Independent comparisons. We may earn from shop links. More info

How to use conifer fertiliser

Updated: October 2026

You already have a tree, or a pack, and you want to know when to feed conifers UK without scorching roots or wasting a bottle after September. Feed only when roots can take it up: a late-winter granule on open ground, or a growing-season liquid on pots, then stop. Most established trees do not need a routine dose at all. The [conifer fertiliser comparison](/hub/fertiliser-soil-and-bark-mulch/conifer-fertiliser) holds the eight amazon.co.uk packs we kept. The Products Compared editorial team read those listings on 21 October 2026. We did not run a feeding trial.

You already have a tree, or a pack, and you want to know when to feed conifers UK without scorching roots or wasting a bottle after September.

Our top picks

Empathy Empathy After Plant Evergreen, 1 L

Best overall

Empathy Empathy After Plant Evergreen, 1 L
8.8/10about £9.46
View offer
CULTIVERS Cultivers organic liquid for conifers and hedges, 5 L

Rank 2

CULTIVERS Cultivers organic liquid for conifers and hedges, 5 L
8.8/10about £35.29
View offer
Vitax Ltd Vitax Conifer & Shrub 2.5 kg, twin pack

Alternative

Vitax Ltd Vitax Conifer & Shrub 2.5 kg, twin pack
0.0/10about £35.03
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.The UK calendar
  2. 2.How to apply granules and pellets
  3. 3.How to apply a liquid drench
  4. 4.Pots and new plantings
  5. 5.When a professional should take over

The UK calendar

Late winter is the granule window for open ground. The Royal Horticultural Society growing guide treats a general-purpose granular fertiliser then as optional, followed by mulch. Gardeners' World puts the spring feed on moist soil in March, not onto frost and not onto a hot drought. The hard stop is after September. The RHS feeding-plants page is blunt: do not fertilise after that month, because soft late growth is more likely to be hit by frost. If you missed March, a light summer pass on moist soil is still a feed. October is not a catch-up month. If foliage is already brown, stop and diagnose before you add another dose. That order is on brown needles and conifer fertiliser. If the shed tub is Growmore rather than a conifer title, the pair is on conifer fertiliser or general feed.

How to apply granules and pellets

Work under the canopy, not against the trunk. Scatter on moist soil, keep a gap at the stem, water in, then mulch 5–8 cm with the bark left clear. Gardeners' World and the RHS both treat dry or frozen ground as a reason to wait. Hot, cracked soil after a dry spell is the same wait. Vitax Conifer & Shrub is the pellet in this set. Garden World's product page, not our twin-pack raw card, describes a handful of about 60 g, hoed in, in March and again in late June or early July. Use that as maker guidance and still read the packet in the box you received. Our listing has no grams-per-square-metre rate and no star line. If the sheet is not in English, as Altea's only UK review reports, do not guess a rate from another brand. We do not invent metres-of-hedge coverage from this dump.
Empathy Empathy After Plant Evergreen, 1 L

Testsieger

Empathy Empathy After Plant Evergreen, 1 L
8.8/10about £9.46
View offer

How to apply a liquid drench

Water first, then feed. Empathy After Plant Evergreen is the measured 1 L. The product data print a mixing field of 1:4.5. The maker's page publishes 20 ml for new plants and pots, or 40 ml for established plants, per 4.5 L can, weekly in the growing season. Those two figures are not the same sentence. Follow the packet you hold. One saved review used the liquid as a foliar spray on leylandii; most describe a root drench. Treat foliar use as an extra only if the packet allows it, not as the default. Cultivers 5 L is titled for irrigation with a 4-1-4 listing claim and no millilitre-per-litre dose in the saved listing. If the pack does not give millilitres, stop. Inventing a capful from Empathy's page is how a 5 L jug burns a pot. Which pack to buy is on the conifer fertiliser buying guide.

Pots and new plantings

Pots are the RHS exception: liquid through the growing season, then stop. Empty the saucer after you water. Compost that sits wet does not need a second feed on top of a drainage problem. New plantings need water for about two years more than they need a bottle. An After Plant liquid is a measured extra once the tree is in and watered, not a substitute for mycorrhizal granules in the planting hole. Empathy's own range treats After Plant and rootgrow as different jobs. Do not pour concentrate into a dry hole on planting day.

When a professional should take over

A professional should take over when a large specimen sits by buildings or drains, when you cannot name the pest on a costly plant, or when the whole tree is dead and honey fungus or Phytophthora is likely. Feed will not settle a high-hedge complaint under the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 Part 8.

Common questions

When should I feed conifers in the UK?
Late winter for an optional granule on open ground, then mulch. Liquids on pots from early spring to late summer. Gardeners' World points at moist March soil, not frost and not a hot drought. Stop after September.
How do I apply granules under a hedge?
Scatter under the canopy on moist soil, keep a gap at the stem, water in, then mulch 5–8 cm off the bark. Follow the packet rate. We do not print a grams-per-metre figure that is not on our cards.
How do I dilute Empathy After Plant Evergreen?
The listing mixing field is 1:4.5. The maker's page says 20 ml for new plants and pots, or 40 ml for established plants, per 4.5 L can. Use the packet in your hand. Water first. Treat a foliar spray as optional only if that packet allows it.
Can I feed after September?
No, not as a routine. The RHS feeding-plants page wants the season closed so you do not push soft growth into frost. A missed spring dose is not an October emergency.
Do pots need a different routine?
Yes. Compost runs out. Use a liquid through the growing season, empty the saucer, and stop with the rest of the garden after late summer. A 20 kg granule sack is the wrong shape for two patio pots.
Should I water first?
Yes. Feed onto moist soil or a watered pot. Dry ground and frost are both reasons to wait. After granules, water in again before you mulch.
How close to the stem?
Keep a gap. Granules against bark and a mulch piled on the stem are the usual scorch and rot mistakes. Work under the canopy, not in a ring against the trunk.

Related pages

Conifer fertiliser comparison

Conifer fertiliser buying guide

Conifer fertiliser or general feed

Brown needles and conifer fertiliser

Best conifer fertiliser UK: hedge, pots or pellets

Sources

Public UK and maker sources used for this page in October 2026. Prices, stars and review counts are from the eight amazon.co.uk listings in the stored product file. A mixing-ratio field is not a laboratory analysis. An organic or pet-safe line is the listing's claim. This is not a laboratory test.

  1. RHS, How to grow conifers (retrieved 23 October 2026)
  2. RHS, Conifer care (retrieved 23 October 2026)
  3. RHS, Conifers with brown patches (retrieved 23 October 2026)
  4. RHS, How to feed plants (retrieved 23 October 2026)
  5. Fertilisers Regulations 1991 (retrieved 23 October 2026)
  6. Agriculture Act 1970, section 68 (retrieved 23 October 2026)
  7. Empathy After Plant Evergreen (retrieved 23 October 2026)
  8. Vitax Conifer & Shrub label (retrieved 23 October 2026)
  9. Gardeners' World, Feeding plants (retrieved 23 October 2026)