Question
Last year I planted several azaleas, boxwoods, a skip laurel, an american holly and 2 alberta spruce.  We've had a very cold winter and now I wish to give them a boost and don't know how best to feed them, i.e. type of fertilizer or method of fertilizing.  

Can you help.  I live in northern New Jersey.

Thanks,
Dave

Answer
Hi Dave.

I don't use fertilizers, just compost, so I'm not sure how much help I'll be. What makes you think your (beautiful!) plants need a boost? If I had these plants and had a winter as harsh as yours, I would expect some wood and leaf damage from snow and ice. For this, I'd prune out damaged plant parts. Since these are toddler plants, I'd heavily mulch them with leaf mold around now, to keep out weeds, insulate their roots, and provide nutrition as they go through their first growth spurt.

If you want these plants to grow leafy quickly, nitrogen is the fertilizer component that's most important. It's the first number in the ratio on plant food (eg 10-10-10). A larger first number and smaller second and third numbers on fertilizer is the answer to increasing nitrogen in these plants' soil.

I hope I've been some help. Good luck!