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How to Fertilize Roses

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Growing roses doesn’t have to be intimidating. Learn how to fertilize roses the easy way for beautiful blooms all growing season!

how to fertilize roses

When we purchased our home in Georgia last summer I was so excited to start working in the yard. Whoever built our home had done an amazing job with the landscaping-there is always something in bloom year-round, and we had hydrangeas and roses everywhere! It was bliss coming from the military life where everything I’ve grown for years has been in containers. As I cared for the roses (and added new ones to the yard) I learned a ton about how to fertilize roses and wanted to share it here. Roses can survive without fertilizer but to truly let them thrive and show their stuff you absolutely have to learn how to fertilize them properly.

A close up of a pink rose with green leaves

What Nutrients Do Roses Need to Grow?

While hardy varieties of roses can grow unattended, most roses will benefit greatly from a little help.

Use the acronym “Up-Down-All Around” to remember how the main three plant nutrients work:

  • Nitrogen helps shoots (above ground)
  • Phosphorus helps roots (below ground)
  • Potassium is used by the whole plant
Nitrogen (N)
Promotes healthy green growth. Nitrogen is a component of all proteins and because water washes it away from the root zone, roses require a consistent supply. It is needed to build chlorophyll and allows the plant to use light to turn water and carbon dioxide into sugars to feed itself during photosynthesis. Too much nitrogen and you produce lush plants with few or no blooms. Too little nitrogen and the rose will have yellow leaves, no new growth, and small pale roses.
Phosphorus (P)
Phosphorus helps create strong roots and abundant flower production. Too little phosphorus will cause dull foliage, falling leaves, weak flower stems and buds that will not open.
Potassium (K)
Also known as potash, potassium encourages vigorous growth. It helps when plants are stressed by disease or insect damage, drought and cold temperatures. Too little potassium will produce weak steams, poorly developed buds, and yellow edges on the leaves, which turn brown.

Roses also need nutrients such as calcium, magnesium, sulfur, boron, copper, iron, manganese, and zinc. There are some things you can look for with your plants to tell if they are deficient in these such as yellow leaves with green veins can indicate an iron deficiency while leaves that are pale instead of a dark green can indicate low levels of manganese. Just like us, our roses need their proper nutrients!

beautiful varieties of roses in the front yard.

What is the Best Fertilizer for Roses?

My research into rose fertilizer is a new thing for me. The year we lived in England I was very much interested in rose gardening and asked many people about it as we visited various botanical gardens. My experience before that had been limited to which type of Miracle-Gro to use! The biggest takeaway I had from experienced rose gardeners was to use a liquid fertilizer with plenty of water along with nice healthy soiled amended with manure or compost. Since moving to our new home last year I have been using this Fish Fertilizer and it is hands-down amazing.

Alaska Fish Fertilizer for Roses

The Alaska Fish Fertilizer is a concentrate that you dilute before using on your plants. I love it because it’s organic, inexpensive, and has a 5-1-1 ration of those important nutrients we talked about above. In fact, after seeing how amazing my roses reacted to it, I know use it on everything in my yard-all the flowers, new plantings, and my vegetable garden. I use it on a three-week rotating schedule during the growing season and you can literally see the flush of growth that happens within days of an application. Look at these blooms!

A close up of a flower garden in front of a brick home with white two story columns

When to Fertilize Roses

Fertilize roses on a three-week schedule during the growing season for best results. The good thing about the Alaskan Fish Fertilizer is that it will not burn your plants so you’re not at risk of over-fertilizing but I’ve found the recommended 3-week schedule works well. Stop fertilizing your roses 2 months before your first frost so the newest growth has time to harden before the cold weather.

So there you have it, my best tip for how to fertilize roses! Any other tips I should add to the post?

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13 Comments

  1. Hi there! Thanks for your advise, all sounds good although my dogs have a hard time staying out of the rose beds with fish emulsion. I’ve used F. Emuslion products for roses, clematis, hostas and various other plantings.. Great stuff..

