blood and bone......

[krittas]

Wondering what the consensus is on using blood and bone on bonsai......

Have herd that it can be abit harsh to them burning there roots....is this true or just a myth....
What plants will happily use it....ie Figs,junipers,elms,bougs and how about oz natives....
What sort of amount would be fine if it can be used...What advantages does it have for bonsai(if any)...

sorry if this has been asked before but im always looking to find fertillizers that anyone can get..

[craigw60]

Hi Krittas,
I believe blood and bone is a nice soft fertiizer, I like to use it on any plant species I don't know of anything that does not like it. Place small teaspoons of it around the edge of the pot. It breaks down very slowly and should not burn anything.
Craig

[shibui]

Blood and Bone has been ok for my plants. Slow release so keeps feeding the tree for several weeks. I just use a light sprinkle over the soil. If you put too much on it can go putrid when wet and gets flyblown and very smelly. Also attracts dogs that may damage trees while looking for the source of the 'lovely' smell.

Use B&B with care on banksias. It kills banksia seedlings very quickly and can damage larger plants if they are not used to regular feeding and have developed proteoid roots. most natives do not have problems with P, just a few of the proteacea - banksia relations.

Remember that B&B has nitrogen (N) and phosphate (P) but very little potash (K) so use other fertilisers as well to provide potash, especially in autumn and especially with fruiting and flowering plants.

[krittas]

thanks guys for that.....i have a bag of it and thought if i can use it why not use it......

[AndrewM]

Just an addition to Krittas question,

If the blood and bone becomes fly blown will the maggots be devastating to the health of the plant ?
Should the infected soil be changed out for new ?

Cheers