Donna deMedicis wrote:

While at the moment, I have exactly one mini-rose, I'm expecting an
order from Jackson Perkins and I've been studying.

I looked at a seemingly miraculous all-in-one rose & flower care, 3
systemic products in one. Fertilizes, feeds and renews! Insect
control! Disease control! One application protects for up to 6 weeks!
(Bayer Advanced Garden). You put 2 tbs. in a gallon of water, water
rose, and ta dum! takes care of everything that could possible ail a
rose.

Seems too good to be true ...

Is it?

In a word: YES! But one word will not suffice.

First of all, roses should not be fed the first year they are in
the ground. You want the plant to develop a strong root system
first, in order to support a vigorous growth of flowers and
foliage. Any garden book will tell you how to plant a rose. Just
add a generous amount of superphosphate or bonemeal into the bottom
of the planting hole, making sure that this is in an area below the
new plant and not directly touching the roots. Both items (one
chemical and one organic) provide phosphorus, which is the only
nutrient that does not readily dissolve and move through the soil
(and thus must be in place before planting). Phosphorus promotes
both root growth and flowering.

If the plants flower in their first year, that's okay. But don't
feed to promote flowering until the second spring. Then, feeding
should be adjusted towards your particular soil. Roses prefer a
slightly acidic soil. If your soil or water are alkaline, feed
with acidic fertilizers. If your soil is very acidic, you might
have to add lime. There is no one magic recipe.

My soil is quite alkaline and my water is slightly aklaline. I
start the spring with a jolt of acid; see the 15 March entry in my
Garden Diary at
URL:http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary/index.html. After that, I
feed my roses about monthly. One month, I use ammonium sulfate to
provide more acid and nitrogen. The next month, I use Bayer's
2-in-1 Rose & Flower Care granules for both nutrients and pest
control. Every so often, I toss another two handsful of gypsum
around each rose to keep my clay soil porous. I keep feeding
through October. The roses keep blooming until I prune them in
January.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean
Sunset Zone: 21 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean
influence (USDA 10a, very close to Sunset Zone 19)
Gardening pages at URL:http://www.rossde.com/garden/