Higgs Boson wrote:
Climate here in So.Calif coastal has been anomalous (sp?) last few
years. Hot, cold, hot, no respecter of seasons.

Right now, it's not even our version of "winter"; more like 70-80
daytime temp. (Not that I'm complaining about the sunshine, but we
are in deep trouble for rain locally as well as in the mountains.
Little or no snowpack, big trouble for domestic water use and for
agriculture.)

My roses did not do their usual holiday season flush; just a few
blooms.

I neglected to feed several months ago. So now I don't know what the
hell to do! Normally I wouldn't feed until some time after I prune
(usually around 3rd week in January.

Is it safest to just proceed normally, rather than screw them up by
feeding now and pruning later?

Help!

HB

I have no experience of roses having a flush of blooms in late autumn or
winter, I live in a warm temperate area but even so they are leafless and
dormant at that time. Do yours lose their leaves? When? When do they bud
with the new season's growth?

In general there is no point in feeding unless the season is such that they
will grow strongly. Here I prune when the new buds are first starting to
form so you can see where the leaders will go for new growth. I hardly
water during winter as they are dormant. Once the buds burst and the new
leaves are going strongly (about 4-6 weeks after pruning) I feed and pay
more attention to watering as required.

D