- Slow-release fertilizer. The best slow-release fertilizer for spruce can feed your trees for two months or more. It has penetrative properties that go right to the roots of your trees.
- Compost. For best results, use an organic fertilizer like compost on your spruce trees. ...
- Ammonium sulfate. A good fertilizer for spruce trees contains Ammonium sulfate. This compound lowers the pH of the soil so that spruce plants can grow better.
- Nitrogen. If you are wondering how to fertilize spruce trees with a balanced nitrogen fertilizer, there are a few tips to follow.
What is the best fertilizer for a spruce tree?
If you have a spruce tree, you should know how to properly fertilize it. 1. Plan to fertilize in the early spring or late fall. Purchase a high-nitrogen fertilizer (12-6-3 or 16-6-6) from a local nursery. There is no need to purchase an acidic fertilizer.
What is the best fertilizer for pine trees?
What is the best fertilizer for pine, blue spruce, cypress trees and more? It depends! The absolute best way to determine what fertilizer you should use is a soil test. That will confirm if your tree needs fertilizer while also detailing what nutrients the soil is lacking! Generally speaking, a slow-release formula made for trees is best.
How much nitrogen do you put on spruce trees?
If the rate of nitrogen application is no higher than 2 pounds for every 1,000 square feet, it is possible to broadcast the fertilizer over the ground in the area under and slightly beyond the spruce branches using a drop spreader. Afterward, water the area thoroughly.
Does your tree need fertilizer?
Well, that could be happening because your tree doesn’t have enough nutrients in its soil to thrive. If that’s the case, fertilizer could be precisely what your tree needs. Read on to find out if that’s right for your tree and what to use. What is the best fertilizer for pine, blue spruce, cypress trees and more? It depends!
Can you use Miracle Grow on spruce trees?
Answer: Yes, according to the manufacturer, Miracle-Gro Miracid Plant Food can be used on blue spruce.
When should I fertilize my spruce trees?
If you have a spruce tree, you should know how to properly fertilize it.Plan to fertilize in the early spring or late fall. ... Apply the fertilizer at a rate of one pound for every 3 feet of tree height. ... Till the soil near the base of the tree, taking care not to damage the roots. ... Dig holes in a circle around the tree.More items...•
How do you keep a spruce tree healthy?
Spruce trees require full sun, adequate water and fertilizer to grow. Plant spruce trees as specimen trees or as an effective windbreak. With basic care, a spruce tree should thrive for years. Provide supplemental water for a spruce tree if less than 1 inch of rain falls within a one-week period.
How do you feed spruce?
Spruce trees do not have very high phosphorous needs and benefit most form an acidic fertilizer designed for evergreens or a high-nitrogen fertilizer with a formula like 12-6-4 or 10-8-6. Organic fertilizer options include compost, fish emulsion, cottonseed meal and alfalfa meal.
What kind of fertilizer is good for blue spruce?
Sprinkle 10-10-10 slow-release granulated fertilizer over the soil in the root zone. Then, water with about 2 inches of water to prevent fertilizer burn. Better yet, use a natural and pet-friendly option like compost, fish emulsion, cottonseed meal, or alfalfa meal, to avoid burn altogether.
Is Miracle Grow good for evergreens?
Miracle-Gro® also has tree spikes specially formulated for evergreens and fruit and citrus trees. With all of these plant foods, you'll find the directions on the package label—so be sure to follow them!
How do you help spruce trees grow faster?
Sprinkle a fertilizer around the base of the tree. Use a 10-8-6 quick-release formulation during April, May, June or early July. Between July 15 and October 15, choose a slow-release 10-8-6 fertilizer instead, so that you do not encourage too much growth before winter.
How can I help a spruce tree?
Water recently planted spruce trees regularly. ... Spread organic mulch around the spruce. ... Fertilize spruce trees in late autumn or early spring. ... Watch for signs of pests or disease. ... Cut back the main leader stem, if it is damaged.More items...
Should you water spruce trees?
