Hello there!

I was gifted these little plant food spikes and I was wondering if it was safe to use on my Chinese Elm bonsai. Should it be used regularly, in moderation, or not at all? Also, is there anything you guys recommend for food (brand-wise?) Thank you!

Vianey1126 wrote: I was gifted these little plant food spikes and I was wondering if it was safe to use on my Chinese Elm bonsai.

It's for indoor use and an elm is not an indoor tree. There are no indoor trees, actually.

Auk wrote:

Vianey1126 wrote: I was gifted these little plant food spikes and I was wondering if it was safe to use on my Chinese Elm bonsai.

It's for indoor use and an elm is not an indoor tree. There are no indoor trees, actually.

Besides that, a bonsai is not a houseplant.

The label says indoor. Nitrogen is nitrogen, potassium is potassium, etc. There is no indoor version of nitrogen.

I would think these would be fine, but I don't know how the trace elements here will matter to the tree. I would research a little bit of the effect of manganese, etc., on the particular species and then use them if there are no issues.

Ivan Mann wrote: The label says indoor. .

The difference is that indoors it does not rain, usually.

Auk wrote:
The difference is that indoors it does not rain, usually.

In Alabama it may not rain July-September.

As much and as often as we water the bonsais, any fertilizer will probably wash away fairly fast. I would expect one small dab of something every week would be much better than a huge glomp every month. Maybe even a drop or two a day.Most of these sticks will wash away pretty fast, so I don't see any harm. I would get fairly cheap slow release stuff.