Can You Give “Flower Food” To Bonsai Trees?

Flower food …You probably know the stuff, it’s that little mysterious sachet that is always taped to the side of the bunches of flowers in the shop.

It’s says it’s food, so I’m sure you’ve wondered if you can feed it to your bonsai trees? Well you probably can, but it won’t do anything, so I wouldn’t bother. In fact. Just don’t do it at all.

Your bonsai does not need flower food …It needs fertiliser.

What Is Flower Food?

Let’s start with the bunch of flowers you just bought before we look at how this related to bonsai.

You are expected to put the flowers in a vase with water and then squirt the sachet of food in to the water. There is a huge misconception that this is some sort of fertiliser. Which I guess is understandable when it’s called “flower food”.

This situation is made worse by the fact that most flowers you buy will not be in bloom, they usually open up a day or so after buying them. A lot of people believe the “food” is important aand makes the flowers bloom, which isn’t actually the case

If people are believing it makes the flowers grow, it only makes sense that they would ask if they can give this food to other plants or bonsai. Who wouldn’t want to give their trees a free hit of fertiliser?

However, the truth is the word “food” is a bit of a misnomer. It’s just not food in the way we would consider fertiliser to be food.

The ingredients obviously vary from company to company, but they are all usually a mix of sugar, acid and bleach.

Yes. You read that right …So how is that food?

Well, let’s explain what how it works so we can understand whats going on.

How Does Flower Food Work?

This flower food is supposed to be used for flowers …Fresh Cut Flowers. These flowers are no longer attached to their roots and are basically going to be enjoyed until they wither and die.

The flower food is designed to slow that process down, so that you can enjoy the flowers you paid for, that little bit longer. If we go through the ingredients you will see how each ones helps delay their death.

Sugar

The sugar is there to help the plant flower. If you’ve ever bought flowers you will know they are often sold just before they bloom. They then open and show their full glory at home. Kind of the same way a lot of fruit is sold underripe. That way you get to enjoy it at home when it’s at its best.

So the sugar helps with this. It’s basically trying to make up for the lack of roots. You could argue that in a way it is giving the plant “food” so the name isn’t too much of a lie. It does feed the plant, but not in the same way as a fertiliser would give nutrients to a plant, which the plant then uses to make its own sugar.

Acid

Next in the mix is the acid. Normally some sort of citric acid. This his added to lower the PH of the water.

Scientists have worked out that this some how helps the cut flowers suck up water more easily. So basically they don’t wilt as quickly and of course some water going into the flowers is going to help them open up so you can enjoy them.

If you don’t add the “food” your flowers might not open fully, which is why people think the sachets make the flowers grow. Really its just that the acid is helping the flowers suck up some water.

Bleach

Lastly is the bleach. Which sounds crazy, but it’s true.

But let’s think about it. A vase of water with added sugar is going to be an absolute delight to bacteria. It’s going to grow like crazy.

This is not ideal when your trying to keep some flowers fresh. The last thing you need is for the cut ends to go mouldy. They are not going to last long like that.

So the bleach just takes the edge off any bacteria and keeps the vase a bit cleaner, so your flowers can last a little longer

Why Can’t You Feed Flower Food To Your Bonsai Tree?

So if you haven’t realised already, this flower food is very useful of fresh cut flowers. It’s a recipe that’s been designed to keep the flowers at their best for as long as possible. Its more a flower preservative, than flower food.

Which brings us on to your bonsai tree. This flower food is not designed for growing plants that have a root systems and soil. This means that any of the benefits it may bring to your flowers, are not going to be seen in your bonsai.

If we look at what it does for flowers and compare it to bonsai, we will see that its not going to help:

• Bonsai trees do not need sugar. It can make its own just fine.
• Bonsai trees do not need their soil PH altered. (Well they might, but 5ml of liquid isn’t going to fix that long term)
• Bonsai trees do not need help taking water up more efficiently, They have their own roots for that.
• Bonsai trees do not need bleach to keep the bacteria away. Most bonsai soils have some sort of bacteria in it and it’s mainly beneficial for the growth of the tree. So just leave it as it is.

What Will Happen If You Use Flower Food On A Bonsai?

I’m fairly certain that if you did add flower food to your bonsai tree it wouldn’t do the tree any harm …but it’s also not going to add any value to it, so it’s just a waste of time.

Think of it like this. If you had some premium quality fertiliser cakes, you wouldn’t add them to a vase of flowers. They are not designed for that.

So just don’t add flower food to your trees as it’s not designed for that. Give your bonsai real fertiliser. It will enjoy that a whole lot more and it will actually be helpful.

(You can read more info on – Fertilsers For Bonsai)

Conclusion

Hopefully now you can understand what flower food is and why its good for flowers, but not bonsai. If you end up with some sachets, just keep them for your fresh cut flowers, that is what it is designed for.

Its not food and its not going to feed your bonsai. You will be much better off feeding your bonsai actual fertiliser.

(You can read more about – When Do You Fertilise A Bonsai?)