Bonsai Fertilizer
Understanding the Importance of Bonsai Fertilizer
If you are a first-timer with bonsai trees, you may be wondering about bonsai fertilizer and whether it is a necessity for growing a healthy bonsai. The truth is, bonsai trees are simply dwarf versions of their full-sized counterparts. The fertilizer needs of your bonsai will not differ much from that of the full size version, except for the amounts given. In most cases, a little fertilizer will go a long way in helping the plant to gain a nutritional boost, but it can also prove harmful to fertilize your plant too often. This is especially true for bonsai trees, because they are grown in pots, which means that any excess nutrients will sit in the soil, unable to be filtered out.
Bonsai fertilizer will provide your little tree with some very important nutrients. Normally, a tree would receive these organic nutrients naturally through the soil and rain water, but because your tree is grown in a pot, it doesn't have these nutrients readily available unless you provide them. So, what kind of nutrients will your tree receive from fertilizer? Well, a good fertilizer should provide your bonsai tree with three basic nutrients: nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus. The mistake that many people make is in believing that the fertilizer is "food" for their plant. This attitude leads many people to over-fertilize their plant and eventually the plant becomes unhealthy or dies outright.
Fertilizer is meant to top up your bonsai's levels of nutrients that it can't make itself, but needs on occasion. That's like you going on a diet consisting 100% of yogurt. Sure, yogurt has stuff that we need ever so often, but the protein of meat and complex carbohydrates of veggies and fruits are more necessary to our diet. Your bonsai makes its own primary food through carbon dioxide, water, and sunlight. Your tree uses these elements and the energy from sunlight to create sugar and carbohydrates--the main source of food for plants. The process is called photosynthesis, a word you probably remember from your fourth grade science class. But back to the main point: fertilization, while a very good idea, should be done in moderation.
The main types of store-bought fertilizer come in liquid or pellet/granule form. When looking on the packaging, make sure that you purchase an NPK (Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium) based fertilizer. It would also work to your bonsai tree's benefit if you can find a fertilizer that also contains iron and a B-vitamin complex. You may notice numbers such as 10-10-10, 15-15-15, or 20-20-20. These are numbers that tell you the percentage of NPK contained in the fertilizer. Try to steer clear of the fertilizers with uneven numbering, such as 20-52-10, as this means that there is an unbalanced percentage of NPK. These fertilizers are intended for specialist use.
You might be wondering when you should fertilize your bonsai. Balanced fertilizing can be started towards the end of spring. A general guide for bonsai fertilizer is to fertilize about every four months, however you are more likely to get positive results if you do a bit of background research specifically on your type of tree. Remember that your mini version of the full-sized species will require roughly the same fertilizing pattern as its full-sized counterpart, only in smaller amounts. For instance, say that your online research shows the best results occurred when the tree was fertilized every three months with a 10-10-10 fertilizer. This would be the best guide to go by, only the portions you measure for your bonsai should be strictly measured according to the guide provided on the packaging of the fertilizer.
You may have to make adjustments to the frequency of your fertilization schedule until you find one that seems to work best for your tree; but hold off on the fertilizer if your tree appears unhealthy in any way as this could cause it further stress. Don't let the idea of fertilization scare you off the idea of bonsai tree growing. It's a terrific hobby and as long as you don't fertilize too often, your tree should be fine. Best of luck!