Best Fertilizers for Apple Trees

Our Best Fertilizers for Apple Trees

• Budget-friendly
• Organic fertilizer
• Promotes fruit production

3. Best For Secondary Nutrients - Humboldt Secret Golden Tree

In our opinion, the best fertilizer for apple trees is Jobe's Fruit & Nut Tree Organic fertilizer.

We love organic fertilizers and Jobe's always delivers high-quality, and dependable fertilizer for not just apple trees but fertilizer for citrus trees, fertilizer for palm trees and more.

You name it, and they got it. 

How We Chose the Best Fertilizer for Apple Trees

We chose the best fertilizer for apple trees based on:

• NPK Ratio
• Nutrition levels
• Application method
• Whether or not the fertilizer was inorganic or organic.

There are some other things you need to consider, too, like testing your soil, when to use the fertilizer, and above all, do you need to use fertilizer at all.

We cover everything you need and more below. 

NPK Ratio & Secondary Nutrients For Fertilizing Apple Trees

The classic NPK Ratio. You'll see this in just about every article on fertilizers. That's because it's pretty essential.

But what is the difference between 6-3-4, or 10-10-10, or 20-3-19? Well, we'll explain it to you.

The NPK ratio is the ratio of the three most important nutrients the tree needs: Nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K).

The number you see on the bag, like 10-10-10, is exactly that: 10% nitrogen, 10% phosphorus, and 10% potassium.

If you had a 100-pound bag of fertilizer, that would mean 10 pounds of nitrogen, 10 pounds of phosphorous, and 10 pounds of potassium. But what is the importance of each nutrient?

Nitrogen

Nitrogen is the first number on the NPK Ratio. It's important for every fertilizer and for every apple tree because it boosts both branch and green leaf growth.

Phosphorous

Phosphorous is the second number on the NPK Ratio, and its role is to promote healthy growth in the roots.

Strong roots are critical for apple trees to grow healthy and provide delicious apples.

Also, phosphorous will help during harvest season because it helps the tree produce a huge harvest.

Potassium

Potassium is the third and final number on the NPK Ratio. It's the backbone nutrient the tree needs, boosting the overall health of the tree.

With enough potassium, the tree can resist things like drought or other rough weather because it maximizes its ability to absorb nutrients. 

Application Method

Inorganic vs Organic Fertilizers

If you are serious about growing apple trees, you should have the soil tested.

If you get your soil tested, you eliminate all the guesswork fertilizing feels like, and you'll finally know how much fertilizer you truly need.

Some of the soil parameters you should be tracking are:

• Phosphorous
• Potassium
• Calcium
• Magnesium
• Boron
• Soil pH

If you use manure, compost or other waste materials to fertilize your apple trees, then you want perform these additional tests to keep track of toxicity levels:

• Copper
• Zinc

This is all pretty simple to do. Once you get your results of your soil sample back, you can plug them into an excel sheet.

Save the file and you officially have 'data' on the quality of your soil. Also, once you have the soil test results, you can begin to supplement the soil based on the need's of the tree[2].

Boron Deficiency

If your soil is lacking boron then. you should consider supplementing the apple trees with boron.

Do not do this if there is adequate boron in the soil otherwise you can harm the tree.

Calcium Deficiency

Calcium deficiencies are another one you gotta look out for. If the soil doesn't have enough calcium, your apple trees will start to have bitter pits.

If you find that you have a calcium deficiency, look into spraying the tree leaves with a calcium chloride sprayer throughout the summer. 

Knowing when to use fertilizer for apple trees comes down to your soil, climate, age, and the fertilizer itself.

How Many Times Per Year Do You Fertilize Apple Trees?

You should fertilize your mature apple trees once per year. If your apple trees are over two years old, you only need to fertilize them once in the springtime.

Apple trees start bearing fruit in the early spring. When apple trees bear fruit, their nitrogen uptake increases, so applying a high nitrogen-based fertilizer once in the early spring is ideal.

For more specific guidelines, see below. 

Do Apple Trees Need Fertilizer?

Apple trees need fertilizer to grow healthy. Apple trees, like all fruit trees, thrive with the best fruit tree fertilizer. If you haven't gotten your soil tested, there are some basic principles you can follow to make sure the apple trees are growing right:

• Young apple trees: Young trees should grow up to 1 foot per year. If they aren't. increase fertilizer in the following years by 50%. [1]

• Older than 4 years (mature apple trees): For less than 6 inches of tree growth, continue to fertilize the same as for young apple trees; If over 12 inches of growth apply only sul-pu-mag (do not use 10-10-10 or calcium nitrate). If you don't know what sul-pu-mag is, it's just another type of fertilizer that delivers suffer, potassium, and magnesium rather than the standard NPK.

• Transplants: We recommend fertilizing transplanted apple trees about three weeks after planting. Too much too soon can be detrimental to the tree but after three weeks you can apply 10-10-10 one to two feet around the base of the tree. Once you have established apple trees, you can resume normal fertilization.