When should I fertilize my first-year bare root rose?Updated a month ago

Get ready for a surprise: you don't actually need to fertilize your new roses—at least not right away. Yep, you read that right.

Here's the deal: if your soil is healthy and you're adding compost each year, your roses can thrive without fertilizer—or usually with just one good feeding in the spring. But if you're growing a rose-cutting garden or running a flower farm, you'll likely want to dial in their nutrition game to keep those blooms big and those stems strong for cut flower sales.

Okay, so when do you fertilize? Once your bare root rose has that first set of leaves, it's ready for its first feeding. Check out my short Instagram Reel to see what stage of leaf growth you need to fertilize. After that, you can use a balanced granular rose fertilizer about every 6-8 weeks as needed to keep your roses happy. And if you're feeling extra attentive, you can add a foliar fertilizer spray every 3 weeks for an extra boost. Some of Felicia's favorites are E.B. Stone Rose Fertilizer Granular and Dr. Earth Rose & Flower Fertilizer Granular. For liquid options, I love E.B. Stone Organics Liquid Plant Food and Neptune's Harvest Rose & Flowering Formula. For slow release with less applications a year try Osmocote Plus Plant Food. Follow the package directions for application rates as each fertilizer formulation is different. Avoid fertilizers with added systemic insecticides on first year bare root rose plants. Stop fertilizing with high nitrogen fertilizers 6-8 weeks before your first expected frost date to give your roses a chance to wind down for the season.

Learn more about fertilizing your first-year bare root rose in our blog post!