AusBonsai

ive had a fare look through the forums here and learned abit about how natives don't like phosphorus and prefer low phosphorus fert.
i didn't read anywhere about how low it should be. today i bought Yates thrive shake n feed it had the lowest phosphorus level of them all and the highest nitrogen level.
N 11.6
P 3.7
K 8.3

but i have since found one with a lower phosphorus level and i wonder if i should stick with what ive got or buy the other one?

as you can probably guess im still learning alot and all at once too.

Aaron.

Hi Aaron,
I would also consider myself a beginer. I have quite a few Natives unfortunatly not a eucalypus but I use Searles Flourish,( Native Plants)soluble. I love it.

after abit more investigating ive found most eucalypts are very fast growing and will respond well to supplementary watering and regular feeding (most are not phosphorus sensitive and can be fed with general purpose complete garden fertilizers). They are, of course, also great survivors in the absence of food and water but this will naturally slow down their growth rate. found all that. http://www.homedesigndirectory.com.au/g ... JCQpIYatRw

Gday Aaron. Another beginner here too.
I have been using small doses of powerfeed with a Phosphorus content of 1.3 – 1.7 % w/v... and seasol with no bad effects although I use it sparingly.
I hope some one can help as I have trunk chopped my eucalyptus nicholii to promote lower growth and it has done that, there is new growth all over

Dave

Hi

I have been growing oz natives as bonsai for nearly 30 years. Experience has taught me that generally natives are NOT sensitive to phosphorus despite the old folks tales often quoted. In fact they thrive on any well balanced fertilizer. Like all things in life "balance" is the key word. Whilst the tale comes from the fact that Oz soils are often deficient in phosphorus generally it appears that the natives have been able to adapt to this condition but can still thrive in balanced soils such as in our bonsai mixes. There is a paper on research done at Sydney University that found most are not affected by the addition of phosphorus to the soil (sorry can not remember the site it is on).

Of course fertilizers with extra high phosphorus (such as those designed to increase flowering) should not be used on natives.

Dennis Mc

dennismc wrote:Hi

I have been growing oz natives as bonsai for nearly 30 years. Experience has taught me that generally natives are NOT sensitive to phosphorus despite the old folks tales often quoted. In fact they thrive on any well balanced fertilizer. Like all things in life "balance" is the key word. Whilst the tale comes from the fact that Oz soils are often deficient in phosphorus generally it appears that the natives have been able to adapt to this condition but can still thrive in balanced soils such as in our bonsai mixes. There is a paper on research done at Sydney University that found most are not affected by the addition of phosphorus to the soil (sorry can not remember the site it is on).

Of course fertilizers with extra high phosphorus (such as those designed to increase flowering) should not be used on natives.

Dennis Mc

Thanks for the reply Dennis that's good to know How about re potting a eucalyptus! Mine is in potting mix and I think its to water logged so I was thinking of a re pot without disturbing the roots to much, would it be better to do now before it is to hot

Thanks in advance
Dave

dave i just re potted mine yesterday it was in normal potting mix for about 5 weeks. yesterday i sieved a bonsai potting mix to 1/4in size and added 4mm aggregate to the mix opened up the soil to allow more air to get in and to stop it being so water logged. seems to work well.

bazron wrote:dave i just re potted mine yesterday it was in normal potting mix for about 5 weeks. yesterday i sieved a bonsai potting mix to 1/4in size and added 4mm aggregate to the mix opened up the soil to allow more air to get in and to stop it being so water logged. seems to work well.

Thanks Baz. My mix at the moment is 50% sieved sand which is 4mm and sieved potting mix and it seems too have good drainage and my plants are doing well.
My main concern is re potting while its starting to put on heaps of new growth after a trunk chop

Sorry for hijacking the thread Aaron, but I think that its worth mentioning for the future needs of our trees

never mind the hijack show us a picture of your bonsai? i dont think ill be truck chopping for sometime. the truck on mines only 5mm still a little sap. i can see new buds now so im excited haha. hopefully now that ive got some fertilizer ill see some good growth.

I feed my gums any normal fert and they don't seem to mind. I know Dennis is great with Natives and has heaps of experience. I know Pup is great with Natives and has heaps of experience. Now when two great nurserymen have some what conflicting advice (for lack of better words) then I would love to ask some more questions.
From what I read and my limited experience it seems that some natives are more suseptable to phosphorus than others. I believe bottle brush is ok with higher levels of phosphorus but paper bark is not.
My first question to Dennis would be do you fertilise paperbarks with Normal fert and if so can you give examples of what your normal fertiliser is.

bazron wrote:never mind the hijack show us a picture of your bonsai? i dont think ill be truck chopping for sometime. the truck on mines only 5mm still a little sap. i can see new buds now so im excited haha. hopefully now that ive got some fertilizer ill see some good growth.

I have nothing to show but trunk chops and saplings unfortunately.

My oldest tree is a one year old Corkscrew Willow cutting which received a trunk chop too as it was to leggy... if I had let it grow it would have filled out nicely

Hi

Apart from fertilizer another important point to ponder is that everyone's backyards, growing media and climates are different.

Pup lives on the west coast and Dennis on the east coast. Both are very talented bonsai artists with a wealth of knowledge that they freely share.
Fiona

So Fae, how do you suggest the different climates affect the certian fertiliser used??

Hi Brett
Probably did not explain myself well. I feel that climate can have influence the amount of growth achieved as much as the type of fert used.
F

Yes for sure climate can have a vast affect on the amount of growth but I thought this was about what ferts are suitable?
Our natives are strange in that the only other plant/tree that I know that expects a different type of fert is the azalea? Maybe Oak as well or should we add olive?
So it is suprising there is so little discusion on fertiliser for our natives when they are also said to be different.