Janine's Rose Tips and Feeding Mix
I prefer to grow older style roses, species, English or European bred roses to better suit our climate – and I love their form, fragrance and appearance! As a result, I prune my roses earlier than many recommendations because those roses perform well in much colder climates than we experience. Also, I just can’t stand the look of the things by June, and just want them tidied up.
When all the pruning is complete, I hand scratch around the bases, or use very gentle forking, to loosen the soil. Most suckering from roses occurs when tools are used to dig around the bases, so I use heavily gloved hands and imagine I’m making pastry.
Then, I layer the feeding mix onto the soil around the bases. The following amounts are minimum amounts per rose, and more can be added for larger roses, or if you have more space. Don’t let the mix cover other nearby plants as they may rot with the moisture retention, and generous food mix. All my roses get all the manure, then all the potash etc at the same time. That way I don’t forget where I’m up to, and I don’t have to do all the feeding at once, just an individual component.
This mix usually lasts till mid-summer, and then I add Sudden Impact and maybe more lucerne if the weather has been unkind. I like to have the different feeding regimes – I don’t like to eat the same things all year, so why should my roses?
When all the pruning is complete, I hand scratch around the bases, or use very gentle forking, to loosen the soil. Most suckering from roses occurs when tools are used to dig around the bases, so I use heavily gloved hands and imagine I’m making pastry.
Then, I layer the feeding mix onto the soil around the bases. The following amounts are minimum amounts per rose, and more can be added for larger roses, or if you have more space. Don’t let the mix cover other nearby plants as they may rot with the moisture retention, and generous food mix. All my roses get all the manure, then all the potash etc at the same time. That way I don’t forget where I’m up to, and I don’t have to do all the feeding at once, just an individual component.
- Cow Manure – half a bucket. I get mine in bulk from Tunks. A cubic metre is about $105 plus a $20 delivery fee, nicely milled and easier to spread. Much less expensive than buying by bags. If you order a larger quantity the delivery fee is reduced.
- Potash – 1 tablespoon. I get mine from the Produce Store in North Katoomba. Definitely cheaper.
- Blood and Bone – 1 big handful.
- Organic Xtra or Dynofert – 2 good handfuls or similar products, based on Dynamic Lifter with added seaweed. Organic Xtra is available at Longview in 25kg or 16kg bags or Dynofert.
- Lucerne – as much as will fit on top. Aim for minimum 3 cm coverage. I like the chopped lucerne, by the big bag, again from the Produce store.
- Water – about a bucket.
- I leave this mix around the plant for about a week to mature, then add about another bucket of water, if there has been no good rain. A few days after that, with sturdy gloves on, I ‘fluff’ the mix up and blend through. This prevents a hard lucerne crust forming on top and stopping water penetrating to the roots, and also allows all the soil microbes to get to work and incorporate the blended mix into a balanced plant food.
This mix usually lasts till mid-summer, and then I add Sudden Impact and maybe more lucerne if the weather has been unkind. I like to have the different feeding regimes – I don’t like to eat the same things all year, so why should my roses?
