Japanese Maple Fertilizer: How and When to Apply

Making use of the correct quantity of Japanese maple fertilizer on the proper time is a lesson in attentiveness and restraint. Train each of those when providing your Japanese maples supplemental diet and also you’ll be rewarded with constant, wholesome development. This text discusses how and when to feed Japanese maple bushes and what merchandise are the perfect ones to make use of.

Usually, the Japanese maple (Acer palmatum) is prized for its vibrantly coloured leaves and comparatively compact behavior. Japanese maple bushes look pretty when planted amongst different ornamentals, alongside the perimeters of lawns, or as centerpieces in container gardens. They’re straightforward to look after and prune (you’ll discover pruning suggestions for Japanese maples right here). Finally, the way in which you develop yours and your particular rising circumstances ought to affect your choices about whether or not and when to make use of liquid fertilizers, fertilizer pellets, or nothing in any respect.

How are you aware a Japanese maple must be fertilized?

Really understanding the wants of those stunning bushes begins with a superb soil take a look at. To be taught all you’ll be able to concerning the make-up and fertility of your planting mattress, contact your native extension workplace about soil testing or use a high quality DIY soil take a look at package. Then, let the outcomes assist to information you.

Japanese maple bushes favor soil that’s mild, well-draining, and wealthy in natural matter. And, since Japanese maples are acid-loving crops, the soil they’re in additionally ought to be barely acidic. In case your bushes are planted in heavy clay or soil with a really primary pH degree, they aren’t prone to thrive. What’s extra, as a result of pH issues can impede nutrient uptake, including fertilizer on this occasion gained’t assist. As an alternative, you’ll have to amend the soil with a mix of well-rotted compost, worm castings, or different natural supplies. Doing so will assist to enhance drainage and aeration, increase the numbers of helpful microorganisms, and proper pH ranges. Every of those fixes, in flip, naturally assist Japanese maples to faucet into the vitamins already current in your soil.

Now, let’s say the construction and pH of your soil are enough however your soil take a look at reveals that it’s low in nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, or different important micronutrients. If that’s the case—and so long as your Japanese maple isn’t a newly planted specimen—then you definitely may need to take into account making use of a slow-release fertilizer designed for low pH feeders.

The most effective time to use Japanese maple fertilizer

For those who decide that the Japanese maples in your panorama do want further vitamins, the perfect time to use the Japanese maple fertilizer of your alternative is in early spring a bit of earlier than your bushes start to leaf out. By feeding your bushes right now, you assist spur and help their early season development. And, though you might, alternatively, apply fertilizer a bit of later within the rising season, you’d higher look at the fertilizer package deal label intently first to see how lengthy the appliance is meant to final. (If, for example, you had been to use a long-lasting product in late summer season or early fall, you might stimulate new development at a time when your bushes, as a substitute, ought to be making ready for dormancy. With potential chilly snaps simply across the nook, these just lately fertilized bushes are actually extra inclined to potential harm and stunting.)

The perfect NPK ratio for a Japanese maple fertilizer

You might recall {that a} fertilizer’s NPK ratio refers back to the respective percentages of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (Okay) contained by weight. As you select the perfect fertilizer on your Japanese maples, you’ll need to search for this ratio, which is often represented by three numbers separated by hyphens.

Requiring little nitrogen, phosphorus, or potassium, Japanese maples are pretty mild feeders. (As such, making use of that leftover garden fertilizer with an NPK of 32-0-4 could be disastrous!) Happily, there are just a few Japanese maple fertilizer merchandise, equivalent to Fox Farm Blissful Frog Japanese Maple Fertilizer, which have been developed to serve the wants of Japanese maples. Listed with the Natural Supplies Assessment Institute (OMRI), the Fox Farm product is an natural fertilizer with a a lot decrease—and extra acceptable—NPK ratio of 4-3-4. (By the way, that fertilizer can also be acceptable for evergreens, hydrangeas, junipers, and dogwoods, amongst different ornamentals.)

