I am pretty relaxed with my blood meal application, and I've never seen burn. I've seen shocking overtall, overlarge foliage at the expense of flowrs. Of course, overapplying anything is never recommended. The usual advice is to underapply if you must err.

My favorite slow-release fertilizer, my favorite mulch, and my favortie thing to make in the fall is compost, compost, and compost. Which reminds me, are you slackers doing anything this fall? Have you been able to locate your town's municipal leaf dump? Pretty soon you can hint to neighborhood kids that you won't call the cops if they want to steal pumpkins and smash them in your driveway.