We have found that watering newly planted evergreen trees once a week during summer is adequate. This watering schedule can vary of course with temperature changes. Spruce trees do not need to be kept constantly moist. In fact, the trees should be allowed to dry out between watering.
What is the best fertilizer for evergreen trees?
A “complete” fertilizer — one that supplies the macronutrients nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) — is often recommended. A fertilizer analysis of 10-8-15 means the fertilizer has 10 percent nitrogen, 8 percent phosphorous, and 15 percent potassium.
Are spruce trees acid loving?
The first problem is acidic soil. Spruce and pine needles have a pH of about 4.5-5, over a full point lower than the optimum 6-6.5 range of most plants. To us 1-2 pH points may not seem like much, but to flora it's a deal-breaker.
What is considered high nitrogen fertilizer?
So, what fertilizer is high in nitrogen? Natural fertilizers that are high in nitrogen include: sodium nitrate, feather meal, blood meal, hoof & horn meal, hair, fish meal, crab meal, animal tankage, bat guano, soybean meal, cottonseed meal, fish emulsion, manure, & compost.
How do I make my blue spruce more blue?
In general, positioning your blue spruce in full sun exposure can help the tree appear more blue. More sun allows for more photosynthesis to occur, making the blue spruce pigments more concentrated. Additives like fertilizers can also increase the hue of your blue spruce.
Are coffee grounds good for spruce trees?
For example, adding coffee grounds or organic matter around your evergreens' soil is a good place to start if you need to increase your soil's acidity. But it's not a good place to end. While your tree would get a tiny dose of nitrogen, it'd miss out on its phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) that it needs.
When should I feed my blue spruce?
The best time to fertilize a blue spruce tree is during the spring season prior to the flush of growth. Do not fertilize the tree in late summer as the tender new growth becomes susceptible to damage during the fall frost.
Why does my blue spruce have brown needles?
If this is what you're seeing, your blue spruce tree is likely suffering from needle cast disease. Once these needles turn brown, yellow, or red, they will likely begin to shed. Many homeowners that are experiencing needle cast will often describe their blue spruce as looking burned.
What is a spruce tree?
Spruces, various species within the genus Picea, are coniferous evergreen shrubs or trees prized for a variety of available forms and the year-round interest they provide.
How much fertilizer should I use for a 10-8-6?
With a 10-8-6 fertilizer. this means placing 2 1/2 tablespoons of fertilizer in each hole; if a 21-0-0 fertilizer is used, put only 1 1/4 tablespoons of fertilizer in each hole. Angela Ryczkowski is a professional writer who has served as a greenhouse manager and certified wildland firefighter.
Does spruce soil take up iron?
Spruce prefer an acidic soil and are less able to take up nutrients like iron as the pH increases. Properly applied elemental sulfur or ammonium sulfate effectively lowers a high pH and may eliminate the need for any additional fertilizer. Get the Best Mortgage Rate for You | SmartAsset.com.
How long can a spruce survive in the cold?
Spruces are exceptionally tough conifers capable of surviving for up to two centuries in the face of brutal winter cold. Recognizable from their sharp, stiff square needles and suspended, bractless cones, most spruce species need full sun.
How often do spruce trees shed?
Healthy spruce trees, however, shed their needles only once during a three- to six-year span. This economical needle production means that spruces require many fewer fertilizer applications than deciduous trees. Fertilizing these trees is a matter of waiting for them to show that they need it.
Why are my spruce needles yellow?
Yellow needles over an entire tree are an indication of iron deficiency.
Should I water spruce trees after fertilizing?
Watering the trees thoroughly after applying dry fertilizers improves their soil penetration. Avoid fertilizing spruces in summer. Fertilizing too late in the year can stimulate autumn growth that will die back in freezing temperatures, advises University of Minnesota extension horticulturist Deborah Brown.
Do spruce trees need to replace leaves?
In spring, deciduous trees must replace the leaves they dropped the previous autumn . As spruce trees can develop these symptoms for other reasons, testing the soil before applying fertilizer is advisable.
Can I fertilize spruce trees with water?
