I start the spring season with a feeding of the "organic" Plant Tone or Rose Tone (which also has some alfalfa in it for extra growth stimulus). I always tell myself that I will give my roses a monthly feed of it (per directions on the bag), but by the time the first bloom cycle is done, I find I'm getting lazy and remembering how hot summer can get, so I switch over to one of those 3 or 4 month continuous feeds like Rose Care. Then I don't have to worry about feeding the rest of the season.

I do sometimes add a layer of manure around the rose--usually sometime during the spring cycle, occasionally later in the season if it occurs to me and I feel ambitious enough.

I try to keep things simple. There are others who like playing in the dirt and coming up with elaborate combinations and schedules. Each to his own. : )

Kate

Mid March or a little later I prune (it depends on the long range forecast). When I prune I put down 1 cup per bush 10-10-10 and wash it in with fish emulsion, 2 Tbs per 2 gal watering can. 1 watering can per bush. Then one big handful of 10-10-10 every 21 days until June. Then nothing June July and first half of August. Then fall pruning about the 15th of Aug. One big handful of 10-10-10. 21 days later same 10-10-10 and fish emulsion, then 21 days later 10-10-10 for the last time for the season. I use this on all my large roses. Cut in half for my mini's and anything in pots. I exhibit and this seems to work fantastic for me and the roses.

The best advise is to build up your soil which means pile on the mulch twice a year until your soil becomes rich compost. Unfortunately this takes years but you will see the benefits immediately. Back east I had several piles of wood chips in different levels of decomposition and used five year old ones with a topping of newer chips or pine bark. I got the wood chips free from the tree cutters that were always active in CT.

1 cup (2 for the larger plants) of Espoma Holly-tone (or Rose-tone; I can get the larger bags of Holly-tone at BJ's or one of the privately-owned hardware stores for a good price) per plant, once a month, April - August. If I have the time, I will mix up some fish emulsion and some water soluble, Schultz or Peters or Mills Easy Feed (I usually win a bottle of this at the Penn-Jersey District Convention every other year). As my good mentor, Bill Sehl, always said, "Roses can't read", meaning, they don't know "rose food" from any other fertilizer, so you don't need to buy anything fancy. Many people use alfalfa and manure, and not much else.

I add a layer of manure (~ 1") every year or two, and I throw the coffee grounds directly into the beds whenever I think about it. I have two compost bins, but I'm really a slacker, and should check them out sometimes. ;-)

I am interested in this post as I want to really grow my bushes out well this year. I use Mills Magic Rose Mix in late Feb. Will also put on Epsom salts and alfalfa. I have horses, so have plenty of composted manure, which I put on the individual bushes along my front fence and scatter in the beds. Done a couple of times a year, this really does help make the soil good - I have been negligent in the last several years, but going to get on it this year. I have a list of quite a few rose fertilizer recipes but haven't found the time to use them. I recall someone saying "roses are hogs, feed em". Looking forward to other replies!
Judith

I make my own organic mix, much cheaper than buying Epsoma when you have 125-30 roses to feed.

These first 4 items come in 50# bags from a farm feed store. Alfalfa & soy are $10-12/ bag & blood & fish are around $40-55/ bag in my area.

2 bags alfalfa meal
1 bag soy bean meal (can use cotton seed meal instead if available)
1 bag blood meal
1 bag fish meal

Mix the above 4 ingredients with 2 bags of Milorganite (36# ???---buy from a garden center). You will need 3-4 20gal. garbage cans to store it in. Makes enough to give 5 feedings to my roses. 2C/HT & big roses, 1C/Fl & smaller roses, 1/2C per mini

This post was edited by wirosarian on Sun, Jan 12, 14 at 21:44

Like that recipe wirosarian! How often do you feed?
Susan

Susan---I'm in z4 so only feed 3x per year. Usually 1st week in May, mid June & end of July, I guess that's about 6 weeks apart.

I guess I'm missing something, but how do you mix those large quantities of ingredients before you store your mix, wirosarian? (Please don't say a giant spoon. heheh). Diane

I mix them on my concrete driveway in front of the garage. Do it on a day that is not windy & check the weather so you know that a rain shower is not sneaking up on you. Dump one bag of something on your driveway & spread it out to about 1-2" thick. Then dump another bag on top of this & spread out 1-2" also. Keep doing this until all bags have been dumped & spread out. Now take a shovel & turn the pile over to one side and when this is done turn the pile over the other direction. I do this turning once more & then put in the garbage cans. You might want to wear a dust mask.

This post was edited by wirosarian on Sun, Jan 12, 14 at 19:22

those are some interesting recipes. But I'm astonished at the amounts of 10-10-10 or Rose Tone! One cup? I don't mean this as criticism--it just seems like the plants would burn up. I'm not at all against pumping up plants for bloom but I've killed plants with a fraction of that amount. Of course I've watered well, but still killed them. A big factor in my mostly using only organics. They can burn up plants, too, but I'm less likely to kill them outright.

Do you think living in a rainier or not so hot climate is a factor? Or are you feeding gigantic old plants? i just don't think I could get away with socking my plants with so much though it obviously works for you.

Thanks, wirosarian, that sounds like a clever and logical way of mixing the ingredients (but a lot of work).
Bluegirl, I think the Rose Tone bag says one or two cups of tone per rose, so the amounts everyone uses are pretty routine. I vary the amount according the size of the rose. Diane

In the spring I do a round of:

2 c. organic granulated fertilizer (NPK in single digits)
2 c. alfalfa meal
1/4 c. epsom salt
1 Shovelful of Purple Cow Compost

Wash down with fish emulsion.

I'll use the low NPK granulated fertilizer and compost with fish emulsion twice more before the end of July. I'm considering moving the 1/4 c. Epsom to every other year, but haven't decided yet.

Last year I started a few bands in pots. How should I fertilize them while they are in containers?

I water my roses a LOT. As far as my "hand full" goes, it's about 1/2 cup

One cup of holly tone per rose monthly March-July on clay soil with moderate rainfall (we average 40 inches per year). I stopped adding mulch a couple of years ago when the voles moved in.

In the spring right after pruning I'll scratch in some kind for time release fertilizer. sometimes I'll add some Epsom Salts to that but not always. After that I do foliar feedings about every 4 weeks with what every liquid fertilizer I have.

I use the Houston Rose Society Rose Fertilizer. It is a concentrate, like a 29-#-#, sorry can't recall the P and K. Heavy on Nitrogen, works great here. Apply it once a month to the soil around the plant, not on the plant. They suggest watering the day before Feeding. Works great.

HRS Fert guide link: http://www.houstonrose.org/mo041207.htm

I don't mess around with granules any more, it's too much work. I liquid feed. All food has to be turned in a solution anyway
To start the year I use Miracle Gro 24 -8-16. That is at bud break.I also spray for disease then.
My next application is Monty's Joy Juice and I apply that weekly up to September 1. I use the Monty's feeder. I can feed my 470 roses in 20 minutes!