    My question is when do we start fertilizing? my roses are starting to show swollen leaf buds, just not quite opened.

    If you remove a rose can you plant another one in its place. I’ve always heard not to.. I think you can if the soil is replenished. Any thoughts on this topic?

    Thanks so much.

  2. You are the same latitude as AUSTRALIA, roughly speaking, & similar climate to about Sydney to Brisbane. I am just a bit West from Brisbane. I feed my roses with a product called Black Marvel. It has it
    Iron in it, as well as other trace elements. Abt every month to 6 weeks in Spring to late Autumn. A small sprinkle around each plant. Roses also love rotted horse manure.

  3. i trim my roses back after the last frost and water well to make sure the soil is really moist, after that the first time i fertilize with half the prescribed amount of fertilizer two weeks later i start the regular 20 days or 3 weeks fertilizer till late October living in Texas winter comes late.

    1. I also live in Texas & all I use to fertilize my roses are water & egg shells. I try on a weekly basis. Once in a while miracle grow & nothing else. My other flower beds I use coffee grinds I save from all week.

  4. I have a climbing rose bush that I planted about a month ago. It’s getting blooms but not getting taller !

  5. I can’t use fish fertilizer the wild life where I live , coon, foxes,, feral cats,Coyotes,bob cats dig up the plants after the fish odor. I’m trying Miracle-Gro rose food but my roses are in big 30 gal tubs….I am unable to weed a garden so all of my flowers are in pots And tubs What I need to know is how much fertilizer should I put on each rose we have. Manure and mushroom compost added have rabbit manure put Epsom salts few months bac but mix fertilizer 1 tablespoon per gallon so how much of gallon shoul pour on each rose? What have thought is putting half teaspoon around edge of pot and just watering it in thoroughly. I have 40 roses in these nice big tubs most I have had over a year now few are over 2years…I absolutely am besotted with roses and want them healthy here in souther central Louisiana it’s beenvery rainy and muggy rain will stop now will go into dry season but still humid and hot battling black spot .. so any suggestions you have I will greatly appreciate I struggle to take care of them

    1. I wouldn’t put the miracle gro right on the ground Elaine, I dilute mine in a two gallon watering can, then pour on my large roses for about 3 seconds. I don’t think it’s an exact science but I would definitely dilute it in water first so you don’t burn your plants. I feed mine once a week like that. (We are in south Georgia and this time of year the Black Spot starts here too, it’s a battle!0

  6. I can’t use fish fertilizer the wild life where I live , coon, foxes,, feral cats,Coyotes,bob cats dig up the plants after the fish odor. I’m trying Miracle-Gro rose food but my roses are in big 30 gal tubs….I am unable to weed a garden so all of my flowers are in pots And tubs What I need to know is how much fertilizer should I put on each rose we have. Manure and mushroom compost added have rabbit manure put Epsom salts few months bac but mix fertilizer 1 tablespoon per gallon so how much of gallon shoul pour on each rose? What have thought is putting half teaspoon around edge of pot and just watering it in thoroughly. I have 40 roses in these nice big tubs most I have had over a year now few arena events over 2years…I absolutely am besotted with roses and want them healthy here in souther central Louisiana it’s beenvery rainy and muggy rain will stop now will go into dry season but still humid and hot battling black spot .. so any suggestions you have I will greatly appreciate I struggle to take care of them

  7. What other fertilizer do you use other than fish emulsion? Can you use the fish emulsion on 1st year roses? Thank you

    1. I used the Alaska Fish Food the first year and then alternate between that and Miracle Gro bloom booster after that. The fish emulsion is the only thing I use the first year though. It won’t burn the plant.

  8. I’m asking a kraal ferterlise is good for roses or for any other plants in a garden…My Roses are not happy at all..i’m in SouthAfrica

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