Question
QUESTION: Hi Lynnette Payne,
I have 13 patio roses growing in big pots.I baught them last year all because of my passion for roses. The summer has come and I have no idea how to care them. As they gone through a freezing winter and then they started to show green leaves ,I want then to look healthy and bloomed this year.I also find one of my rose produsing new leaves, but they dry at the primary node stage.Please help me.

ANSWER: First you should prune the roses back hard as this will get rid of any frail and half dead growth. They can go as low as 12 inches and come back very well. The reason the new leaves go dry is because the main cane is dead and the growth is living off on the moisture left in it. Because the cane is dead the leaves don't have anymore moisture to continue growing and so die.  After pruning them use any rose fertilizer and scatter it all around the base of the rose bush. They will really perk up.

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QUESTION: Can you tell me what type of rose fertilizers should I use? Presently I am using J.Arthur Bower's fish and blood organic based plant food. Is that good for roses?

Answer
Roses in pots need a fertilizer that is low in nitrogen but high in potassium and phosphorous. The reason you want a low nitrogen is because the plant usually can't make the same growth that it could in the garden where it could spread it's roots out wider and so grow larger. Fish is very good but mainly nitrogen, blood is very high in nitrogen. A good fertilizer for rose bushes grown in a garden. So I would use that fertilizer in the spring only as it will get them started on making new growth. Then get a slow release fertilizer called Osmocote 14-14-14 because that sprinkled around the base of your rose will be all that you need for the growing season. It will save you remembering when to give them some fertilizer. Slow release lets out a small amount of nutrients every time you water. Again because they are in pots and have to go through a cold winter, never give them any type of fertilizer after the end of July. Then the rose will start to harden off and hard canes go through winter much better than new soft ones.