"DXer" wrote in message
...

I just moved into a new home. There is a nice looking rose bush, it is
about
4 to 5' high so I would imagine it is not a new one at all.

I dont know much about rose bushes at all. There are no blooms or buds
on it
at all.

The leaves look fine, there are no signs of bugs or any type of disease.
I am in Colorado at an elevation of 5,600' if that matters at this time
of
year.

Should I be seeing buds or blooms at this time, and if so what could be
the
problem.
Any suggestions as to a fertilizer for it. I dont know the Ph of my soil
but
around here the soil is usually clay type. Not sandy.

Thank you

It could be a rose that blooms off of old wood and the winter kills it back
too much to bloom, or it's been pruned back during the fall, which would
prune off the blooming wood. Or, it just could be early in your climate for
buds to be showing up. I'm zone 7 and we're past most of the first big bang
except in selected varieties that are late bloomers like The Fairy and
haven't even started yet but do have small buds. If your rose is a late
bloomer, then perhaps the buds haven't been formed yet in zone 5 (4?).
Give it some manure and water and watch it this year. It could also be the
once blooming rootstock (Dr Huey) that a more winter tender rose had been
grafted to and that was killed. Only time will tell.

Sunflower
MS 7b