"Alistair Macdonald" wrote in message
...
From a bed of around 100 hybrid rose bushes, this year again I have lost
about ten plants, this after a rather poor flowering season. The bed is
well covered with forest bark but which I feel is not allowing any feed to
penetrate satisfactorily. I want first of all to provide a better feed
than Growmore, and also to plant new rose bushes to replace those lost.
What fertiliser(s) should I use for the existing bushes and what, if
different, for the new ones? I have been recommended bone meal and
sulphate of potash with a handful of Epsom salts to each, both old and new
bushes. I would also appreciate any advice on applications.

I inherited a rose bed covered with large pine bark chips with weed mat
under that when we moved here and it was never anything short of a disaster
so I can understand what you are going through. it ook me 10 years to get
rid of the weed mat and the chips and during that process I found that the
only worms evident were in the rotting down pine mulch and the soil under
the mat had set like conscrete and looked totally lifeless. It's a wonder
any roses survived (but they mostly did).

What I use now is a rose ferliliser called 'Sudden Impact for Roses' by
Neutrog and it looks like pelleted poultry poop (one of Australia's rose
experts also uses this and she swears by it). Each spring I give each rose
a teaspoon of Epsom Salts around the drip line. My roses have never looked
healthier and they bloom well.

I never spray as I'm not in a humid climate and I have no problems with
pests and fungus on my roses.

Before I found "Sudden Impact for Roses" I used pelleted chook poop, Blood
and bone, hose poo or anything else I could get my hands on to improve the
soil in the bed and to get some live and some biota back into the soil.
Probably the thing the roses liked best of all of those was the horse poop.

I use the Sudden impact for roses at about 6 weeks intervals (when I
remember).