How To fertilize an Established Plant or Tree

I walk through the easy process of fertilizing a pre-existing tree, shrub, or plant. Thanks to my little garden helper for helping me film!

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[cesargomez]

Short and sweet .. straight to the point, thanks!

[CONCERTMANchicago]

*_Thanks' MIgardener!_* I have also heard that tree roots don't go too far past crown's edge. This must mean "Feeder" or "Fine" roots because my new 10 year old Elm tree installed two years ago already has branch sized roots 15 feet away from its Rootball. I observed this when Municipality installed new sidewalk this year and had to pack paralleling roots in soil until cement poured, otherwise they would have dried out. Also when applying Drench or soil injected products taken up into tree's crown through root system, same rule applies by keeping within this edge where shallow feeder roots must hang out.

[FensterfarmGreenhouse]

This is the shortest video that I have seen on your channel Luke. Short but to the point. Well done
Chuck

[didarden]

Thank you sooo much. This was hard to find on a already planted 2 years ago

[shortjenna]

*pins blue ribbon*. Your helper did great! Thanks for the tip!

[denisbaker]

Great video. Nice and short to the point. Well done.

[nereidapr]

Thanks for the tip. I think that I should do this on my avocado and lemon tree, Just to give it a push. Great video like always.

[sann]

Alright! A big thanks to your little garden helper!

[freakygeaktwo]

Your helper is better then a tipsy tripod in the wind will they be helping more during the summer ? good to know plants can be fed once planted.

[benrudnik]

Helpful video, roots usually are 1.5x the distance from the trunk to edge of canopy

[ellajackson]

Thank you for this video, I was wondering how in the world could I fertilize my tree after planting them.

[Johnnykgb-nsa]

Good tips. Did you hit your little tree with a weed eater along the bottom? Thanks!

[cdogvlog]

Hey I don't have any mulch, but I have compost. I'm gonna be using compost insted of mulch, around the base of my plants. i hope this is going to be ok. I will be applying the fertilizer below

[Lilhomietiger]

Old videos are better, straight to point

[justgotlucky]

thanks for the video
but in case you have an overfertilized tree to the point its losing its leaves so how do you cure them?

[titadowdy]

I have 2 trees in my backyard. a pecan and a walnut tree. how do I go about fertilizing them and what do I use?

[kagome]

The video helps tons! I recently bought some of your trifecta+ and wanted to know if I could use it on my lemon tree? And if so how much should I use? I also have a potted blood orange tree can I use it on that one too?

[mimicatn]

When is it best to fertilize our fruit tree? Winter? Spring? Fall? Or summer?

[benjaminharman]

Um, this guy doesn't know what he's talking about or what he's doing.

First, tree roots DEFINITELY go beyond the canape, way beyond it-- the diameter of the roots going out from the tree two to three times the size of the diameter of its canape with common trees like poplars growing roots out as far as 450 feet from the trunk. It's not at all uncommon to find roots from a maple or an oak 100 feet or more from the tree trunk, so 70 or 80 feet beyond the canape. And that starts right away when the tree is young, within just a year or two of transplanting from a pot into the ground.

Second, tree fertilizer should be placed around the drip edge of the canape because that's where you're going to get the most water moving through the soil closest to the tree, so that's the sweet-spot where the most water comes into contact with the most roots, and since water picks up fertilizer as it moves through the soil, that becomes the best place to put the fertilizer, BUT THAT'S NOT WHERE HE PUTS IT! Where he's digging, so close to the trunk and the canape extending out several times the distance he is from the trunk, his digging is likely further harming the tree by damaging surface roots, roots he's likely confused for grass roots, severing them from tendrils that extend out several times that distance. Doing so, he could easily have ended up killing that tree. Trees need O2, not just CO2, and surface roots are how they get it. So his digging a trench so close to the trunk around the circumference of that tree that was already sickly very well could've been its death knell, him having choked the last breaths of life out of it doing that. What he should've done for a tree that size is used either a hand spade or a small drill auger to make maybe 12 evenly placed, small holes about 4 or 5 inches deep in the ground (not a continuous trench) under the canape's drip edge and then measured out a twelfth of the recommended amount of fertilizer in accordance with the instructions on the bag for a tree that size and then dropped that much fertilizer into each of those holes, back filled each hole, and then watered the fertilizer in. Small fertilizer holes should be made 1 to 2 feet apart following directly beneath the drip edge of a tree's canape.

Third, you NEVER mulch right up to a tree, especially not one that small. If he doesn't leave an area without mulch three inches out from the trunk of that tree, that mulch is going to hold water in close to the trunk in such a way that it's going to encourage roots to grow up right around the base of the trunk, and since roots grow longer, they'll start growing in a circle around the trunk where that mulch is holding in moisture. As the roots grow in a circle around the base of the trunk, they will girdle it, eventually killing the tree.

When it comes to trees, the best and fastest way to kill them is with a circumference of damage, especially relatively young trees, like that one, whether you're putting mulch right up to the trunk around the circumference, digging a continuous circumferential trench through surface roots just inches from the trunk, even weed-whacking all the way around the base of a tree such that the string wacks the young bark all the way around, or even chaining a dog to a tree (something I know from a lady who housesat for me deciding to, unbeknownst to me, dog-sit for someone else at the same time and looping a metal dog lead around my 25-foot gingko so as to not have that dog in my house, a metal lead that ended up, from the dog's pulling and whatnot, cutting through the bark all the way around the base of the trunk, not deep or bad but just enough you could see a line just thicker than a cable or wire, so maybe 1/4" wide at most, where it had gotten just barely past the bark all the way around, killing the tree nonetheless). He clearly doesn't know that because that trench and his advice for mulching are TWO things that put that poor, sickly tree in mortal damage, even more mortal danger than it was already in, maybe (or even probably) ended up killing it. If you don't want to kill your trees or do them more harm than good, don't listen to this guy.

[greenthumbgary]

Cool. Question. Do not water it in? Just place it there and cover it over?