Lou Manfredini: Fall fertilizer for your trees and shrubs

... let's, um, you want people to fertilize their trees and shrubs now.

Is that right?

Yeah, I mean, you know, this cold weather is, uh, is coming upon us, and, um, the, the biggest thing you wanna look for in any kind of fertilizing, this is for established stuff, stuff that's been planted for a while.

You're looking for a high concentration of potash and phosphorus.

And, um, now you gotta be careful with phosphorus.

If you're near any kind of body of water, you don't wanna use that.

But that really does potentially help the roots, uh, really kind of dig in and hold on during the winter months.

And so there's a bunch of soluble stuff that you can buy high in, uh, potash, potash in particular, and just, you know, take a gal- take a five-gallon bucket, st- uh, dilute it in there, and then pour it next to a tree, pour it next to a bush, and it's really gonna help it, uh, really well.

And then there are those spikes, uh, that you see that are like these fertilizer spikes that you can pound in the ground around the canopy of the trees or the bush, and that's like a slow release over the winter months.

Really good idea to do that before the ground freezes.

And, um, so, you know, it just keeps everything looking good.

Yeah.

I've done the spikes, so, like, around a tree do one at 12:00, 3:00, 6:00, and 9:00, the four corners around a tree-

Right, right

... say.

Right.

Or in between the shrubs if you've got a shrub row or something like that.

And I will say our, our trees and bushes have really done well, and I, I credit those somewhat for that.

I mean, it sure didn't hurt.

Yeah.

They look great, you know?

Yeah.

No, absolutely, especially with evergreens.

Um, you don't wanna get right next to the trunk.

You wanna go around the canopy.

... let's, um, you want people to fertilize their trees and shrubs now.

Is that right?

Yeah, I mean, you know, this cold weather is, uh, is coming upon us, and, um, the, the biggest thing you wanna look for in any kind of fertilizing, this is for established stuff, stuff that's been planted for a while.

You're looking for a high concentration of potash and phosphorus.

And, um, now you gotta be careful with phosphorus.

If you're near any kind of body of water, you don't wanna use that.

But that really does potentially help the roots, uh, really kind of dig in and hold on during the winter months.

And so there's a bunch of soluble stuff that you can buy high in, uh, potash, potash in particular, and just, you know, take a gal- take a five-gallon bucket, st- uh, dilute it in there, and then pour it next to a tree, pour it next to a bush, and it's really gonna help it, uh, really well.

And then there are those spikes, uh, that you see that are like these fertilizer spikes that you can pound in the ground around the canopy of the trees or the bush, and that's like a slow release over the winter months.

Really good idea to do that before the ground freezes.

And, um, so, you know, it just keeps everything looking good.

Yeah.

I've done the spikes, so, like, around a tree do one at 12:00, 3:00, 6:00, and 9:00, the four corners around a tree-

Right, right

... say.

Right.

Or in between the shrubs if you've got a shrub row or something like that.

And I will say our, our trees and bushes have really done well, and I, I credit those somewhat for that.

I mean, it sure didn't hurt.

Yeah.

They look great, you know?

Yeah.

No, absolutely, especially with evergreens.

Um, you don't wanna get right next to the trunk.

You wanna go around the canopy.