A Guide to Feeding the Right Bonsai Food
The most important part of growing a bonsai involves providing it with the right bonsai food.
The food helps sustain the tree, by giving it the nutrients that it requires.
Since a bonsai is potted in a small amount of soil, it cannot derive all its nutrients from the soil - this is where the food supplements come in.
You should note that the amount of bonsai food that you give to your tree should be based on the age of the tree, as well as the season.
Too much food might end up killing the tree, so be careful.
How often should you feed the tree? The amount of time you need to wait to feed your tree depends upon the species of the tree.
As a rule of thumb, you should provide more food to the bonsai during the growing season.
During this time, it should be fed once every fortnight.
The food for developing tree should be rich in nitrogen, while mature trees need a more balanced diet.
Also, remember that the trees stop absorbing nutrients when they stop to grow.
After the leaves begin to fall, you should stop giving food to the deciduous tree.
However, you can feed the coniferous trees a couple of times during this period.
Finally, you should keep in mind that these rules do not apply to indoor bonsais as they keep growing throughout the year.
Thus, keep providing the regular amount of food to them.
Do not provide the tree with bonsai food right after repotting it - wait for a couple of months before beginning to feed it.
What variety of bonsai food to choose Often bonsai beginners are confused as to whether they should use organic or man-made food.
Well, organic foods are less likely to burn the roots if you over feed them.
If you want to use organic bonsai food, you can feed chicken manure and fishmeal to the tree.
However, you cannot use these fertilizers on your indoor bonsai, thus in these cases chemical feeds might be a good idea.
The food that you provide to the tree should contain potassium, nitrogen and phosphorous.
Nitrogen in the food is important as it causes the color of the trees and assists in the development of the tree.
Liquid bonsai food is also available in the market.
They are quite good as they can be soaked up by the tree though the roots itself.
Finally, remember that your bonsai will also require vitamin supplements.
You can provide these though the bonsai food.
The food helps sustain the tree, by giving it the nutrients that it requires.
Since a bonsai is potted in a small amount of soil, it cannot derive all its nutrients from the soil - this is where the food supplements come in.
You should note that the amount of bonsai food that you give to your tree should be based on the age of the tree, as well as the season.
Too much food might end up killing the tree, so be careful.
How often should you feed the tree? The amount of time you need to wait to feed your tree depends upon the species of the tree.
As a rule of thumb, you should provide more food to the bonsai during the growing season.
During this time, it should be fed once every fortnight.
The food for developing tree should be rich in nitrogen, while mature trees need a more balanced diet.
Also, remember that the trees stop absorbing nutrients when they stop to grow.
After the leaves begin to fall, you should stop giving food to the deciduous tree.
However, you can feed the coniferous trees a couple of times during this period.
Finally, you should keep in mind that these rules do not apply to indoor bonsais as they keep growing throughout the year.
Thus, keep providing the regular amount of food to them.
Do not provide the tree with bonsai food right after repotting it - wait for a couple of months before beginning to feed it.
What variety of bonsai food to choose Often bonsai beginners are confused as to whether they should use organic or man-made food.
Well, organic foods are less likely to burn the roots if you over feed them.
If you want to use organic bonsai food, you can feed chicken manure and fishmeal to the tree.
However, you cannot use these fertilizers on your indoor bonsai, thus in these cases chemical feeds might be a good idea.
The food that you provide to the tree should contain potassium, nitrogen and phosphorous.
Nitrogen in the food is important as it causes the color of the trees and assists in the development of the tree.
Liquid bonsai food is also available in the market.
They are quite good as they can be soaked up by the tree though the roots itself.
Finally, remember that your bonsai will also require vitamin supplements.
You can provide these though the bonsai food.
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