Mo' bettah you feed them right after pruning. But only if you're pretty sure you won't have more deep-freezes. The weather has become so un-dependable.

I remove old woody canes in the early Spring, before the roses have started to leaf out. I also like to move roses around while they are still dormant. But, no, I consider it too early to fertilize.

Maybe it works for me because the roses are all deeply mulched -- so it takes a while for the fertilizer to reach the roots.

:-)

~Christopher

I think fish fertilizer is a safe fertilizer to give now and also bone meal. Also the cottonseed and blood meal and alfalfa are OK too. I think the rose tone has some chicken manure which could be too much.

But it is best to wait.

You could put down some shredded, chopped leaves, and coffee grounds and eggshells. Mycorrhiza could be given now.

I listen to Mike McGrath , whyy's you bet your garden . He is out of Philadelphia. I think he is great. He used to be Editor of Organic Gardening Magazine for 25 years. Has anybody else heard him ? Maybe Christopher has.

Agreed, the ground is still too cold. Nothing says that you can't put the Rose-tone down now, but it won't start breaking down until things start to warm up.

I'm also in NJ, and from Philly originally. I've heard of McGrath. He's generally OK, but rose stuff, not so hot.

I've been wondering the same thing - was thinking of getting some alfalfa put down now. Is it too early to pull the mulch back? Looking like we are done with hard freezes, but still may see some 30's at night. 50ish during the day.

It is the soil temperature that needs to rise. If the soil is still cold, not much activity from the critters that do the work (see "Soil Food Web").

I wait for the forsythias to bloom. That usually means the ground has warmed up sufficiently for the plants to start growing actively. I clean the beds first, then prune and then fertilize so I can work it into the soil. I just think if you fertilize before cleaning up the beds you end up removing too much of it and it's a waste.

Most plants don't take up fertilizers until the soil temp warms to around 55 degrees, which does tend to coincide with the forsythia blooming.
See the link below which gives daily soil temps for the state of IL :)

http://www.isws.illinois.edu/warm/soiltemp/displaymap.asp?data=bst

Best,
STeve....

I like soil food web too. It was great for Diane to mention DR Elaine Ingham. Cakes and cookies.

Steve great website! Thanks for the link:)

Julie