Just like other garden plants, our trees need nutrients to thrive. But while reaching for a box of synthetic fertilizer may seem like an obvious way to give them a boost, a more sustainable gardening approach is worth considering. There are several issues with using synthetic fertilizers on our backyard trees, including the negative effects it has on soil health.
Nancy Gaspari, an arboriculture and horticulture educator with Monster Tree Service, points out how synthetic fertilizer overloads have been implicated in raising soil salinity levels. This can burn plants, adversely affect soil biology, and degrade soil structure, which can contribute to soil compaction issues. The runoff of excess fertilizer nutrients into watersheds is another concern. 'Fertilizer runoff has degraded water quality in our streams, rivers, lakes, and estuaries, adversely affecting fish and wildlife habitats as well as polluting much of our recreational water,' she notes.
