Thanks Gail for your kind help!

I went to a reputable nursery and bought a 5G Hybrid Tea "brandy" for
$37. It is THE most expensive plant I've ever bought and it is my
first real rose! I sure have high expectation on it.

1. about organic fertilizer
The nursery professional recommened me do MaxSea foliar spray
(16-16-16)weekly and use Dr. Earth on root several times a year. I'd
like to do organic gardening. I use "whitney Farm" all purpose plant
food on my other plants, which I assume is true organic. Is WF good
enough for my Brandy? Is it better than Dr. Earth? Is NaxSea a big
booster? I just started gardening this year and had no experience with
foliar feeding. Do you recommend WF all purpose plus Maxsea?

2. Pot
The Brandy comes in a 5G black nursery pot. I have to keep it in a
container because I only have a balcony. I'm thinking of transplanting
it to a white 14" self-watering planter bought from IKEA. This pot is
bigger than the black 5G pot. And I thought the white color would be
helpful to reduce the root heat in my northern CA climate. Is it a
good idea to do so? Should I do it now or wait until dormant period?
Anyone had experience of using self-watering pot for roses?

Thanks a lot! I get a bit nervous with my new baby. Really wish it
well!

Tiff

"Frank" wrote in message
om...
Thanks Gail for your kind help!

I went to a reputable nursery and bought a 5G Hybrid Tea
"brandy" for
$37. It is THE most expensive plant I've ever bought and
it is my
first real rose! I sure have high expectation on it.

I don't have a Brandy but according to my books
it can get to about 5' tall. It needs winter
protection (might not be a problem on a balcony)
and might get blackspot. I ignore blackspot on
my roses because I don't like spraying for it.

1. about organic fertilizer
The nursery professional recommened me do MaxSea foliar
spray
(16-16-16)weekly and use Dr. Earth on root several times a
year. I'd
like to do organic gardening. I use "whitney Farm" all
purpose plant
food on my other plants, which I assume is true organic.
Is WF good
enough for my Brandy? Is it better than Dr. Earth? Is
NaxSea a big
booster? I just started gardening this year and had no
experience with
foliar feeding. Do you recommend WF all purpose plus
Maxsea?

I haven't heard of any of those brands. I do
like seaweed as a foliar spray for roses and I also
use it when planting - well, anything. Anything
including fish emulsion or fish meal is usually quite
good for roses - just don't overdo. You can
hardly ever go wrong by watering thoroughly
first, a day ahead of time, before fertilizing.

Mainly, though, DON'T FERTILIZE immediately
after transplanting (seaweed solution is ok). Give
the rose a chance to get established in its new
home. I would give it about a month, but that's
a wild guess. I've never bought a 5 gallon rose.

2. Pot
The Brandy comes in a 5G black nursery pot. I have to keep
it in a
container because I only have a balcony. I'm thinking of
transplanting
it to a white 14" self-watering planter bought from IKEA.
This pot is
bigger than the black 5G pot. And I thought the white
color would be
helpful to reduce the root heat in my northern CA climate.

I prefer lighter colored pots for the same reason.
For my plants the black nursery pots are only
temporary, until they get in ground or in another pot.

Is it a
good idea to do so? Should I do it now or wait until
dormant period?
Anyone had experience of using self-watering pot for
roses?

If the roots are well established, there should be
no problem transplanting the rose now. How
do you tell if the roots are well established? If
they're growing out of the bottom of the pot, is
one way. Or ask the nursery when the bush was
potted up. If more than a month ago (at a guess),
you should be ok to tranplant.

The main thing is you want to keep as much of
the root ball together as possible when transplanting.
Newly potted roses (i.e., when they first come
into a nursery) haven't gotten established so the
soil is loose, and there's more of a risk of
transplant shock when the dirt all falls off and
the roots are exposed. That's another thing
seaweed is good for - reducing transplant shock.
Use it after transplanting.

I haven't used self-watering pots for roses because
roses don't like "standing" in water. All my potted
roses pots drain to the ground. That might be a
problem on a balcony, depending on what your pot
is draining into! If shrubs, not to worry. If
someone else's balcony, or a sidewalk, you
might set the pot on something so that it drains
toward something inoffensive, like shrubs.

I don't know what soil you're using (I use
Schultz brand potting soils) but you can always
add some of those water absorbing beads that
most nurseries carry. Just follow instructions.
Potted roses dry out a lot faster than in-ground
roses, so you have to be good about watering.
With the pot open to drainage, it's almost
impossible to over-water.

Thanks a lot! I get a bit nervous with my new baby. Really
wish it
well!

So do I. Keep us informed of how it's doing.

Gail