Miracle-Gro Indoor Plant Food Spikes instead of fertilizer cakes?

Has anyone experimented with using the Miracle-Gro Indoor Plant Food Spikes as a soil surface time release fertilizer replacement for fertilizer cakes?

Miracle-Gro Indoor Plant Food Spikes link

Fert. is Fert. and the formula is OK, BUT for someone with many trees I don't think they would be cost effective or even labor effective. Shallow bonsai pots might require breaking sticks in half.

Good idea about breaking sticks in half and you are right, it may not be super cost effective for many trees. I think the main advantage I'm looking for is to try something squirrels may not want to steal. Every single fert cake I've made gives a squirrel a nice present and doesn't last 5 hours. We have pecans all around Texas and my house especially so I think squirrels are very established and plentiful.

I was also slightly concerned about burning roots right underneath the stick since this fert is not organic. They are designed to be stuck in the soil so maybe they won't burn?

Every single fert cake I've made gives a squirrel a nice present

Then don't use fertilizer cakes. They're ugly anyway. Use 'regular' Miracle grow, mix with water and fertilize either with watering can or by soaking.

Those sticks are designed for plants in the ground.

This is just my opinion, but I have had bad luck with those fertilizer spikes. I over fertilized one of my trees, when I mixed the spike with regular miracle grow and it died. It you use the spikes, you should probably be thorough with researching the proper applications.

However, I've had a lot of success using Dyna-gro 7-9-5. You might want to look it up.

JimLewis wrote:
Then don't use fertilizer cakes. They're ugly anyway. Use 'regular' Miracle grow, mix with water and fertilize either with watering can or by soaking.
Those sticks are designed for plants in the ground.

They do make small fertilizer sticks intended for potted house-plant. They might work. One might even consider breaking them in half and scattering on the surface, or, perhaps better, using one of the brands of general-purpose slow-release fertilizer pellets and scattering those on the surface.

That being said, I'm with Jim: I just use Miracle grow dissoved in water at the prescribed rate, but perhaps more frequently for my trees potted in inorganic substrate (Mule Mix--similar to Turface). Works for me.
Oliver

JimLewis wrote:

Every single fert cake I've made gives a squirrel a nice present

Then don't use fertilizer cakes. They're ugly anyway. Use 'regular' Miracle grow, mix with water and fertilize either with watering can or by soaking.

Those sticks are designed for plants in the ground.

Jim

I think the ones he is looking at are for house plants. They are only a few inches long and thinner than a pencil.