Hello!
I'm preparing to collect some trees (pine, spruce and birch) from our property to plant as bonsai. I'm attempting to make a bonsai forrest to replace our old flower bed in front of the house. Each tree will be planted in a container of the appropriate size and drainage, and the container will be placed in the ground with some moss on top of the dirt (the dirt will be taken from their original location). I'm wondering:
1. Should I fertilize them immediately after I replant them to encourage growth or will they possibly be too stressed from being relocated and having their roots trimmed?
2. Once they're settled in, I'm assuming I'll need to fertilize them every growing season even though they're planted in the ground, given that their roots will be contained.
3. How strict should I be with fertilizer content? I'm having a hard time finding a fertilizer with 10-10-10 NPK. The options I can source locally are species formulated, rather than a rounded bonsai formula. For example, the best option I can find for my spruce and pine trees come in spikes and have an 11-3-4 NPK content. Is that fine since it's formulated specifically for pine/spruce species?