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