Help With Fertilizing Japanese Maple In A Pot

[Dwight]

I have four foot Seiryu in its second year in a five gallon clay pot in the Seattle area.

It browned up in the sun, and so I have moved it to shade, with a board to protect the pot from the sun, and it is greening up nicely now, but still no new growth yet.

I plan to move it to a bigger pot this winter.

People say these trees dont need much fertilizer, but I wonder if a little might help at this point?

If so what sort of fertilizer?

Thanks in advance.

Dwight Gibb

[symplastless]

Good question. Maybe microelements.

Sincerely, John A. Keslick, Jr. Arborist

Beware of so-called tree experts who do not understand tree biology. Storms, fires, floods, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions keep reminding us that we are not the boss.

[Phisherman]

You can do more harm than good by overfertilizing, especially a potted plant. Since it is outdoors, you can feed it an organic fertilizer such as fish emulsion, cow-manure tea, or Shultz fertilizer to the water. My Jap Maple is recovering from the severe spring frost die-off, plus a drastic pruning of dead branches--although in bad shape it is recovering slowly. A general guideline is to back off fertilizing when a plant is in stress. Deciduous trees are best fed late fall through early spring. Watch for signs of insect/mite damage, use a magnifying glass.

[symplastless]

There is a big difference between fertilizing with nitrogen verses micro-elements.

Sincerely, John A. Keslick, Jr. Arborist

Beware of so-called tree experts who do not understand tree biology. Storms, fires, floods, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions keep reminding us that we are not the boss.