Fertilization always varies with individual specific circumstances. If your plants don't look like they need it, maybe they don't. For tips on what might work for you, provide details like what soil is involved.

Even the mineral content of irrigation water affects fertilization.

Thx bboy...Well, my (burgundy lace maple) looks really lovely. Growing a little more each day and putting out nice healthy looking red leaves. I have clay soil but I keep it covered with composted bark mulch. I've never fertilized it, but I thought maybe I should by now. I read some place that fish fertilizer or kelp is sometime used. Well, I guess if it's not broken don't fix it?

cadence, its a crap shoot guessing if your soil "needs" fertilizer and even what. Even if it does you start this cycle of the tree growing dependent on the modified soil vs growing tolerant of it.

The link is to a site some British Columbian tree folks think highly of. I see some spots in the states listed as well.

Here is a link that might be useful: certified soil testing sites

The only Japanese maples I have ever fertilized are those that I grow in containers. Plants in the ground growing well seldom need supplemental fertilization, even less so if using any sort of nutrient-rich organic mulch.

Don't want to pick nits but "feeding" plants (meaning to fertilize) is a huge misnomer.......plants manufacture their own food through the process of photosynthesis. At best, we as gardeners/plant stewards may supplement nutrient availability by fertilizing, if necessary, but the plants "feed" themselves :-)

Thanks to each of you. Maybe that's why is doing so well. Okay, I'll just leave it be and let it feed it's self.
Thanks again.
Toronato ~ thank you for the link. I'll go and check it out right now.

You might get a soil sample tested at your county extension office to see if it's lacking anything they test.

What I've learned from this forum is that excess fertilizer can be problematic; I'd already heard fertilizer could 'burn' roots, but here I believe I've read that excess nitrogen can stimulate fragile green growth at the wrong time of year, and phosphate binds to the soil and in excess can retard plant growth and is hard to get rid of (so if you REALLY overdo phosphate-heavy fertilizer, you may latter need to remove & replace it!).

People here often recommend getting your soil tested before fertilizing. Is this tree in a lawn that gets fertilized? When you mow, do you let the grass rot & return nutrients to the soil, or do you bag & discard the cut grass?

Richard.

drrich2 - I put fertilizer on my lawn once a year (early spring) Yes, the maple tree is in the middle of my front lawn. I have about a 3ft circle around the tree but try not to put fertilizer in that area. If I miss doing a cutting and the grass gets long. I rake it up and give it to my neighbor for her compost bin. If the clippings are short, I just leave them on the lawn. My tree is doing well, the leaves look great. I was just wondered if I should be fertilizing the tree. According to everyone here, it seems that if it's doing well, I shouldn't fertilize. The tree is 2 years old.