I was looking for fertilizer that had equal proportions of the 3 main
ingredients (NPK). The only one I could find was one for tomatoes. Is all
that really matters the relative percentage of NPK, or is there something
else about this fertilizer that would make it inappropriate for trees?

Thanks,

Jim

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I was looking for fertilizer that had equal proportions of the
3 main
ingredients (NPK). The only one I could find was one for
tomatoes. Is all
that really matters the relative percentage of NPK, or is there
something
else about this fertilizer that would make it inappropriate for
trees?


Depends on whether you want pines with red fruit hanging from the
branches. ;-)

Seriously, tomato fertilizer would be fine for trees -- just like
it would be OK to use pine fertilizer on tomatoes. It IS the NPK
that are most important, but you want to be certain there are the
necessary trace elements, too -- Fe, Mn, Mg, Zn, etc. -- and
those ought to be present in the tomato fertilizer, too.

The major problem with the tomato fertilizer may be its means of
application. It probably is in granular form, and is designed to
be applied dry to the ground around a plant. This is fine in a
garden, but a bit of a problem getting dosage right in a pot.

Not sure where you're from, but surely you can go a grocery,
department store, garden shop, Home Depot etc. and pick up some
Peters or Miracle Gro, or a houseplant fertilizer that you
dissolve in water and sprinkle on the soil. The NPK doesn't need
to be equal. Anything from a 1:3:1 to 3:2:1 ratio will be fine.
The N is most important, but it leaches out readily, so a bigger
number (and some of it slow-release) is better. P is fairly
important, but it tends to hang around longer, so it doesn't need
to be a particularly large number. K is OK in small doses.
Micronutrients just need to be there.

Jim Lewis - - Tallahassee, FL - Our life is
frittered away by detail . . . . Simplify! Simplify. -- Henry
David Thoreau - Walden

************************************************** ******************************
++++Sponsored, in part, by Evergreen Gardenworks++++
************************************************** ******************************
-- The IBC HOME PAGE & FAQ: http://www.internetbonsaiclub.org/ --
+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail +++++