QuestionQUESTION: I have a question of when and what to use for fertilizing Italian Cypress trees. The site is in California between San Francisco and San Jose which has fairly mild sunny weather, however the days are now cool and the nights getting colder. I believe that the trees should be fertilized during the spring when new growth occurs, however I have been getting advice that the trees can be fertilized at pretty much any time of year. The trees are in a sideyard for a house, and were planted there as a screen to block the view of a new very large house that was built on the adjacent lot. In summer they get about six hours of sun, now probably only about 3-4 hours. The trees are between four to six feet tall and have been in the ground over a year now. They have grown, however not as fast as I had hoped. Different nursaries have advised using 24-14-14, 16-16-16 or a 5-3-1, and I get the feeling that it is what they have in stock and just want to sell me. The trees are next to a vegetable garden that I have been keeping organic, so I perfer to also keep the tree fertilizer also organic if possible. I have given the trees blood meal and organic vegetable fertilizer, and also an organic 6-6-6 liquid vegetable fertilizer over the past several months, and they seem it like it, however they just are not growing very fast. Any suggestions? Thanks for any advice that you might be able to offer.
ANSWER: Soil Preference: Average to slightly acidic - well drained. Mulching recommended. Sun Exposure: Full sun preferred, to part shade
Growth Rate: Moderate to fast ( 12"-18" avg per year )
You did not say what the growth rate was or how old the tree were. Newly planted tree generally will grow in spirts--they will put on foliage and then seem to slow--during this time they are growing a larger root system. Then they will grow foliage again. The rate will depend on the soil and the amount of sun light. With six hours of sunlight the grow expect less than normal growth. They do not like wet condition so make sure they are not over watered. The fertilizer can be any general fertilizer and it can be applied in the fall and again in the spring. Use about 1 lb per inch of trunk daimater scattered around the tree and watered in.
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QUESTION: Thank you for your prompt response; I do have some follow up questions to ask if I may. Firstly, let me tell you that the trees have been in the ground for about 18 months now, and some died and had to be replaced about 6 months ago. The replacements were taller than the original batch, and the new ones seem to be doing the best, growing 2.5 to 3 inches in the last four weeks. A couple of others from the original group grew only 5/8" over the past four weeks. I think that some of the original trees died because I did not give them enough water. I was advised by some people that young Italian Cypress need a lot more watering than mature trees. Now I water them deeply once a week and they seem to be doing o.k., just not growing as fast as I had hoped. I need to do a ph test of the soil, however I know that it does have a high clay content. My question is regarding the fertilizer: is there any particular type designed specifically for Italian Cypress trees? The nurseries have fertilizer stakes for "evergreen" trees, however they seem to be intended more for pine trees. Also I have heard that the stakes are less desirable because they concentrate the fertilizer in one spot. Would the general fertilizer that you recommended be scattered on the surface only, or should it be worked into the soil to a certain depth? Additionally, because the trees adjoin an organic vegetable garden, I would be interested in some kind of organic tree fertilizer if there is such a thing on the market. Thank you again for your time.
AnswerI would not use tree spikes since they tend to concentrate the fertilizer in spots and could harm the roots system. I would use a general fertilizer. There are fertilizers fro evergreens that are sold at nurseries and these are ok if you want to use them. These are just scattered around the tree and watered in good, no need to work them into the soil. I assume by "organic' you mean natural fertilizers--these can be ok but the amount of N-P-K in these is unknown and you could over fertilize the trees. There is just so much you can do in increasing the growth using fertilizer the rest will depend on the soil and water.
