AUTUMN IN CHECK: FERTILISING YOUR TREES

AUTUMN MUST DO: Fertilise your trees
WHEN: Mid-Autumn
DESCRIPTION: Fertilising your deciduous trees where they can absorb the nutrients
OUTCOME: So your trees can store energy through winter and be ready for spring

 
Tree maintenance is a vital Autumn must do.

The time to prepare your trees to keep them strong, healthy and happy throughout the Winter months ahead, it’s important to get out while the sun is till shining and properly fertilise your deciduous trees while they’re still growing and the soil is still warm.

Trees prepare themselves for Winter by pulling the nutrients out of their leaf growth and redirecting those nutrients back into the root system to store as energy throughout the Winter.

The tell-tale sign of when your deciduous trees, such as Magnolias and Liquid Ambers, are ready to fertilise is when you notice a slight change in the colouring of their leaves.

Once fertilised, you can rest easy knowing that your trees will have the energy they need to not only survive the Winter but thrive as soon as the Spring warmth returns.

Charlie’s top tips for fertilising Deciduous Trees

• Fertilising should be tackled when, or just before, colour starts to form in the tree canopy.
• For trees no larger than 3-4 metres in height, apply a fast-acting liquid fertiliser all over the foliage of the tree canopy. A click-on spray fertiliser makes this activity easy and rewarding. By applying fertiliser directly to the leaves, the nutrients are absorbed by the tree quickly, generating rapid results.
• For trees larger than 4 metres in height, a slow- release fertiliser, such as blood and bone, is the way to go.

Sprinkle the fertiliser around the drip zone of the tree. The drip zone is the ground immediately beneath the outer edge of the tree canopy where rainwater gathers and drips to the ground. The drip-zone indicates the breadth of the trees’ root system. Sprinkling the fertiliser here is the best way for nutrients to reach the roots and be absorbed and stored for the Winter months ahead.

Be very generous when watering the slow-release fertiliser into the soil. A good watering at this time helps to activate the fertilliser nutrients and ensures effective feeding of the tree.

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