I have said several times here that nitrogen is nitrogen, and organic means nothing.

Reading Bonsai Heresy the author said pretty much the same thing, then had a pretty long "but...." where he said that he had experimented with chemical vs cakes (which most of us would call "organic"). Over the course of a couple of years, they both produced growth, but cake fertilizer produced smaller internodal growth and seemed to produce slightly thicker trunks. There were other minor differences. Fish oil seemed to be even better.

OK, I can take back what I say when facts rub themselves in my face. What the difference is, and why it is, is a matter for the biologists. I will be using biogold and similar mostly from now on.

The chemical fertilizer is excactly in the form that the trees needs. The organic fertilizer needs to be broken down and mineralized before it can be awailable for the tree. So simply put, slower uptake and somewhat slower growth with the same total amount of fertilizer. That can explain the shorter internodes, but not slightly thicker trunks.

But I find it funny that you who have prefered chemical change to organic, while I am doing the totally opposite change . Fascination hobby!

BioGold, Fish&Kelp emulsion.
Best results I have so far.

In my private life, talking with all my friends, I say over and over that facts trump opinions every time. Mostly I am talking about things like Covid and evolution, but in this case, facts about fertilizing trump my opinion. I should say former opinion.

I am not going to throw away my recently purchased box of Miracle Gro. I am going to alternate it with Bio Gold until I run out and then go to Bio Gold and fish emulsion, just like Clicio says.

I think I don't have enough experience with them to say much, I bought a chemical fertilizer last growing season, but I didn't use much afraid of burning the plants since It's NOT encapsulated for slow releasing (Osmocote), so I rather preffer to use Castor Cake, which is easily available where I live, it's cheap (or free, if you willing to harvest/dry/mash them), and the results for me are really visible.

It would be interesting a side to side test, with plants at same stage, same conditions, and same genetics.
However, I don't think the difference would be big enough to be so relevant.
In the end, we should use what fits in our pockets, or for begginers like me, fool proof fertilizers. =]

I have been using Dyna-gro Bonsai Pro liquid fertilizer, been using it 1/4 teaspoon per gallon of water... just read the label again today... that is for maintenance use.... for growth it says to use 1/2 teaspoon per gallon of water. Think starting next spring, I will start using 1/2 teaspoon per gallon of water.

A possible explanation is this. With my once a week liquid there is a huge fertilizer hit Monday, a light one Tuesday after watering, and Wednesday there is practically nothing. Thursday there is nothing. The tree responds to Monday's hit by zooming out thr internodal length.

With biogold there is a small amount dribbling out every day, and the tree never gets that huge hit so never responds by zooming growth out.

Whatever. It's biogold for me.

I have two boxes of Miracle Gro. One is normal fertilizer and the other is acid loving, specifically for azaleas.

The azaleas are sitting in lava rock/pumice/konuma. Is Biogold + konuma acid enough?