I have a bag of Vigoro time released 15-7-7 that I use on my
yard azaleas
with good results, and I'm wondering if I can't sprinkle some
on the bonsai
soil ?
Or should I be using diluted Muracid directly in the water ?
Comments ?
I have no idea what "Vigoro" is; does it contain
micronutrients?
Vigoro is a brand name. The company (a western company) make
several kinds of fertilizer for homeowners, including mixtures
that are much like the Peters or Miracle-Gro products most of us
know. The company also makes an azalea food, like Miracid.
It is an older company than Peters and M-G, but I'd only seen it
out west 'till recently. It was all there was when I was a lad
in California, Hawaii and later in Arizona. ;-)
It has a full compliment of micronutrients.
Because the problem of the twentieth century is the problem of
iron uptake in azaleas, or something like that. If your bonsai
is in an artificial medium like bark:turface, there are no
sources of micronutrients except those that you supply, and
therefore you need a full-spectrum fertilizer like Miracid with
chelated iron (soluble and in a form plants can utilize). Don't
dilute fertilizer; use it at directed strength.
I have never heard of anyone having iron deficiency in a
bonsai'ed ericaceous plant. Has anyone? It would be useful to
know if this is more of a perceived problem than an actual one.
Certainly it is a problem in nursery propagation, but the water
used for irrigation is often substandard.
Me either. Nor have I seen alkaline water cause a problem (and
my well water comes from a limestone aquifer) in a
well-fertilized azalea. Miracid works fine, but Miracle Gro's
20-20-20 mix is all you really need.
Jim Lewis -
- Tallahassee, FL - The phrase
'sustainable growth' is an oxymoron. - Stephen Viederman
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