Gardening Question...Roses & Home Made Fertilizer?

[momto2bratz]

I grow miniature roses and am out of fertilizer. I would like to try a home made mixture. I have heard of mixtures that include vinegar or coffee grinds. Any tips would be great. The easier the better!

TIA
Aila

 

[red_mct]

Aila, I have no idea, but I have a question for you. Is it too late in the year to trim back your rosebushes? I inherited a couple at my house and have never trimmed them... they need to be, and I don't know what to do or when!



Thanks if you can help...
Marie

 

[Renee McFar]

Marie, I would not trim now, especially if the new growth is forming and you have buds. After teh rose blooms, you can cut off the old bud. Go below the old bud, till you find the first set of five leaves and make a diagonal cut there. I usually cut mine back in late fall or early winter.

Aila, do you have any access to cow or horse manure? Best fertilizer you can ask for!

I read the epsom salt work well but have never tired any.

 

[WD]

Hi Aila,
I read in the garden section of my newspaper that you can put banana peels in the soil for your roses. I haven't tried it yet myself. I have a couple of cats that like to use my planters with my roses as litter boxes, so kind of wondered if the peels would end up on the ground.
Diane Sue
http://wd.1ww.us

 

[clareMc]

For years my Mum encouraged us all to empty the tea pot into a bucket she kept in the yard each time before washing up. She let it sit outside where rainwater would add to the mix and then threw it regularly on the roses, of which we had many, and of many varieties, stand alone ones and wall climbers, all of which thrived!

There: cheap and easy to implement!

My Mum is the best gardener I know and opens her English gardens each Spring and Summer to raise funds for charity under the auspices of the RHS (Royal Horticultural Socciety). So, you can trust her!

Clare

 

[momto2bratz]

Thank you all for your suggestions! A friend of mine gave me a mixture last night that inlcluded banana peel, 1/4 cup epsom salt and 4 cups of water. I am going to try that along with the tea suggestion. I don't have any way to get horse or cow manure.

Aila

ETD: Marie, I also cut my roses back in the fall/early winter. I agree with Renee about not trimming them now.

 

[NurseLRT]

Rose Kick Start Tonic:
To one gallon of tea add
1 Tbs. Flea and Tick Shampoo
1 Tbs. Sterns Miracle Grow Muracid
1 Tbs. Epsom Salts
1 Tbs. Liquid Iron

Apply to soil and foilage every 2-4 weeks

Garden Rebel Natural Rose Food
(Mix in a bucket and apply once a month in the growing season. Apply 2 handfuls for every foot of cane.)

1 part Ironite
1 part Black Kow (manure)
1 part Alfalfa pellets
1 part Epsom salts

Aila, you still may need to feed your roses a slow release granular product, like Osmocote or a slow release rose food. You would do it at half the rate for miniatures. The tea concontions may not give you enough of the essential nutrients needed for growth and to green up the bushes. You can buy bags of manure at your nursery for cheap.

These recipes are from Robert Vincent Sims, he is a local gardening guy, and he has his own radio and television shows in Central Florida. I could go on and on about him. He is extremely knowledgeable and popular.

I have more rose tonics from him if you would like. Such as the "After Pruning Shot", "Foliar Tonic", and "Puddin' for Roses."

I currently have 5 rosebuses, one is a miniauture (can't remember the name-it's yellow and peach flower), 2 Belinda's Dream (pink), 1 Carefree Beauty (dark pink), and 1 Stairway to Heaven-climber (red).

Have fun with your roses,
Lori