Re: [gardeners] Re: Holes & Black Spot

Catharine Vinson (gardeners@globalgarden.com)
Fri, 5 Jun 1998 12:43:57 +0000

Margaret wrote:

> Catharine, do you mix up this dry "rose food" yourself?  Is it a dollop
> here, a splat there, or do you have some rough proportions?  Where can you
> buy feather meal? Thanks, Margaret

I mix up a batch of stuff...I got the original "recipe" from a South 
Carolina grower who included it with planting instructions for some own 
root heirlooms I'd ordered. Some additions based on American Rose Society 
recommendations...others reflect my soil pH, etc.

Use about a quart  of this in the planting hole (underneath the 
roots...and incorporated well with lots of compost/aged manure, fine pine 
bark, lime (as needed), and believe it or not, red clay!!)  when you plant 
a rose. Then do not use any additional fertilizer the first season.

     1 part blood meal
     1/2 part superphosphate
     1 part greensand
     1 part feathermeal  
     2 parts alfalfa meal 
     1part fish meal 
     1 part epsom salts 

The next season, I use a couple of cups per bush in early spring and then 
again in late summer.

A grower friend keeps me supplied in feather meal. I really like the 
stuff. I will track down a source and post it here.

CAtharine/Atlanta, zone 7b