That is my experience as well. Here the soil has plenty of everything except N, so all I ever use on the roses is lawn food or blood meal--when I use anything. No use adding stuff you don't need to add.

I think the belief that excess P promotes bloom is an old wives' tale. However, I don't know of any trial to point to. Excess P does suppress beneficial mycorrhizal fungi and does cause trace nutrient deficiencies.

Same here... I had a soil test done a couple years ago and everything was good... soft clay soil...
I have been applying mulch, compost, etc for years.
That's all I need here as the use of fertilizer (esp granular) has caused me some problems...
So I'm going back to what works best for me here...
Applying mulch, compost, etc. on top of soil...
You know even 1-2 cups of coffee grounds has caused me slight problems here at times also...
Just don't need it here...

I agree with the other posters 100% about P...

This post was edited by jim1961 on Thu, Jun 6, 13 at 20:02