Fertilizing Mast trees

Anybody fertilizing their Mast trees? If so, when, with what, and how much?

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Do a soil test and send it in marked for whatever tree you want.


When isn't huge, as it can take a little but for nutrients to uptake, but we fertilize clients trees (yard trees of all kinds) spring or fall.



Soil test or you're potentially wasting time and $$

I figured a soil test was in order. I was gonna do that anyway.

I have several different properties, and species I'm wanting to fertilize.

Would you take several samples over a general area? Or at each individual tree?

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situational depending on tree size, slope, ground cover, competition on different sides of the tree, etc.


I'd definitely take one for different species of trees, and different trees with different growing situations.


You want pure soil from 6-10"+ deep with no roots, leaves, sticks, etc in it. If you have debris in it, it'll show your nitrogen being high.

I fertilize my (gasp) sawtooth oaks. I drill 2" holes down about a foot with a core sample auger depending on the size tree on about 3' spacing around the tree and fill with slow release fertilizer. It has worked well for me.

I have fertilized mast trees for the past 30 years, and I know it makes a difference in the way they produce in poor soils. I typically will rake leaves around the drip line to bare earth, then put out cheap 10-10-10 or even 8-8-8 in a fairly thick ring and cover the leaves back over the fertilizer. That keeps it on the top awhile longer and lets the water run into the soil, and lets some of that fertilizer soak into the dead leaves to create a ring of fertilizer that lasts longer. (or that's my theory anyway)
It's really good to fertilize a briar patch or a honey suckle patch, you can see results in a few days. New growth all winter at the first sign of a few warm days.