Do you root feed in the winter?

[Mike Corazzi]

You know, the zero nitrogen stuff.
If so, which species and how often?

 

[aml1014]

I don't feed in the winter personally but there's a guy in my club who uses balanced ferts throughout the ENTIRE year. He says he has no problems, but I see it as money draining on the ground.

Aaron

 

[GrimLore]

You know, the zero nitrogen stuff.
If so, which species and how often?

I don't use zero nitrogen at all in the Winter or 20-20-20 on the outdoors plants or trees. I do use the 20-20-20 with micronutrients on the indoor stuff during the Winter but monthly instead of weekly. In addition I only use it half strength rater then triple strength when they are outside.
I do use the zero nitrogen outdoors during blooms in Spring or Summer and it seems to work especially on my Wife's floral plants.

Grimmy

 

[quietobserver]

You know, the zero nitrogen stuff.
If so, which species and how often?

Pots still have quite a bit of osmocote and organic on them that sticks around. Roots should still be growing while the soil temp remains in the high 40's. (I've read multiple temp #'s between 42 -50 for the low soil temp)

 

[M. Frary]

Nope. Frozen solid.

 

[Paradox]

The only trees I feed anything to during the winter are my tropical trees inside.

The temperate trees get no fertilizer until March the earliest because they are dormant.

I also feed trees to my fireplace in the winter when I feel like curling up in a warm room with a book and do some reading and napping.

 

[petegreg]

The only food for my outdoor trees in winter comes from aqua water. They are under a roofed balcony, so watering them now and then is must.

 

[rockm]

I stop fertilizing (with 20-20-20) in mid-October. Roots will continue to grow when soil is above 40 even if all leaves have fallen. Trees can also put on a lot of "wood" in the fall, bulking up trunks and limbs. Once hard freezes show up in late Nov. and soil remains consistently cold, growth stops and fertilizer is mostly useless. It's also useless in the spring until emerging leaves actually start to function (harden off). Applying liquid fertilizer in the winter to mid-spring is mostly futile and a waste of money. Organics ferts aren't used either, but should probably be applied in late winter into early spring to give them time to decompose and become useful to the tree in the mid-to-late spring.

 

[MACH5]

No for me either. I stop fertilizing just about this time.

 

[Dav4]

89 F today...tridents still growing... I'll hit them and the conifers a few more times over the next month or so with some fish emulsion, depending on when the leaves start to turn and fall.

 

[Nybonsai12]

still 70's here in NY so I guess I'm still feeding! Last year at this time we had dipped into the upper 30's a few times. This year we haven't dipped below mid 50's yet. No sweaters or long sleeve shirts, just shorts and organic ferts!

I don't feed at all over the winter though.

 

[Alain]

I just put osmocote 14/14/14 on top of the soil during the falls and that does the trick until spring.

 

[fourteener]

I use 0-10-10 all fall until I put them away, now-mid November. It is an interesting question to ask the value of doing anything to my trees in my heated cold frame. Are roots growing in the winter when the tree is kept at 36 degrees?