Oops, husband accidentally hit the send key.
Central NY is Zone 5; Nassau & Suffolk counties (eastern LI) are Zone 7.
Now that I grow orchids & tropical bonsai under 18 hours a day strong
fluorescent lights in winter & outdoors all summer, I fertilize full strength once a
week.
Henrik Gistvall in Sweden reported that a university there found that the
best regime is to feed diluted fertilizer with every watering. So apparently it
depends a lot on your climate.
If you are concerned about heavy rain washing away the fertilizer, use
Osmocote. One of their formulations is labeled for indoor & outdoor plants. Use that
one if you can get it, but they all work. Many other brands of fertilizer
nowadays are put up in a slow-release form. For my bonsai & houseplants, I use
both weekly liquid fertilizer solution & a light application of Osmocote.
During a period of heavy rain. prop up one end of each bonsai pot. This will
enable the water to drain out more completely.
Iris

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