If you haven’t already begun a regular feeding schedule for your roses, now is a good time to start. In general we recommend feeding approximately once a month from Valentines Day until Halloween. Of course it is extremely important that you read and follow the directions on your specific fertilizer otherwise the results can be disastrous. So you know you want to feed your roses, the question now becomes, with what? Organics, liquids, soluble powders, meals or granular; the options seem endless.

The following are some of the fertilizers we offer:

Maxsea – Bloom
3-20-20 (water soluble concentrate)

This is a seaweed powder plant food with micronutrients. The Bloom formula is for improved blossom size and count, bud set and overall flowering. This is applied every 7 to 14 days. The grittiness of this product makes it unusable in the average hose end sprayer. I recommend this for watering can mix only and therefore the gardener with only a few roses.

Dr. Earth – All Purpose Fertilizer
3-3-3 (liquid solution concentrate)

This is a new product for us from the same company that offers our most popular organic fertilizer line. A special formula fertilizer with multi-minerals, growth enhancers and humic acids to stimulate root growth and flowering, improve fruit set, reduce transplant shock and encourage growth in stressed plants. This liquid solution can be mixed in either watering cans, hose-end sprayers or in irrigation systems and is applied every two to four weeks throughout the growing season.

Dr. Earth – Rose and Flower Fertilizer
5-7-2 (organic meal)

This is the BHN preferred fertilizer. This not merely a plant food but a soil enhancer as well, adding beneficial soil microbes and mycorrhizae which are vital for the decomposition of organic matter. The important thing to remember about organic meal fertilizer is that it must be worked into the topsoil. If you leave it on the surface it becomes like a water repelling concrete. This is applied every two months throughout the growing season. Also, for best results it is recommended that you mulch with compost periodically throughout the year to add fresh organic material to the soil.

GreenAll – Rose and Flower Food
10-12-6 (non-organic granular)

This is the typical scatter on the surface and water in type of fertilizer many people are familiar with, formulated to encourage growth and flowering. Due to the fact that this is synthetic fertilizer it is important to make sure the plants have been watered well the day before feeding to prevent any chemical burn. Read the directions carefully for proper measurement as well, it is possible to kill a plant by over fertilizing with a non-organic food. This is applied monthly throughout the growing season.

– Cheri