AusBonsai

Whats the recommended soil mix for the pines mentioned in the topic?? This will be grown in a colander
The other thing is whats the recommended fertiliser for the pines? Ideally specify its form of use, where its purchased etc...

It is generally accepted that pines prefer a more open mix and well drained situation. There is no 1 mix for pines and they will usually do well in most common bonsai mixes. I use the same mix for all my bonsai. Everyone will have a slightly different mix depending on how they water, feed, climate, etc.

The other thing is whats the recommended fertiliser for the pines? Ideally specify its form of use, where its purchased etc...

Again there is no definite answer. Any fertiliser will be ok. note that pines cannot read so they won't know what sort you are using. All they care about is the nutrients and all fertilisers have nutrients in them. I use a range of fertilisers on the premise that if one is lacking some ingredient the others are likely to supply the missing ingredients. I use: osmocote in the mix when potting up and liquid fert every 3-4 weeks (Pines will respond to winter fertiliser so apply all year). Alternate powerfeed, thrive, worm juice and anything else that comes to hand. I also put a small handful (tablespoon full?) of Chook poo pellets on the surface of the pot every 4 or 5 weeks.

shibui wrote:It is generally accepted that pines prefer a more open mix and well drained situation. There is no 1 mix for pines and they will usually do well in most common bonsai mixes. I use the same mix for all my bonsai. Everyone will have a slightly different mix depending on how they water, feed, climate, etc.

The other thing is whats the recommended fertiliser for the pines? Ideally specify its form of use, where its purchased etc...

Again there is no definite answer. Any fertiliser will be ok. note that pines cannot read so they won't know what sort you are using. All they care about is the nutrients and all fertilisers have nutrients in them. I use a range of fertilisers on the premise that if one is lacking some ingredient the others are likely to supply the missing ingredients. I use: osmocote in the mix when potting up and liquid fert every 3-4 weeks (Pines will respond to winter fertiliser so apply all year). Alternate powerfeed, thrive, worm juice and anything else that comes to hand. I also put a small handful (tablespoon full?) of Chook poo pellets on the surface of the pot every 4 or 5 weeks.

Will some fertiliser cause the soil pH to incease or decrease?
Will Osmocote All purpose pellets be good in the soil mix?
Would you suggest using these liquid fertiliser like and which one I should avoid:
- Miracle Gro 2L Seafeed Liquid Fertiliser
- Multicrop 2.5L Maxicrop Seawed Plant Food Concentrate

Powerfeed Concentrate Fertiliser or " " Concentrate Organic?

xIIRevoEvoS wrote:

shibui wrote:It is generally accepted that pines prefer a more open mix and well drained situation. There is no 1 mix for pines and they will usually do well in most common bonsai mixes. I use the same mix for all my bonsai. Everyone will have a slightly different mix depending on how they water, feed, climate, etc.

The other thing is whats the recommended fertiliser for the pines? Ideally specify its form of use, where its purchased etc...

Again there is no definite answer. Any fertiliser will be ok. note that pines cannot read so they won't know what sort you are using. All they care about is the nutrients and all fertilisers have nutrients in them. I use a range of fertilisers on the premise that if one is lacking some ingredient the others are likely to supply the missing ingredients. I use: osmocote in the mix when potting up and liquid fert every 3-4 weeks (Pines will respond to winter fertiliser so apply all year). Alternate powerfeed, thrive, worm juice and anything else that comes to hand. I also put a small handful (tablespoon full?) of Chook poo pellets on the surface of the pot every 4 or 5 weeks.

Will some fertiliser cause the soil pH to incease or decrease?
Will Osmocote All purpose pellets be good in the soil mix?
Would you suggest using these liquid fertiliser like and which one I should avoid:
- Miracle Gro 2L Seafeed Liquid Fertiliser
- Multicrop 2.5L Maxicrop Seawed Plant Food Concentrate

Powerfeed Concentrate Fertiliser or " " Concentrate Organic?

Maybe re-read shibui's post... think the answers to your questions were in there already...

Almost all fertilisers will cause pH to decrease (more acid) but usually when we water lots the excess is washed out of the pot so probably not much actual change. There is some conjecture that Dynamic lifter increases pH so is no good for azaleas, etc but I have not seen any sign of that happening here so may be just a myth?

