There's no reason to wait a year after planting - IF your plants need to be fertilized at all. Sampling and testing soil is a way to find out if they might. However, if they look a nice deep green when in leaf they are probably doing fine without being fertilized.

From my reading I found that you don't want to fertilize trees the first year you put them into the ground. You need to wait until they show signs of new growth. All my trees were stressed when I planted them last August and all the leaves wilted and I thought i was going to lose them so I put SUPERthrive in their water last summer and I believed it helped them snap right back into action.

I want to fertilize my trees to ensure the most vigorous and lush growth.

Yes: the basis for telling people to wait until after establishment to fertilize is the past use of strong fertilizers that might even actually cause burning at any time - otherwise there is nothing about a plant being recently placed in the ground that suddenly makes it sensitive and vulnerable to fertilizer injury.

Fertilizers correct nutrient deficiencies and nothing else. So if your droopy trees perked up after you fertilized it was a coincidence.

Two problems with automatically using a 10-10-10 ratio product for everything are firstly that a given planting site may not need that much of every one of the primary nutrients. In my area for instance the second and third 10 are usually already adequate, with only the first 10 - the nitrogen - being likely to need beefing up. And the second 10 - phosphorus - leaches extremely slowly anywhere it is applied, so that repeated use can result in an accumulation that becomes toxic to plants.

Secondly "acid plant food" or "rhododendron, azalea and camellia" etc. products are on the market because other formulations can damage plants requiring an acidic soil - you actually can't just use any old fertilizer on every kind of plant, in every instance. As with so many things it depends on the specific details of the situation.

" If you would ever work in a garden center, you'd discover that plants not sold within a few weeks quickly start yellowing and looking generally downtrodden ... because the fertilizer supply that came in their soil has been leached out with repeated waterings."

Having worked in the nursery industry for several decades and on both the wholesale and retail side, I can state with a degree of certainty that controlled release fertilizers - those that release nutrients over an extended period of time (usually a full growing season) - are used on just about everything that is sold in a container excluding annuals and veggie starts. And having been tasked with repotting/up potting of containerized stock from a previous season that has not yet sold, they are similarly dosed with a CRF. Even annual and veggie starts are treated to a weekly or biweekly fertigation treatment. So typically very little lack of nutrients with any newly purchased nursery stock. And one of the reason behind the admonition not to fertilize new plantings.

I am of the school of thought that other than container plantings, no fertilizer is necessary unless or until the plant shows signs of distress and a soil test has confirmed that there are deficiencies. So yes, a soil test IS necessary; otherwise you are applying fertilizer unnecessarily and possibly contributing to pollution.

if a tree lives happily in the neighbors yard for decades .. or down the street ... then why do yours need anything ... as its rather obvious.. the soil is fertile enough ...

ken

Per usual, we are getting down to a semantic type disagreement, not a material one. IF a plant comes from the garden with controlled release fertilizer (looks like dry frog eggs) which many do, then it will last much longer in the garden center environment because it IS BEING FERTILIZED ON A CONTINUAL BASIS;, for awhile. But often in transportation and planting these little fertilizer beads sitting on top of the soil are lost, so then the plant is going to need some additional nutrition as soon as the supply of it contained within the soil is leached out, which is not long. Also, since the fertilizer beads can themselves exist, even thought fertilizer they originally contained has been depleted, their existence is no guaranty that the plants will continue to get sufficient nutrition. At any rate, a manufacturer recommended dose of fertilizer is no way at the plant's maximum threshold of tolerance. It is substantially below it. So there's no danger of causing a fertilizer OD if one follows the mfg. recommendations. An actual harmful fertilizer OD is a rare thing that would almost assuredly come from some complete accident. It's not going to happen by someone giving the first dose of fertilizer to a plant that has been basically starved for awhile because they fear fertilizing it.

A tree that is happy for decades, surely has a substantial root run into the native soil and is adequately tapping into whatever nutrition the soil offers. But a newly planted plant might take 2 or 3 years to get to the point where it can sup on existing reserves. It's fairly common that new trees just sit there for a year, sometimes two, without performing much. And then they "take off." A little fertilizer can shorten this down time.

As a general rule, liquid fertilizers are very short lived in the soil, which is why their directions require their reapplication at fairly frequent intervals -- a couple of weeks or so. If the OP is in great distress about whether to fertilize, or not, they can apply the liquid version. If they deem it was an error, no worries. It will be depleted in no time, especially if there's some rain. If by chance it creates it spurs a spurt of growth, one could be reassured that their plant is viable and enjoyed the meal.

Keeping stock adequately fertilized in the retail yard varies with the operation - many here in my area clearly do not. One major independent near me was paying a man to go around during the summer with an injector, resulting in their stock looking much better than is usually seen here. Then they quit doing it, for some reason, with the resulting deterioration in appearance and quality of stock spending much time waiting to be sold during subsequent seasons being very apparent.

Nothing worse looking than an old, nitrogen starved potted plant.

I appreciate all the comments. Thanks, everyone. Given all the input here I'm going to fertilize my trees for at least this coming year and an additional two to three years. We'll see. I'm glad people commented on liquid fertilizer because in the past I have used either spikes or the sprinkle type you scratch into the surface of the soil and honestly I don't notice anything impressive from the different brands I've used. But when I make liquid batches of either Jack's or Dyna-Gro and feed according to manufacturer's directions I see really impressive results in my annuals and small perennials to bushes and my Mediterranean palm tree. Neighbors and passersby always comment on how lush, full, healthy and "BIG" everything looks in my garden.

I read on another forum site of someone alternating Jack's 20-20-20 with Alaska's Fish Fertilizer at ten day intervals and claimed to have phenomenal results with their fig trees. I might try doing the same and see how it goes. I'm going to start up in April.

Unless you are planting these in containers, no fertilizer is necessary unless or until the plant shows signs of distress and a soil test has confirmed that there are deficiencies. Slender Silhouette will grow well in very tight spaces. It has widespread adaptation that makes it a natural for inclusion in modern day urban settings where lot sizes are shrinking and neighbors are getting closer. The soft branches and roots stay extremely narrow, allowing them to be planted close to patios and driveways without any issue.

We planted a row of these close together for privacy, instead of a hedge as we didn’t want to be constantly cutting it. The great thing about Slender Silhouette is that it requires virtually no maintenance and pruning can be performed very simply using a secateurs as the branches are very light. Planting them close together may slow their growth, but will create an effective screen for privacy. After almost 16 years, they have remained extremely narrow, approx 1 foot wide, and have reached a height of approx 4 metres.

Liquidambar 'Slender Silhouette'

These are beautiful trees and perfect for small gardens where space is limited. They can be used as accent points in the landscape or for screen planting.

As accent points, they should be planted at least 1 metre apart and they look wonderful along a driveway. However, they can also make a wonderful slim screen for privacy when planted in a row. For screen planting, they should be planted around 12 - 18 inches apart. At this distance, they will grow at a slower rate and will stay more narrow than if they were spaced further apart, but as they meet, they will eventually merge to create a narrow screen which is perfect for privacy.

The glossy, dark green, star shaped leaves take on an wonderful array of colors in the fall, ranging from clear yellow to orange, red or burgundy. Liquidambar should be planted in full sun to achieve their best colour, in neutral to acid soil that is moist but well-drained. Given a relatively moist well-drained soil, 'Slender Silhouette' will withstand periods of drought and temporary flooding once it has established and requires very little maintenance due to it’s delicate branches and roots. It stays extremely narrow throughout it’s lifetime, maintaining a remarkable degree of uniformity as it grows upward.