Diluting fertilizers with higher nit rogen levels with water is acceptable. Spruces are exceptionally tough conifers capable of surviving for up to two centuries in the face of brutal winter cold. As conifers, spruce trees perform best with fertilizers that have nitrogen (N) levels higher than their phosphate and potassium concentrations.
Identification
The blue spruce is an evergreen tree variety that reaches a height up to 135 feet. The needle foliage is stiff with a blue or silver-colored tint. Blue Spruce trees grow best in USDA Hardiness Zone 3 through 8.
When to Fertilize
The best time to fertilize a blue spruce tree is during the spring season prior to the flush of growth. Do not fertilize the tree in late summer as the tender new growth becomes susceptible to damage during the fall frost.
Type of Fertilizer
Fertilize a blue spruce tree by applying a slow-release fertilizer rated for conifer trees. Many tree fertilizers are in tablet form and require that you bury them several inches under the soil.
Considerations
Place a 2 to 3 inches of organic mulch over the root ball area of a clue spruce tree helps maintain soil moisture during the hot summer months. The mulch will gradually decompose and provide a natural source of fertilizer to the tree.
How many square feet does a spruce cover?
A spruce that measures 10 feet across covers 100 square feet. Fertilizer recommendations are usually given in pounds per thousand square feet. To find out how much to use, figure out roughly how many square feet your tree or shrub covers. For instance a spruce that measures 5 feet across would cover 25 square feet.
What is included in fertilizer package?
Fertilizer packages will include an analysis of the percentage of various nutrients and minerals that are included in the bag. A “complete” fertilizer — one that supplies the macronutrients nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) — is often recommended.
What is a fertilizer spike?
Fertilizer spikes are a convenient and simple way to fertilize evergreens, and are effective when used in sufficient quantities. However, because each spike contains only a small amount of fertilizer, they are not cost-effective compared to granular products.
How to tell if fertilizer is needed?
Quick facts. Foliage color, lack of flowering or overall vigor can be signs of when fertilizer is needed. If growth rate and needle color are normal for a particular variety, fertilization is not necessary. It is not unusual for newly transplanted evergreens to exhibit slow growth until they're re-established.
What does 10-8-15 mean in fertilizer?
A fertilizer analysis of 10-8-15 means the fertilizer has 10 percent nitrogen, 8 percent phosphorous, and 15 percent potassium. Usually the percent of nitrogen content (N) will be the highest number.
Do evergreens need fertilizer?
In many landscapes, evergreens also benefit from fertilizer you apply to the lawn. Evergreens add year-round interest to landscapes. Like all landscape plants, evergreens require nutrients to grow well. While evergreens generally require less fertility than deciduous trees and get some nutrients from soil, at some point you might need ...
Can evergreens survive winter?
This can help evergreens tolerate winter and emerge health ier in the spring. Water dry plants before fertilizing. Never fertilize drought-stressed plants as fertilizer can burn stressed tree roots or push the plant to put on new growth when it does not have the energy.
How to determine what fertilizer to use on a tree?
The absolute best way to determine what fertilizer you should use is a soil test. That will confirm if your tree needs fertilizer while also detailing what nutrients the soil is lacking! Generally speaking, a slow-release formula made for trees is best.
What is the best ratio for fertilizer?
Ideally, a 1:1:1 ratio is best. Some areas have “no phosphorus” rules in place. That means, you may not be able to find a fertilizer with phosphorus (P) in stores. If that’s the case, go for a 1:0:1 ratio.
Can you add coffee grounds to evergreens?
When you whip up a DIY remedy, it simply doesn’t have the right formulation of all the nutrients your tree needs. For example, adding coffee grounds or organic matter around your evergreens’ soil is a good place to start if you need to increase your soil’s acidity. But it’s not a good place to end.
Do evergreens like acidic soil?
Plus, it goes right to their roots so that they can better absorb the good stuff! Also, evergreens prefer acidic soil, meaning it has a pH level below 7. So, if you have fertilizer on hand for acid-loving plants, use it.