In fact, there are many different appropriate fertilizers that don’t vital scream “Japanese maple” on their labels. One such is Espoma Natural Holly-tone, developed for acid-loving evergreens and azaleas. With that in thoughts, you may have already got an previous standby in your backyard shed that may work completely properly. As a normal rule, search for a fertilizer with a comparatively balanced NPK ratio and a nitrogen content material beneath 15 % by weight.

Sorts of fertilizers for Japanese maples

You will have some necessary selections to make when contemplating which Japanese maple fertilizer will greatest fit your wants. Must you go for a fast-acting or slow-release fertilizer? (Examine the following sections for particulars on these.) What about artificial sources of vitamins versus natural? As you examine completely different choices, you’ll discover some natural merchandise are made up of a novel mix of fertilizers and specialty components like Mycorrhizal fungi which may enhance root effectivity and nutrient uptake on your Japanese maples and enhance the long-term well being of your soil, too.

Granular natural choices

Granular fertilizers are designed to be slow-released over an extended time frame. Usually, these appear like tiny balls or pellets that are labored into your soil’s high layers. If you water your bushes or when it rains, the fertilizer grains break down and their vitamins turn into out there to feeder roots inside your Japanese maple bushes’ shallow root zone. To assist additional gradual nutrient launch, some fertilizer pellet merchandise might embody polymer-coated synthetics. One such is TreeHelp Premium Fertilizer for Japanese Maple, which has an NPK of 10-20-22 and isn’t an natural product.

Nonetheless, some natural granular choices can be found. Talked about earlier, a few these embody Fox Farm Blissful Frog Japanese Maple Fertilizer and Espoma Natural Holly-Tone.

Liquid fertilizers

In contrast to their granular counterparts, liquid fertilizers like this one are way more fast-acting. These could also be useful in case you’re attempting to get a newly planted tree established or in case you want to foliar feed your tree. As liquid fertilizers are sometimes offered in focus, it’s necessary to observe the label’s mixing directions intently, and, when doubtful, err on the aspect of a weaker nutrient resolution. That approach, you’ll be much less prone to burn your bushes with an excessive amount of fertilizer.

How a lot fertilizer to make use of on a Japanese maple

Figuring out how a lot fertilizer to use is as necessary as selecting the best Japanese maple fertilizer. In any case, in case you use an excessive amount of—or in case you fail to water frequently—these merchandise could cause fertilizer burn. You too can find yourself with rushed, leggy development that’s extra inclined to storm harm.

Typically, older, extra well-established Japanese maples can deal with extra fertilizer than smaller, youthful bushes can. Observe label directions to find out how a lot to use primarily based on the dimensions and maturity of the tree. And, in case your Japanese maple is rising in a pot—and particularly in case you just lately acquired it—it’s best to ask concerning the tree’s fertilization historical past earlier than making use of further fertilizer your self.

Easy methods to apply fertilizer to Japanese maple bushes

As talked about, it’s best to observe the directions in your particular fertilizer packaging; nonetheless, listed below are among the commonest software strategies for granulated and liquid fertilizers respectively:

Care after fertilization

After making use of your Japanese maple fertilizer, you should definitely water properly as this helps make vitamins out there to your tree’s shallow root system.

Including a layer of mulch over your complete root space (beneath the tree cover) can even assist to lock in moisture, facilitate water absorption, and nutrient uptake.

The Proper Tree-tment

Realizing how and when to use Japanese maple fertilizer appropriately comes right down to taking note of element and utilizing a light-weight contact. Japanese maples don’t have an enormous urge for food for vitamins, however in case you suppose your tree’s development might be a bit extra sturdy—and if soil testing reveals deficiencies—then you definitely may add a small quantity of granular, natural fertilizer for long-term feeding or a small quantity of liquid feed for a fast increase.

Select a product that’s not more than 15 % nitrogen by weight, since Japanese maples are significantly delicate to extra nitrogen. Lastly, it’s greatest to use your fertilizer in early spring simply earlier than your bushes start to unfurl their new leaves (however after any frost hazard has handed.)

For extra on rising wholesome bushes and shrubs, please go to the next articles: