Shiva wrote:

dave weil wrote:

Osmocote has worked for me.

I'm definitely using it on the potted roses. You may recall that I had a
fert tragedy with the granulart when my preoccupied Evil Twin used it--a
lot of it--in the pots.


Here is the question: can I have more and/or better blooms?

One thing that I think you should consider is the relative youth of
your plants.

Makes sense. What's odd is that I have had ownroot babies arrive from
Michael's with HUGE buds and blooms--but when they bloom for me later,
they are small.

Done a soil test? Does North Carolina have the county extension office
cheap soil test thing going? Maybe you have a shortage of phosphorus or
potassium. Replacing your soil with imported soil doesn't mean you got
balanced soil. And even if you have all the macronutrients, a thing as
simple as excessively acid soil can make nutrients unavailable to your
roses. Clay is not all bad. It hold water and nutrients. In the right
proportion, it's a [get out your hanky for Martha] good thing. I always
mix it in with any imported soil because I've heard that roots don't
like to extend into different media.

I know what you mean about nursery roses. They can really push them. I
have a rose that didn't bloom for a whole year after I bought it in
full bloom, and it isn't a rambler, either. Those early months or years
are what some rosarians call "putting on its green."

Of course, I have unusually rich and fertile soil to begin with. The
one plant that doesn't bloom as profusely as I've seen in pictures,
Sombrueil, only gets sun for half the day. This makes me suspect that
your sun might be worth evaluating.



My soil is good--I pretty much replaced rather than amend, and got the
clay out of here. Everybody gets at least six hours of direct sun--some
afternoon, some morning. They get lots and lots of water, which has made a
big difference in the health of the plant and the vigor of the growth of
the green parts--it is true that part of fighting bs is to have a rose so
healthy it renews itself quickly--but the blooms are still small on lots
of them. Maybe it is their age. They are all under 5.