When it comes to fertilizing shrubs I like to sprinkle the product around the root zone so a shrub the size of yours means you would go out 8 to 12 inches from the center of the trunk and sprinkle the granules in an outer circle about six inches wide. Like framing a photo with a 6 inch frame - no fertilizer in the middle just around the edges. Apply enough so that the granules are not touching one another but close enough that there is a granule within one inch of the neighboring granules. Then work the fertilizer into the top few inches of the soil. When the weather warms and the plant is ready to grow the fertilizer will slowly release for 6 months. Keep growing, Marianne Binetti