You can look at the fertiliser labels and work out what is good for yourself. Of the ones you mention:
Osmocote all purpose pellets: I have not used this one so I don't know how big the pellets are or how many to put in a pot. I think I can make out that these are 40g tablets. That's pretty big so would only use maybe 1 in a pot which means the nutrients are all concentrated in 1 place in the mix. I think it would be better to use something that is spread through the whole pot so nutrients are released evenly to all roots. They do quote a 2 year release period which is great because you don't have to put it on every year. A lot of others are all used up after 6 or 9 months. Good nutrient levels too: "Trees & Shrubs Plant Food Tablets have an N-P-K-S of 20-4-11-6 *S = sulphur They also contain a range of essential trace elements and water-storing crystals." Just not sure about the tablet size and how many to use per pot??? I use osmocote controlled release 14-16 month release but I don't think you can get it retail. Osmocote® Plus Trace Elements - Total All Purpose https://www.scottsaustralia.com.au/osmo ... l-purpose/ would be the next best. It has a 12 month release period and has similar small prills that you mix into the potting mix before you plant the tree in the pot.

Miracle Gro seafeed liquid: Label says it is a 'plant tonic' which means it has very little nutrient in it. They quote: 'Seafeed 3in1 has an NPK of 2.5: 0.66 : 1.2' You can use it in addition to your fertiliser but don't use it instead of proper fertiliser. This stuff is probably almost the same as the oft recommended Seasol

Maxicrop seaweed concentrate has a seaweed base like the seasol but has added fertiliser to make it N:P:K 4.6: 1.2: 3.1 which is about twice the nutrients of the miracle gro above.

Powerfeed concentrate has N:P:K = W/V: Nitrogen (N) 12.0%. Phosphorus (P) 1.4%. Potassium (K) 7.0% so there is plenty of nutrient in that which will make your pines grow.

Powerfeed organic has N:P:K = W/V: Nitrogen(N) 2.8%. Phosphorus(P) 0.1%. Potassium(K) 3.4% (Due to the organic nature of the ingredients the N:P:K may vary). note that those numbers are pretty low - almost the same as the seasol type 'soil conditioners' so not really much nutrient in that packet. you'll probably be paying a fair bit more for the same nutrients when the label says 'organic'.

All of the above will provide some nutrients to your plants. You'd need to use more of the ones with low numbers and less of the powerfeed concentrate to get the same results. I don't know of any fertiliser that will cause problems for your pines when used according to the directions on the packet.

shibui wrote:Almost all fertilisers will cause pH to decrease (more acid) but usually when we water lots the excess is washed out of the pot so probably not much actual change. There is some conjecture that Dynamic lifter increases pH so is no good for azaleas, etc but I have not seen any sign of that happening here so may be just a myth?

You can look at the fertiliser labels and work out what is good for yourself. Of the ones you mention:
Osmocote all purpose pellets: I have not used this one so I don't know how big the pellets are or how many to put in a pot. I think I can make out that these are 40g tablets. That's pretty big so would only use maybe 1 in a pot which means the nutrients are all concentrated in 1 place in the mix. I think it would be better to use something that is spread through the whole pot so nutrients are released evenly to all roots. They do quote a 2 year release period which is great because you don't have to put it on every year. A lot of others are all used up after 6 or 9 months. Good nutrient levels too: "Trees & Shrubs Plant Food Tablets have an N-P-K-S of 20-4-11-6 *S = sulphur They also contain a range of essential trace elements and water-storing crystals." Just not sure about the tablet size and how many to use per pot??? I use osmocote controlled release 14-16 month release but I don't think you can get it retail. Osmocote® Plus Trace Elements - Total All Purpose https://www.scottsaustralia.com.au/osmo ... l-purpose/ would be the next best. It has a 12 month release period and has similar small prills that you mix into the potting mix before you plant the tree in the pot.

Miracle Gro seafeed liquid: Label says it is a 'plant tonic' which means it has very little nutrient in it. They quote: 'Seafeed 3in1 has an NPK of 2.5: 0.66 : 1.2' You can use it in addition to your fertiliser but don't use it instead of proper fertiliser. This stuff is probably almost the same as the oft recommended Seasol

Maxicrop seaweed concentrate has a seaweed base like the seasol but has added fertiliser to make it N:P:K 4.6: 1.2: 3.1 which is about twice the nutrients of the miracle gro above.

Powerfeed concentrate has N:P:K = W/V: Nitrogen (N) 12.0%. Phosphorus (P) 1.4%. Potassium (K) 7.0% so there is plenty of nutrient in that which will make your pines grow.

Powerfeed organic has N:P:K = W/V: Nitrogen(N) 2.8%. Phosphorus(P) 0.1%. Potassium(K) 3.4% (Due to the organic nature of the ingredients the N:P:K may vary). note that those numbers are pretty low - almost the same as the seasol type 'soil conditioners' so not really much nutrient in that packet. you'll probably be paying a fair bit more for the same nutrients when the label says 'organic'.

All of the above will provide some nutrients to your plants. You'd need to use more of the ones with low numbers and less of the powerfeed concentrate to get the same results. I don't know of any fertiliser that will cause problems for your pines when used according to the directions on the packet.

Thanks for the information Shibui, its given me a clarification on what to buy in terms of liquid/pellet/soil fertiliser