The best rose bushes and blossoms are not a product of chemical or organic fertilizers alone but rather a combination. Both are necessary for plant health, vigor, and productivity.
Familiar inorganics include nitrate of soda, muriate of potash, and superphosphate, all derived from inanimate chemicals or minerals.
Organic fertilizers derived from living matter or matter that once had life include manure, tankage, ground alfalfa meal, leaf mold, fish scraps, bone meal, pulverized tobacco, soybean oil meal, and many others.
Inorganic fertilizers can be had that will supply all the basic nutrients needed for plants. However, they add little to the improvement of soil texture or microbial activity, both vitally important to growing roses properly.
Important Organic Fertilizers
Organic fertilizers are important for several reasons. First, many of them, particularly animal manures and vegetable composts, add valuable humus to the soil.
These tend to bind together a too porous sandy soil, thus increasing its water and nutrient holding capacity; humus opens up clay soil to provide better drainage and aeration.
Humus also acts as an excellent buffer in the soil— it can offset excesses or an improper balance of certain fertilizer elements, which might be present from the improper application of inorganic fertilizer.
Bacterial activity in the soil is increased with the addition of humus. Without this decomposing action, many fertilizer elements would not be broken down into forms available to plants.
Its Beneficial Effects
Organic fertilizers become available to the plant more slowly than inorganic fertilizers, and there is little danger of an overdose.
The beneficial effects are spread over a long period, whereas inorganic fertilizers are often more quickly available but less long-lasting. Hence, the inorganics should be used when a quick response is needed.
Feed With Combination Fertilizer
Many organic fertilizers must be improved in one or more elements important to plant growth.
For example, dried blood and cottonseed meals contain only nitrogen; they have no potash or phosphorus—essentials for balanced growth. It is, therefore, good practice to use inorganic fertilizers to supply the missing elements.
When buying fertilizer for roses, selecting one formulated especially for roses and containing both organic and inorganic materials is convenient. Rely upon this combination for routine feeding several times during the growing season.
In addition to regular feedings with a combination fertilizer, organic material can be added to the soil in two ways: when preparing a new rose bed and, second, as a mulch on the soil surface.
When preparing a new rose bed, take advantage of the only opportunity to incorporate organic matter into the soil thoroughly.
A 6” to 8” inch layer of manure, peat moss, leaf mold, or other material should be worked in with the soil to a depth of 18” inches.
Mulching Organic Materials
Mulches of organic material applied in spring and fall are beneficial on established rose beds. Well-rotted manures, leaf mold, compost, and buckwheat hulls are prime favorites for this purpose.
Peat moss is used occasionally for mulch, but from experience, I find that a crust forms on it, and water runs off instead of being absorbed. It also blows away when very dry, so peat moss belongs beneath the surface, not on the surface.
Another mulch that is coming into use in some areas where it is available is shredded tree bark. Unlike peat moss, it will not blow away, will not crust, and doesn’t pack excessively.
Except for the dehydrated manures shipped in bags, animal manures are hard to procure in some communities. But almost any gardener can have a compost pile supplying excellent organic material.
Making Compost
Compost can be made in a bin of boards, chicken wire, or a heap on the ground. It can be hidden in the corner of the garden by a few shrubs or a trellis with a climbing rose.
I have always preferred making compost in a large hole in the ground, for it should have some drainage, especially during winter.
The average size of a compost heap measures 6’ feet wide, 3’ feet high, and 10’ feet long. Using a bin can consume an even smaller space.
Each November, I start a new compost pile with leaves raked from the lawn. Everything that will decay is thrown on the pile—carrot and beet tops, cabbage leaves, corn husks, ashes from the burning brush.
In addition, I bury all the garbage in it during the winter months. Occasionally I throw a little soil on top to aid in decomposition, and I stir the entire pile with a potato fork several times during the year.
Rotting continues for a whole year. Then, the following fall, I started using it in planting roses. Any material left over is used for mulching. I have two compost piles—one is ready for use, and the other is in the making.
This hummus is not nitrogen-rich, probably containing less than 1% percent. This I supply from a prepared rose fertilizer which usually contains nitrogen in an organic form, such as dried blood, or an inorganic form, such as nitrate of soda.
Decomposition can be hastened by using activating materials sold for this purpose. I have also learned that the more garbage there is planted among the leaves, the quicker the breakdown, for garbage rots rapidly and hastens the rotting of the leaves around it. Decomposition is further hastened by frequent aeration.
Often when digging into the pile, one finds considerable heat present. This is a sign that the bacteria are working.
Frequent turning of the pile spreads bacteria throughout it, increasing its effectiveness in breaking down plant materials.
Some gardeners add lime to the compost to neutralize acidity. Still, since I use my compost only for the roses, I don’t feel this is necessary, as roses prefer slightly acidic soil.
44659 by Harold H. Allen