Last fall, I planted seedlings of walnut, red maple, and white oak. Most are around 1 foot tall now. Should I use any fertilizer on them this fall? I was thinking of putting a little 16-4-8 on the trees.
In my opinion it is unnecessary, particularly the nitrogen, unless the soil is pure sand. A surface application will encourage weed and herbaceous growth.
Have never used it on forest plantings here. Only seen it used in seed orchards or experiments. We found spacing and sunlight was the best result. ;)
Fertilizer studies have shown growth response to Nitrogen. You might disperse some of that 16-4-8 around a few of your seedlings to see if you detect a growth difference in the leaves. Water is probably the most limiting factor on seedling growth, next to competition from other grass or plants.
Those fertilizer studies showed response by increased ring growth the following two years with only one application. Those studies were around 1937 in the Harvard Black Rock Forest across the river from Poughkeepsie, NY. Species in the plots were yellow poplar, white ash, and red oak.
Some studies have showed nitrogen fertilizer was lost very quickly from rain events, helped dominant trees the best, suppressed others that were not dominant and the affect was reduced by the 3rd year. Spacing and sunlight had a longer term affect and much cheaper. If you have grass and tall weeds that are not taken care of your little seedlings will be even worst off from loss of light and being choked out. Be sure to keep them watered well while in containers.
There is a residual effect as the nitrogen is taken up in the leaves, the leaves fall and the nitrogen returns to the ground when the leaves rot away and N gets taken up again by the trees. Not cut and dried, but the OP has a chance to experiment with his seedlings in response to his question.
The reality is that it doesn't all get captured by the trees or evenly distributed, besides all the other stuff that want it to. :D
We fertilize our pecan trees, but if the trees are real close it is of little value. Our trees are planted 42-60 feet apart. Heavy fertilizer at budding in the spring and lightly in the fall. It doesn't help growing that much, but increases nut production and makes leaves greener.
I have little experience with hardwood seedlings, but transplanted fir appears to respond well to 10-10-10 I've added. I waited a year or two after transplanting to apply. But I don't have a control group to compare it to. Perhaps they would grown the same without any fertilizer...I have some fir with full sun that looks as good. If anything, these fertilized ones might grow a bit fuller (I don't prune them). I'm sure Christmas tree producers would know for sure the impact of fertilizer on fir.
This picture is early spring before the new growth got going.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/58760/IMG_5624.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1654521026)
Quote from: Seachaser on February 01, 2023, 02:41:03 PMWe fertilize our pecan trees
What fertilizer strength/mix ratio do you use?
It has about 2% zinc and 1% magnesium. It's called pecan fertilizer The rest can be 10-10-10 or 5-10-15. Nitrogen is important, but they can only use so much. Best to put out just before it rains. Every time you mow it adds organic matter back to the soil.
Nitrogen is nearly always limited in various un amended soils, so by definition, adding some N will show a growth response. This does not mean doing so is advisable, in this or any given case.
Just off the top of my head one potential negative outcome of boosting N is that the foliage may now be more attractive to insect pests and pathogens. Another with trees is later snap in wind. There was a large scale such event in Germany I believe, that resulted in mass blow down of fertilized trees. In any case, be judicious.
Put a little lime on, it's often limiting. I put it on all fruit bearing bushes and butternut trees as well as apple and plum.
Without knowing soil type and chemistry, adding lime may make matters better.☺️ Yeah!
Equal odds it makes things worse.
Here in glaciated Wisconsin, what works in one county might be foolhardy the next one over.
Quote from: Seachaser on February 02, 2023, 02:51:31 PMIt's called pecan fertilizer
Thank You. I found and printed this publication: LINK (https://extension.msstate.edu/publications/fertilizing-pecan-trees)
Obviously I need to take soil samples for analysis.
PH is important, especially potato crops, want it 5.5- 5.8 range. There's tons of lime put on the land every year around here, pretty safe bet. You'd have to put a heck of a lot of lime on to be damaging. :D
It's funny because the bedrock is calcareous around here, but no good to plants 6 feet under. Plus it wouldn't be soluble anyway unless they have an enzyme like a lichen would have to eat it. ;D Plants, especially tomatoes and peppers need calcium or the fruit rots before it matures.
Lime and manure mostly on the gardens here. A 40 lb bag of fertilizer does me 4 or 5 years. I've got stuff spread out growing on about an acre of ground. A lot of it is on an old barn site. I throw lime on every other year. My squash are twice the size indicated on the packaging, 1 lb onions, more beans than you could keep up with in three 12 foot rows, 40 lbs of grapes off 12 feet of vines. After we have had enough, I throw away a wheel barrel full of cukes from a 4 x 8' frame....Cortlands like baseballs....on and on. ;D
Quote from: SwampDonkey on February 02, 2023, 04:45:17 PM
Put a little lime on, it's often limiting. I put it on all fruit bearing bushes and butternut trees as well as apple and plum.
Might be a good idea, as I'm also in upstate SC, most of the dirt around here is hard and very iron rich. I'm getting ready to plant a few of the same species as the OP and would like them to take as quickly as possible. We're very near the end of any freezing temperatures so I need to put together a plan quickly. I've also got some crepe myrtles to install in the tree lawn as well. My biggest obstacle is no water, this is up the road at my property so many of these will have to fend for themselves and takes what water nature offers.
Chris of Youtube letsdig18 commented today about a maple tree he was digging out for a pond already having buds breaking out. Think he is in NC.
Red maple break bud early anyway, silver maple are even earlier with their flowers. Sugar maple are a month later up here, then the hills are yellow. Beaked hazel flowers up here in April as do aspens and willow, they are our earliest. Butternut up here don't open up until almost June.
I can take a lot more winter before the busy times arrive. :D :D
I have read that fertilizing any plant makes it more likely to be eaten by deer.
Plus one on fertilizer makes the tree more palatable not just to deer but rabbits, gophers and other varmits. Protection until it is past the seedling stage is usually mandatory
Several years ago, I watched something on TV about a researcher studying trees along the Pacific coast along rivers that had salmon runs. Looking at growth rings, he showed a correlation between years of big salmon runs and a spurt of tree growth the following year. He concluded that all those salmon eating eagles, bears, etc. were fertilizing the area near the river with uneaten parts of the fish and scat. Makes sense to me.
Fish was used as fertilizer along the coastal communities, so why not. ffwave