June is for Roses, and now that the pruning is done I am looking at the spring feeding. I had 28 antique or old fashion roses. So far I think I may have lost 5 or 6 roses over the winter. The photo is of New Dawn 2013, it is an old fashion climbing rose. I pruned off about 60% of the old wood. There is just a little bit of new green leaves starting here and there which is a good sign. I was afraid New Dawn was dead. It is slow showing signs of life. Maybe after I feed it, I will see more leaves.
I am trying new fertilizer again this spring. I just bought a 50lb bag of alfalfa pellets sold as horse feed at Agway. I will also use bone meal, fish emulsion, and earth worm castings and compost. I still need to buy some epison salts.
Here is a basic rule that I found on one of the rose sites I looked at tonight.
This article link: www.springvalleyroses.com/inthegarden/fertilizing.html explains how to give your roses the food they need to be healthy, productive plants. But, for those of you who want a quick answer, here's the bare-bones guide to fertilizing:
- Give each rose 2 cups of a well-balanced, natural-based or organic granular fertilizer in the spring. Sprinkle onto the soil surface around the base of the plant. Additional amendments that can be fed include: 1/4 cup of epsom salts, 2 cups of alfalfa, 1/2 cup of rock phosphate or bone meal, and a shovelfull of compost.
- Optional summer feeding: One month after the first feeding, give each rose a dose (about one gallon of solution per rose) of an organic liquid fertilizer, such as fish emulsion. Apply this each month during the summer up until 6 weeks before the first frost.
- Don't use Miracle Grow type liquid chemical fertilizers on Rugosa roses. It burns them right up.
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