I have a rose called "Thompson", one of the so called "Explorer" series. It
is supposed to be very hardy, good for the climate conditions in Zone 5
(Canada)
where we live. It did well last season, its first season, and it had several
blooms. I decided that it might benefit of a move to a more sunny location,
and moved it last fall. I noticed that it starts to bud now, and happy that
it appears to have survived the extremely strong winter we had this last
winter. More to the point now : I would like to fertilize it, and wonder if
anyone can give me some ideas as to what kind of fertilizer (numbers) to
use, how often, and any other suggestions to promote healthy growth in this
beautiful rose. Thanks ! Ben

On Sat, 9 Apr 2005 10:44:53 -0400, "Ben Tuinman"
wrote:

I have a rose called "Thompson", one of the so called "Explorer" series. It
is supposed to be very hardy, good for the climate conditions in Zone 5
(Canada)
I would like to fertilize it, and wonder if anyone can give me some ideas as to what kind of fertilizer (numbers) to
use, how often, and any other suggestions to promote healthy growth in this
beautiful rose. Thanks ! Ben

Almost any general purpose fertiliser will do (I can't name trade
names because they'll be different over there) - preferably high in
potassium with some minor elements like Iron & Magnesium and possibly
some trace elements. A typical proprietary rose feed in the UK will be
something like NPK: 5-6-12 + Magnesium & Iron. Use just when growth
is about to start in your neck of the woods, then maybe a couple more
times during the season ( the last one just after mid-season - you
don't want to initiate new soft shoots too late for them to fully
ripen before winter.) We use granular fertilisers here but liquid
feeds are perfectly OK if you prefer to use those.
If you're in one of the areas with damper summers like the Pacific
North West you might need to watch out for fungal diseases like
Blackspot, powdery mildew and rust and use proprietary fungicides made
to deal with those.

=================================================

Rod

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