Fertilizer Advice

[brian the bristlecone]

Hi, I'm a Rocky Mountain Bristlecone Pine (pinus aristata) named Brian and my caregiver is a complete newby. I've been under his care for about a year (I'm about five years old now) and haven't grown much at all. I live inside on a window ledge with a southern exposure and get a small drink every other day, which runs out through my well drained pebbly soil into my tray but is gone by the next time I get a drink. The advice I see on the web seems inconsistent, ranging from no fertilizer--re-pot every year--to fertilize in early spring (right about now) to fertilize throughout the year. Any thoughts on how often to fertilize with what when?

 

[WIlliam_Butler_Yeets]

so there's a few things, first, this tree should be living outside all year every year, that's probably the biggest factor in seeing effectively no growth

second, repotting a pine is not a thing you can do every year, pines don't enjoy having their roots messed with, and the general recommendation is to repot in stages, like half this year and half next year, although if this tree has been living inside for a full year it may not be strong enough for that, so let it grow accustomed to outdoors until it is strong enough to repot

third, fertilizing can be tuned to what you want to achieve, if you want lots of growth, fertilize a lot, if you just want it to stay alive and grow very little, fertilize little (although that's generally meant for much older and more refined trees than this)

 

[brian the bristlecone]

Thanks for the quick reply! My caregiver says that he knew outside was the best option, but the townhouse doesn't have any outside sunny spots that aren't vulnerable to theft. He will probably try some fertilizer anyway. Is something like Miracle-Gro OK, or is there a good pine fertilizer?

 

[Desert O'Piñon]

As a newbie myself, I don't have much advice, but I agree with @WIlliam_Butler_Yeets. From what I've read, pines shouldn't be fully bare-rooted all at once; should be done in stages.

Also, you're likely to get better, more custom advice if you add your general location to your profile. Factors such as altitude, climate, rainfall, etc. will help to give you the best advice for your area.

 

[WIlliam_Butler_Yeets]

Thanks for the quick reply! My caregiver says that he knew outside was the best option, but the townhouse doesn't have any outside sunny spots that aren't vulnerable to theft. He will probably try some fertilizer anyway. Is something like Miracle-Gro OK, or is there a good pine fertilizer?

i give my pines solid organic fertilizer and an occasional drench with a powdered fertilizer dissolved in water, but that might stink up an indoor environment real quick. you could go for some osmocote or something similar, that's usually available at most of your hardware store type places (assuming you're in the united states). i only hesitate to give my pines synthetics because a lot of the component are chemical salts, and i do not know how those might impact my soil mycorrhizae, which may or may not be a valid concern. i don't personally have experience using miracle-gro.

 

[Wulfskaar]

They do grow very slowly. Most of mine are about the size of yours (4.5 years old), with one that's much larger and a couple that are smaller, so I can't say yours is not growing.

It's unfortunate that you don't have any outside space. You might be able to keep it alive in that window, but I don't think it will be healthy in the long run.

Please ask your caregiver to post updates on how life is going in the window.

 

[Shibui]

Fertiliser program depends on lots of factors:
The more we water the more often we need to apply fertiliser to counteract nutrient leaching as water runs through the soil. If you don't water as often and water rarely runs out of the pot you won't be leaching nutrients and won't need fertiliser as often. Indoor plants are usually fertilised sparingly because they typically don't have lots of water.
Type of fertiliser: Liquid fert is water soluble so leaches out of the pot with watering. Solid, organic fertiliser breaks down to release nutrients slowly so 1 application keeps releasing nutrients for weeks or months. Controlled release fert releases nutrients a little each time the pot is watered. Different coatings release at different rates so we can apply a product that continues to release nutrients for 3 months, 6 months or a year depending which type we choose. This may be why you are seeing such a wide range of opinions on how often to apply fertiliser.
Different fert regime depending on life stage of the tree and our goals for growth. Usually we want younger trees to grow lots so the trunks get thicker. For this we use aggressive fertiliser regime with higher N ferts. At some stage we want to restrain growth so we can develop well ramified branching. For this we use less fert with lower nutrient levels. For well developed trees we may want to minimise growth to make it easier to maintain the shape and size. A that stage we change to minimum fertiliser applications.
Slower growing species also need less fertiliser because they don't need as much fuel for the smaller amounts of growth.

Not having grown Bristlecones, outdoors or indoors I'd hazard a guess on liquid fertiliser 3-4 times a year. I like Osmocote or similar controlled release because it's a once a year application. Organics tend to have residual smell so not always great for indoors.

Repotting is as required. Don't try to water or repot to a schedule. If the pot is full of roots, it's time to repot. If pot is not full of roots and soil is still in good state repotting can wait.

Good luck with your current position. Let us know state of health in 6 months.
There are some species that can cope much better with indoor conditions but Bristlecone pine is not one I'd choose for an indoor bonsai.

 

[rockm]

tree should be outside. Period. Sorry but inside it’s days are numbered particularly with overcare that new bonsai folks lavish on their trees. Fertilizer really isn’t going to do much since the light levels are so low (even on a sunny windowsill it’s no match for the full 8-12 hour sunshine outside. )

 

[ABCarve]

View attachment 587588Hi, I'm a Rocky Mountain Bristlecone Pine (pinus aristata) named Brian and my caregiver is a complete newby. I've been under his care for about a year (I'm about five years old now) and haven't grown much at all. I live inside on a window ledge with a southern exposure and get a small drink every other day, which runs out through my well drained pebbly soil into my tray but is gone by the next time I get a drink. The advice I see on the web seems inconsistent, ranging from no fertilizer--re-pot every year--to fertilize in early spring (right about now) to fertilize throughout the year. Any thoughts on how often to fertilize with what when?

Thread 'Why you cannot keep bonsai trees indoors'

Oct 29, 2024

Probably the biggest misunderstanding people have when starting out in bonsai - and the greatest mistake they make - is to think that they can keep bonsai trees indoors. With only a few exceptions, all bonsai trees must be kept outside, or they will die a quick and certain death. Even the short list of tropical trees that can be kept indoors would do better if they were kept outside. I wanted to create a thread for people to discuss this subject - and the horticultural reasons why this is true - so that we can avoid unnecessary tree deaths and the disappointment bonsai beginners...

• Bonsai Nut

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[brian the bristlecone]

Thanks for all the responses. My caregiver has apologized to me for his uninformed decisions, and I have promised to do the best I can under the circumstances. He has ordered a product that claims it is pine fertilizer and will try that sparingly. Cross your fingers.

 

[rockm]

BTW Repotting a tree every year will kill it. Repotting is done to rejuvenate the root mass that has filled the pot. Pines for the part require repotting like this very five to ten years depending on the age and development of the tree since this tree is a sapling and has no development repotting can wait. Unless the soil it’s in remains soggy and wet. Pines particularly bristlecone pines like soil in the ver very well drained side