives for the Natural competition and bought Osmocote native fert thinking I must use it due to low P. I already had another Osmocote fert I could have used and saved a good $10 or so. But no worries I am a little wiser now

Welcome to the P-myth busting club Bonsaeen.

SteveW wrote:3 cheers for Pat and Shibui for kicking the low phosphorous for natives BS into touch.

Even Gardening Australia repeated this BS a few weeks ago, along with several bonsai newsletters I read. The field tests proving most (80% plus) Australian plants were ok with phosphorus were done 20 years ago. Yet the myth persists. I suspect the fertiliser industry has a vested interest in selling native fertiliser, to go with their assorted, and virtually identical flowering, citrus, pot plant etc fertilisers.

Remember how Nurofen had different products for different types of pain until they were fined by the regulator for misleading advertising?

References:
http://anpsa.org.au/APOL8/dec97-4.html
http://sesl.com.au/blog/the-myth-of-p-s ... e-natives/

I killed a batch of Grevilleas several years ago with a fertilizer that was higher in Phosphorous.
So its not complete BS. It really does depend on the species you are growing

So its not complete BS. It really does depend on the species you are growing

And what they have experienced before. I can acclimatise my banksias (which are usually very sensitive) to P and can use pretty much any normal P fertiliser on them but if they get a bit hungry they'll quickly start growing proteoid roots again and become P sensitive again.