Holly-Tone has sulfur. Their N-P-K ratios are similar enough, but Holly-Tone is intended for acid loving plants, or alkaline soils. Holly-Tone can often be significantly cheaper, it’s as if the additional sulfur has negative worth! Rose-Tone and Tomato-tone are usually significantly more expensive, so I don’t use them.

I knew Holly Tone was for acid loving plants and that's what I like, and why I use granular fertilizer for acid loving plants, too. We have alkaline soil, and it works beautifully. I think a lot of the soil, particularly in the arid West, is alkaline. Diane

I use Plant Tone (the last time I checked, roses were a flowering shrub) twice in April and once at the start of May, June, (nothing but water during July) August and September. I also used a few other things during this past season, but Plant Tone is the backbone of my garden.

I still have some Plant Tone, so I'll order Holly now & mix them together. I used Holly last year when I first heard about it here but ran out & have been using the Plant Tone since I was using that for my summer vegetable garden. Thanks everyone!

For roses I would recommend Espoma Plant Tone or Rose Tone.

Please do not use Espoma Holly Tone on roses.. Holly Tone is for acid loving plants. It feeds Rhodes, camellias, azaleas, hydranges who need a higher acid level.

From Holly Tone Label:

Holly Tone has only 5% sulfur.

Roses need a normal balanced PH of 6.5, little acid and not too alkaline, either. They need that middle degree of ph.

Acid loving plants need more acid which Holly Tone has in it. Roses don’t want too much acid.

Diane has ”too high an alkaline soil for roses,” so she adds acidic fertilizer once in the season,,” and later she also uses Plant Tone.

Plant Tone & Rose Tone are made with similar ph normal level and NPK for roses.

I use Rose Tone or Plant Tone for roses. I use Holly Tone on my hydrangeas, strawberries, & blueberries.

BEST WISHES IN GARDENING YOUR ROSES!

😊🥀😊

Kitty, Holly Tone works beautifully on my roses. If you have alkaline soil, it's a plus. Diane

Diane,

I think it’s best to test and see if your soil is “too alkaline before choosing to use Holly Tone on roses to bakance the ph.” If one usrs HollyvTone, one is adding acid to soil. If one doesn’t know what they are doing, they can add ”Holly Tone,” to rose soil and it may in many instances, be too much acid to soil, and burn roses.

Since Holly Tone is meant for acid loving plant, not roses, I recommend it be used for.acid needing plants,.

Does anyone prefer Mills Magic Mix?

Elena, that's not available here. Is it the stuff made from what I think it is? Heh. Diane

Diane, the exact formula is not disclosed, but here are ingredients. What were you thinking about?

The exact percentages of the ingredients in Mills Magic Mix are proprietary and not typically disclosed in detail. However, general nutrient ratios and ingredient proportions are sometimes provided on the packaging or in product descriptions. Based on common formulations for organic rose fertilizers, here is an estimated breakdown of nutrient contributions and key ingredients:

1. Cottonseed Meal: ~20-30%

• Primary source of nitrogen (N).

1. Bone Meal: ~20-25%

• High in phosphorus (P) for root and bloom development.

1. Blood Meal: ~10-15%

• Quick-release nitrogen source.

1. Fish Meal: ~5-10%

• Nitrogen and trace minerals.

1. Epsom Salts (Magnesium Sulfate): ~5-7%

• Supplies magnesium and sulfur for chlorophyll production.

1. Sul-Po-Mag (Sulfur, Potassium, Magnesium): ~5-7%

• Potassium source for strong stems and blooms.

1. Alfalfa Meal: ~5-10%

• Provides nitrogen and natural growth hormones.

1. Kelp Meal: ~3-5%

• Trace minerals and natural growth stimulants.

1. Greensand: ~2-5%

• Potassium and soil texture improvement.

Elena,

Mills Magic Mix sounds like it has amazing ingredients., but pricey.

PRICES TODAY:

Starks sells Milks Magic Rose Mix 4 lbs for $16.99.

Rose Tone is 9.99 for 8 lbs Walmart online.

I actually buy Rose Tone or Plant Tone in bulk big bags for savings, AMAZON.

PLANT TONE: Ingredients (pretty much similar to Rose Tone)

(Plant Tone usually cost the least)

Yes, Kitty, it’s an excellent product. My 2023 rose season was much better than 2024. While many factors could have contributed, I didn’t use MMM last season. I’ll definitely return to this product.

https://www.millsmix.com/product/mills-magic-rose-mix/

Kitty, it's $57 for 40 pounds, free shipping.

Plant Tone UPDATED ingredients above.

