I've never heard of that stuff and I think he was trying to make a sale - I've certainly never heard of sticking a bottle of anything into bonsai soil! What kind of tree do you have and what kind of climate (approx. where do you live and is your tree outside or in)? "None" in your signature isn't very informative.

I am not sure where you are getting your info from but it is not precisely correct. "In general, fertilizers formulated for flowering and fruiting plants would contain amounts of nitrogen less than or equal to the amounts of phosphorus (i.e. 10-10-10 or 5-10-15) This is because phosphorus encourages flowering and fruiting. Too much nitrogen will stimulate leafy green growth at the expense of flowers and fruit production. (emphasis mine) Also, the recommendations are made for granular fertilizer formulations. These will generally supply nutrients to the plants for about 6-8 weeks. During periods of frequent rainfall or frequent irrigation, the nutrients can be leached out of the soil and fertilizer may need to be reapplied." "A common recommendation for vegetables is to apply 1 pound of a 10-10-10 fertilizer or 2 pounds of a 5-10-5 (or 5-10-10) fertilizer per 100 feet of row. The first number is the percentage by weight of nitrogen, the second the percentage by weight of phosphorus and the third number is the percentage by weight of potassium in the fertilizer product. Thus, 100 pounds of a 5-10-10 fertilizer contains 5 pounds of nitrogen, 10 pounds of phosphorus and 10 pounds of potassium. As already mentioned, applying nutrients not needed can cause problems with the vegetables you are growing. When an excess amount of nitrogen is applied to fruit crops such as tomatoes and squash, it is common to have all vines and no fruit. With corn, missing a nitrogen fertilizer application as the corn starts to tassel can result in poor ear production. When excessive amounts of nitrogen are applied to root crops such as turnip, carrot and parsnips, you may end up with many leaves and small roots." (emphasis mine) Both of these statements come directly form extension service publications, which were initially established to assist home gardeners. The same information will be contained in virtually any other vegetable growing resource. It is a widely accepted and common horticultural convention

Whether you fertilize now or wait, watch, as Seil says, that you do NOT put the manure and fertilizer against the shank (trunk) of the plant. Organic materials, such as manure, if too wet, can encourage problems. Keeping it out under the drip zone, where the water would drip off the plant from rain and where many of the feeder roots will be, is much safer. Make sure when you fertilize, you don't have the granules touching the shank of the plant. 17-17-17 is a rather high guaranteed analysis, particularly for the nitrogen, and it can burn quickly and badly. Those granules are pretty much pure salts and if a bunch of it lands against the shank of the plant, it can draw out a LOT of water and replace it with concentrated salt, which can burn, dry out and actually kill the plant. Keeping the fertilizer granules evenly spread out on the soil, again around the drip zone and between the plants will prevent the potential burn issue from touching the actual plant. It may seem like a common knowledge issue, but I've seen far too many fried plants from a handful of concentrated fertilizer thrown against the shank or trunk of the plant and left there. Good luck, you're going to have FUN! Kim

Ok, I know this is an old post. I still find it interesting non the less. On the subject of deep root zone fert injections, it really depends on what your goals and expectations, and how the work is performed. Smaller trees can benifit from a root zone injection, but it has to be put in the right place, if injected to deep it will do no good, if injected to shallow it has a possibility of burning out grass if in a turf area. The best injections are done in non turf area where the probe is barely inserted in the ground. This would be about 2 to 3 inches, or even common in shrub bed ares to to a surface drench. Certain insecticides are better suited for injections then any other way since it reduces the drift and off target applications. Often larger trees the only affective way to treat the whole tree is to either do a soil injection or a trunk injection. For fertilizer it would be a soil injection, insecticides would best be a trunk injection. Most larger trees however wont show much difference when fertilized unless they had a specific problem that caused decline of the crown when fertilizer would have some benefits. Now with that being said would fertilizer help this tree? If to much moister is the problem then fertilizer won't help it, just like if it were to dry fert also would not make better. Trees need a specific amount of water to function right, if the tree is subject to too much or too little it will become stressed and cause the tree to become susceptible to disease and insects. A healthy tree does better then a weak tree. With that said a little fertilizer would help the tree in the sort term, but would do nothing for these overall health. Now the best thing for this tree, and others with similar issues would be to move the tree to a suitable location. Water the tree as needed, trim tree back slightly to help increase growth, and fertilize as needed to help the tree reestablished. For the old spot that has a lot of moisture pick a plant that loves water. It will help dry out the area so ther things will grow better. Just watch the plant since during dry times you might have to water it if the area become too dry for the new plant. Proper cultural practices go along way to avoid costly applications of fungicides, insecticides, and fertilizers. My knowledge comes from 13 years in the tree and lawn industry. I have extensive experience in tree trimming, planting, fertilizing, and applying fungicides/insecticides. I tell customers what they should really do even if it means not getting the sale. Since they see my honesty and will turn to me next time they need something done since the see me as a person not trying to scam them. I know other people in the industry don't act the same, so be Leary of someone that tells you this is the problem, but we won't fix that we will do something else instead. That ge like going to the dr he tells you, you have a broken leg. So let's increase your fiber intake. Just doesn't make sence. I hope my reply helps anyone else that may end up on this site.