When is the best time to fertilize roses in a year?

Just like people need to eat every day, roses need to be fertilized all year round. Apply more fertilizer when they grow fast and less fertilizer when they grow slowly. There are also requirements for the time of fertilization.

Therefore, different fertilization methods should be used for roses according to different growth conditions, and it also depends on the temperature and other issues.

When should roses be fertilized?

The most effective and best time to fertilize roses is winter, especially in the north and most southern regions.

If you are in the south, winter fertilizer should generally be applied before the beginning of spring . If the seeds have already sprouted, the amount of fertilizer should be reduced a little, and decomposed organic fertilizer must be used.

At this time, the rose leaves in the north have fallen and entered dormancy, while those in the south have recently stopped growing and their root systems have gradually become inactive, which can be considered a state of rest and recuperation in the south.

The amount of fertilizer applied to roses does not need to be controlled as strictly as during the growing period, as fertilizer damage is prone to occur. Fertilization is generally combined with pruning.

Apply winter fertilizer

It is usually carried out in January and February. The colder the area, the later it will not matter much. In the south, you have to look at the weather forecast and apply fertilizer on the days with the lowest temperature, or a week in advance.

①What fertilizer to apply

Fertilization is mainly based on decomposed organic fertilizers : sheep manure, cow manure, chicken manure, horse manure, oil cake, bean dregs and other fertilizers. It is fine even if it is not fermented in the north, but it is not recommended in the hot south because it will stink and attract insects.

If you plant it in the ground, dig deep into the soil, dig around the rose, and dig about 40 centimeters apart. Sometimes you will cut off a root system, but it will not have a big impact. Then dig further away from the root system. For decomposed fertilizer, dig a 30-centimeter pit, and for undecomposed fertilizer, dig about 50 centimeters.

②Amount of fertilizer

A dozen pounds of compost will be fine, but keep the uncomposted material far away and use less, just pour the fertilizer in, and add some slow-release fertilizer or ordinary fertilizer.

The amount depends on the size of the flower. If the flower is large, two kilograms is fine. If the seedling is small, use one or two taels or half a kilogram . Sprinkle some insecticides such as chlorpyrifos on the fertilizer for better results. Then bury the fertilizer with soil. In fact, it is better to bury the fertilizer slightly deeper.

For potted plants, the amount of fertilizer should be less . Combined with repotting, organic fertilizer and slow-release fertilizer can be used as base fertilizer. Generally, we can add a little fertilizer along the wall of the flower pot, and a small amount of organic fertilizer can be added to the newly replaced soil (not recommended for small seedlings).

For potted plants, it is recommended to use 70%-80% decomposed organic fertilizer , and the rest is chemical fertilizer and slow-release fertilizer. A total of 20-30 grams is used for small seedlings, half a catty for medium seedlings, and one catty for large seedlings . Of course, if you are not sure about the amount of fertilizer, use less.

After fertilization, the roses sprouted in late February and early March. Although it is not as good to fertilize now as in December, due to the impact of the epidemic, we will not fertilize until the Chinese New Year. So we used quick-acting fertilizer this time, and the fertilizer effect can be provided to the roses as soon as they sprout.

Organic fertilizer is a long-term fertilizer with sufficient nutrients and trace elements, so that the rose can be particularly good. I am fertilizing now, and I don't plan to fertilize before germination.

Fertilizing in the south should be considered as fertilizing during the growing season. Although growth is slow in winter, fertilizing should not be stopped .

Fertilize before bud break in spring

If you apply fertilizer before December, and there are no conditions or time to apply fertilizer in winter, you must add fertilizer before or after germination in spring. The fertilizer should mainly be decomposed organic fertilizer, chemical fertilizer, and slow-release fertilizer.

The amount should be reduced by half compared to winter fertilizer. The amount of fertilizer used is 7 to 8 grams, or 10 grams, depending on the size of the plant. For ground-planted fertilizer, I usually use half a pound for medium and large seedlings, and less for small seedlings.

Apply less fertilizer before and after germination to avoid burning the tender buds and flower buds.

Here, the flower buds usually show color and bloom in late April. During these two months, if I have time, I spray them with potassium dihydrogen phosphate once every two weeks. If I don’t have time, I bury chemical fertilizers, high-phosphorus and potassium fertilizers, once a month.

After the color appears at the end of April, do not spray liquid fertilizer, just bury some. At this time, including germination to the color of the flower buds and opening, water must not be lacking. After the flower buds appear in color, water must not be lacking.

After the flowers fade, top dressing needs to be applied, mainly phosphorus and potassium fertilizers.

【Summarize】

After applying winter fertilizer in January, you only need to spray foliar fertilizer once half a month after germination. If the amount of winter fertilizer is small, bury a little fertilizer in January until the flower buds show color.

After the roses have shown color, you can’t spray them, you can only bury fertilizers, once a month, and apply top dressing after flowering. Before the next cycle of flowering, bury fertilizers once a month, the same as the first wave of fertilization.

Fertilizing in summer

It is hot in summer and when the temperature exceeds 30℃, the growth of roses slows down, so you still need to continue fertilizing at this time.

For species that grow a lot in summer, such as Mona Lisa, you can use slightly more fertilizer, half of that in spring. For species that grow very slowly in summer, reduce the amount of fertilizer to one-third of that in spring.