Plant Tone cheaper in bulk.

Amazon

If I needed a “little 8 oz bag” of fertiluzer, I’d buy from Wallmart Rose Tone. or I could get ROSE TONE in many WALMART small bags for $9.99 each-great bulk price. . About same price as Plant Tone bulk from Amazon. Either fertilizer about same ingredients.

Rose Tone often costs twice as much as Plant Tone on Anazon. Rose Tone least expensive at Walmart online!!!!!!

This year I will order both RosexTone from Walmart and my Plant Tone bulk bags from Amazon. Doesn’t really matter which of the two tertiluzers I buy.

Here are main differences between Rose Tone and Plant Tone:

• Nitrogen: Plant Tone has a slightly higher nitrogen content (5%) compared to Rose Tone (4%), making it better for leafy growth.
• Phosphorus: Rose Tone has a balanced phosphorus content (3%) tailored for flowering.
• Potassium: Both contain sulfate of potash as the potassium source, though Rose Tone’s lower potassium content is specific to rose needs.

Amazon has 50lb bags of Epsoma Plant Tone for $52.39 & free ship. Walmart shows $52.03 and free ship for the 50lb bag. A bit cheaper than Holly Tone. We have slightly acidic soil here so plant tone works fine on most things. My camellias, gardenias, banana shrubs, some hydrangeas, like a little a bit more acid so I might give them a little more acidic fert if they seem to need it.

Kitty, how many pounds you usually use per season?

I am using different formula second part of the summer.

Actually,

I just irdered 3-8 lb bags Walmart Rose Tone and it’s a little more expensive than ordering Anazon Plant Tone per prices I pisted above, and shipping is not free.

I have free shipping PlantvTone Amazon Prime.

I will order the 2 18 lbs bags PlantvTone from Amazon.

Elena,

I use 3-18 lb bags every 6 weeks almost.

I just had 3 roses delivered, Gotta go!

😊🥀 Chat later.

The mills magic fertilizer looks good. I might order some. It has alfalfa meal in it. I already throw alfalfa pellets on the roses and other plants every morning if/when our dairy goats leave some in thier feed dishes. The bottom of the feed bags always have a bunch of powdered alfalfa dust that I save and dump on my plants. No point to waste it, it adds up lol. Alfalfa is a good source of calcium for our goats I might start using their leftovers on my tomato plants this year, they like calcium.

While it's often assumed that mixing fertilizer ingredients yourself based on a formula like this might be cheaper, this is absolutely not true. The total cost of sourcing individual components, especially in smaller quantities, can often exceed the cost of pre-mixed fertilizers.

Here is calculation for 40 pounds (the largest bag of MMM):

Soozie, you could never best what Diane is doing for her roses. It is hard to beat experience of what works over the long term.

Sultry,

Rose Tone and PlantvTone have alfalfa, too.

I just wish I could use any of the "-Tones". Unfortunately, every wild animal around considers it an invitation to dig in my flower beds. I've caught raccoons, possums, skunks, coyotes and the neighbors dogs all hunting that buffet that they can smell, but not see. Regardless of the good it might do my roses, that effect is somewhat negated when they're lying bare-rooted on top of the ground :P The same goes for fish emulsion. I'm stuck with using chemical fertilizer, compost, and the occasional dose of horse manure...which for some reason doesn't attract the varmints.

Fig, I live in wild animal country, and they don't bother the Tones I use. Strange. We have about zero loose dogs around here, which is good. The neighborhoods have very responsible pet owners. I only use Tones once a season in February when it is still cold. Maybe that helps. But in March I use Lilly Miller Organic granular fertilizer for acid loving plants and it stinks worse than a Tone. The critters here are after the sunflower seed in the bird feeder and are totally frustrated by my heavy duty jail feeder that is deer proof and squirrel proof. And quail proof, the most important.

Sheila, thanks for your comment. The fertilizer regimen I use works well here, so I'm sticking with it. I only use all this stuff once a year early in the season so it has lots of time to break down as it warms up, plus the rain is still coming down during those early months. Once summer starts, it goes totally dry for months on end. I think it's easy to overdo the fertilizing to the profit of the fertilizer companies, but not necessarily to the roses' profit. Diane

Diane,

Fertilizing twice a season with those organic granulars breaking down and compost you use earlier sounds great for the season! It sounds a wonderful system.

Fig,

Horse manure sounds great! I use cow manure a little each season! They really love it! I use Tones, liquid fish fertilizer, cow manure, and I add new soil each season. I even tried alfalfa mixed with horse feed-they loved it, too.