Is It Worth Spending Money On Fertilizer Marketed As "Rose Specific"?

[GardenOfEnglandGardener]

I recently purchased a couple of new roses from eBay. Can't wait to see them flowing. In the garden we have white, red, pink and yellow roses, and now purple and brown roses too, due to the recent purchase!

This got me thinking. I remember seeing a "Rose Fertilizer" in a nearby supermarket, which is actually generally quite good for plant stuff compared to the others I could name. Should I:

a) Use the remaining "regular" flower fertilizer.
b) Buy and use a specific "rose fertilizer".
c) Use the fish, blood and bone mix (which honestly sounds a bit gruesome now that I think about it but I'm not going to throw away perfectly good fetilizer).
d) Use the tomato fertilizer.
e) I have a so-called "strawberry fertilizer" I could use too, which admittedly is probably a bit of a gimmick but at the time it sounded cool to have.

 

[Marck]

Most plant-specific fertilizers are marketing gimicks. However if you end up using each different fertilizer only on the plants listed on the package, it might not cost you that much more in the long run.

All the same, I advocate for simplicity. I use one complete, liquid formula for most container and rock garden plants.
I also use a high nitrogen, very low phosphorus formula on Proteaceae and a few other plants, that seem to just need a nitrogen boost.

I rarely use chemical fertilizers on in-ground plantings. However I do have nutrient-rich clay soil (wonderful stuff) so usually the limiting nutrient is Nitrogen, and there are many "natural" ways to put more Nitrogen in the soil.

 

[GardenOfEnglandGardener]

Most plant-specific fertilizers are marketing gimicks. However if you end up using each different fertilizer only on the plants listed on the package, it might not cost you that much more in the long run.

All the same, I advocate for simplicity. I use one complete, liquid formula for most container and rock garden plants.
I also use a high nitrogen, very low phosphorus formula on Proteaceae and a few other plants, that seem to just need a nitrogen boost.

I rarely use chemical fertilizers on in-ground plantings. However I do have nutrient-rich clay soil (wonderful stuff) so usually the limiting nutrient is Nitrogen, and there are many "natural" ways to put more Nitrogen in the soil.

The soil is in the garden here would seem to be a very dense clay soil. I often hear clovers and legumes (such as peanuts) talked about as a way to add Nitrogen to the soil, so I could definitely look into those. I do have some seed peanuts to hand, but it still seems a little early to plant them. I was just now looking into clovers and there are some rather pretty varieties beyond what I usually will see in the park (not to disparage my local parks), so perhaps I should try some of those.

 

[roadrunner]

Some good info on fertilizers...

 

[Herbie]

One of the best chemical fertilisers available in the UK ( and maybe beyond too ) is Vitax Q4. Widely used by professional nurseries it is a good balanced feed , slow and long acting. Very good for all plants ( including roses ! ) except those with specific requirements such as ericaceous subjects.
Naturals include organic liquid seaweed , a plant growth stimulant rather than a feed , which promotes healthy growth and strong flowering.

 

[Meadowlark]

Interesting question. I don't use synthetic fertilizers in my vegetable garden. However...

My wife loves growing roses and she has found an effective product that does it all: fertilizer, insect control, and disease control. Its called "all-in-one rose and flower care" by BioAdvanced. It is a no spraying, mix and pour product. The results are excellent.

I don't know the costs but you know what they say...happy wife = happy life.

 

[GardenOfEnglandGardener]

Some good info on fertilizers...

Great video, very informative, thanks!

 

[Sheal]

The best thing for roses is mulching with good old fashioned horse manure in early Spring, often obtained from local stables free of charge. It must be well rotted though.

I use blood, fish and bone early in the year to promote growth and then liquid tomato food to promote flowering. Once in late April/early May and again in mid to late July. No feeding from then on to allow roses time to settle down before heading towards dormancy in Autumn and Winter.

You won't gain anything from using rose specific fertilisers but you will lose money paying extra for them. Don't forget to water them in prolonged dry spells. Roses are hungry and thirsty plants.

 

[Billindunwoody]

Been growing HTs for about twenty years in atlanta (7b) and I settled on fertilizing mid April and June with a mix of slow release 14-14-14, lime, milorganite, and epsom salt. Begin spraying (horrors) with banner max, mancozeb, and imitacloprid after leaf break and then every couple of weeks. Works for me.

 

[DirtMechanic]

Been growing HTs for about twenty years in atlanta (7b) and I settled on fertilizing mid April and June with a mix of slow release 14-14-14, lime, milorganite, and epsom salt. Begin spraying (horrors) with banner max, mancozeb, and imitacloprid after leaf break and then every couple of weeks. Works for me.

I know the UK roses do not suffer our insect or disease pressure here in the deep south. Here in Southern Birmingham (AL) I have discovered agri-fos for fungi as a systemic for most spots and try to use a surface insecticide rather than a systemic like the imidacloprid. I do not want or need an insecticide inside any plant, as the flowers kill off my pollinator crew. I will mix insecticides across the year, bifenthrin for mosquitoes for example. Bt, Spinosad are more organic versions I keep around because of the veggie garden. I had success with Cleary's flowable 3336F as a system for spot prior to using the potassium salts from phosporic acid.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

I will mix insecticides across the year, bifenthrin for mosquitoes for example.

My water butts are the main source of mosquito larvae, or would be. I find floating a circle of bubble wrap, or similar expanded plastic, on the surface stops them being able to come up for air and controls them well.