Have you heard of the thing you attach to the drip system to fertilize? It does the work for you ! I don’t have one personally but just thought I’d mention it . I too really stink at keeping up the excitement after spring flush .

Of course the 2 can be applied at the same time. You will be happier if you do that.

In the spring I give all my roses Rose or Holly Tone and some kind of slow release fertilizer. I mix them together in a bucket and scoop some out and sprinkle it around the base of each rose and scratch it in. After that I use liquid foliar feeding the rest of the summer.

I applied rose tone in the spring, then fish emulsion for summer. But fish emulsion takes a lot of work every week. For next year I am going to try monthly application of Mills Magic rose mix or Maxsea that others have recommended.

Lily, I'll have to look into that, but I'm usually very skeptical of gadgets so we'll see haha. It definately gets hard to do the work as the days get hotter, and then I have to start giving the veggie garden more attention.

Okay sounds great! I love the idea of getting both done at once. Seil, what product do you use for foliar feeding? Is there anything else I should consider including in ny routine? I know a lot of people apply manure, but I don't have easy access.

Great tips here! @sbrklyn_7bny i wanted to try MaxSea too, since gracerose farm recommends but it’s so expensive! Have you found a source with a good price?

I like Spray n Grow and Bill's Perfect fertilizer but I will use any good well balanced one. When I need fertilizer I look for what ever seems best for the price at the time. Same thing with the slow release fertilizer. I've probably used all the major brands at one time or another. They all seem to work just fine.

@CeresMer: yes it sure looks pricy, but supposedly one bush only needs a tbsp every month. I am still trying to figure out which one(s) to try. There is the general purpose 16-16-16, then there is the 6-20-20 for flowering plants which seems a bit low for nitrogen.

Oh good to know, I believe grace rose recommends the one with less nitrogen. Idk, I bought so many fertlizers this year lol. But got so hot in August I ended up not applying. Next year for sure!

I'm in FL 9b and we have a very long growing season. I put down alfalfa meal in Feb, osmocote Plus in mid June and alfalfa meal again in Oct.

Does anyone put down epsom salt as part of their routine?

From the soil booklet that I got with my soil test, it states that magnesium def. is VERY RARE and occurs mainly in sandy soil. Magnesium is what makes clay clumps together. Magnesium is what makes my clay sticks tight to shoes & skin. My black clay was tested exceedingly high in magnesium. Magnesium as a chemical crystallizes upon exposure to air and hardens soil. Even potting soil (with brown peat moss) has plenty of magnesium. Leaves have plenty of magnesium. Magnesium clumps soil together and helps with moisture retention.

The David Austin rose food that they sell on their website works really well - you just sprinkle it around the base of the plant (can also be used in containers). I tried it for the first time this year, and could really see a difference.