What you're doing sounds right to me.
In addition, the rule of "feed the soil before feeding the roses" is, I believe, a good one to follow.
Spreading a good nutritive mulch with well rotted manure and compost in Autumn will break down in winter and feed the soil well enough so that there is rarely a need to feed the rosebushes in early Spring if the soil was of a good quality to begin with, proper ph. etc.
The best results I've seen in a variety of rose gardens has been with high quality nutritive mulch. It's a lot more work to spread 4" or more of good mulch over a large garden, but the results are glorious.

Luxrosa

I use alfalfa as my chief, and some years my only, fertilizer. I spread it as soon as my pruning and spraying are complete, which I hope will be in a week or two from now. NPK analysis of alfalfa varies, but it is something around 3-2-1. Then I top the ground with compost, and after that spread mulch on top of that. And that is about it!

Rosefolly

Carrie, knowing what you did planting those roses in great soil to begin with, your options are open for at least several years, in my opinion. We use triple 13 here in the spring after pruning...that should finish here in about 2 weeks..then we'll broadcast the fertilizer in the beds.

I like to use an organic fertilizer, but I have heard that because they have to be broken down by soil microbes and the latter are not significantly active until a soil temperature of 48 degrees is achieved. The recommendation that I was given was to use a chemical fertilizer if you want to fertilize at temps below 48 and something like 1 -2 hand fulls of 10-10-10 Vegetable Grower that has minors in it was recommended for an early feed to be followed in 3 or 4 weeks by an organic like Rose Tone or my home made mix of alfalfa meal(50 lbs), soy bean meal (50 lbs), cottonseed meal (36 lbs), dried blood (~20 lbs), bone meal (~15 lbs). I get these at a country farm and home store. The first 2 are animal feeds. The others are made by espoma and are in 18 lb or larger bags. I use this mix generously - 1 X 10 oz coffee mug for small plants, 2 mugs for HT size plants and 3 to 5 mugs for larger shrubs and climbers. I then scratch the organics into the surface soil lightly because they have to be in the soil to be broken down. Some folks add some green sand and even fish meal. You can mix the materials on the garage floor or like I do on a 4 X 8 sheet of plywood. The 170 lb mix fits into a 32 gal trash can, but doesn't last long. Best, Nick

I am in east Texas. My first fertilizing of the year is a combination of Mills Magic Rose Mix, alfalfa pellets and epsom salts. I move the mulch back, put 1-2 cups on, depending on the size of the rose, and scratch it in, covering back up with mulch. Thats it for a month. I have copied down all sorts of rose fertilizer recipes and will just use whatever seems interesting at the time. I use Monty's Joy Juice, Espoma Rose Tone, Nitro-Phos. A rose expert told me that Osmocote will release too much fertilizer that could burn the roots if a flooding rain comes, so I dont use that anymore. Somewhere I read, on the subject of feeding roses: "Roses are hogs - feed 'em". I think as long as they are being fed [and I am NO expert!!] they do well. My only problem is I am chopping at the bit to put the fertilizer on and I think its too early.....I am so anxious to get started! And we are due snow on Tuesday. Bah! Humbug!

Uh oh..I just bought Osmocote..

I do a late spring (after the first flush) and an early fall application of either Mills Magic or Rose Tone. I'm convinced that the fall application has a residual effect on spring growth and bloom.

I begin my feeding program sometime in mid-March, roughly 6 to 8 weeks before the spring flush. For the first feed (the most labor-intensive one I do all year), I scratch in a combo of alfalfa pellets mixed with either a slow release fertilizer or cottonseed meal. Then at 10-14 day intervals I do 2 applications of either MaxSea (preferably) or fish emulsion (usually). Right before the bloom cycle begins I use an inorganic like Peters 20-20-20 or one of the Miracle-Gro products. If you like to use epsom salts, a good time to do that is also just before the first flush. This spring 'kick start' of mine is a variation on the program that Bob Martin uses. Spring flush is the best time of the year in the garden & it's worth the effort to make it all it can be. I can sure tell the difference when, for one reason or another, I can't make the effort.

After the flush I make that first application of RoseTone or Mills, then relax. I do some, but very little, fertilizing during the summer months.

Cweathersby -- I think using alfalfa tea to begin a spring regimen would be a terrific thing to do. I've considered it myself, but just can't bring myself to start the brewing process in February. Also, I assume that it would take longer in cold weather to reach its pungent best.

Zyperiris, don't be afraid of Osmocote. It's not going to release its stuff in a heavy rain any faster than it does with the heavy watering that many of us do.

Besides applying compost whenever I can get it and keeping a layer on the soil, I throw down alfalfa pellets before the rains end(I just finished) In my large garden I can't make enough tea. I also put down gypsum or oyster shell for calcium. Our clay soil is low in calcium. When the roses are actively leafing out I give them some nitrogen. Nitrogen is one thing that doesn't hang around for a long time. I use fish meal.

Thank you everybody. I've laid down mulch before- it took 2 to 3 truck loads a week, for most of the winter last year, and I still didn't get around to the old rose garden or anywhere other than the new rose garden. I need a dump truck. 6 weeks before first flush sounds reasonable. Mid March it is.

I'm going to give my roses some nice (luke) warm worm poop tea this morning along with some biofish. I can't remember if I did anything in the fall. Oh, wait I gave them all new dirt with compost-they should be fine. LOL zyperiris

Re: Osmocote -- Our local rose society has a fertilizer expert who has developed numerous fertilization schemes when using all sorts of materials. Remember this is for HT growers. One of those schemes is for a 1 treatment scheme with Osmocote. However, when looking at all of the formulations, I have been puzzeled as to which might be best to use. For a couple of years, the Osmocote Pro 22-4-8 was recommended because it had IBDU which could supply nitrogen early just after pruning when the slow release part of the formulation was not working. That formulation turned out to be somewhat unsatisfactory (I'm not entirely sure why- perhaps the IBDU didn't break down as expected her in the Mid Atlantic). However, the fertilizer guy says that Osmocote now has an even better product for our area (note I say for our area) that is 18-5-12 (1 cup/ 30" radius or 2 cups/36" radius). He says that this is good for the mid Atlantic if you want to fertilize just after pruning in March. That is because it has ammonium ion (nitrogen) available uncoated and is immediately available. In our cold springs that may be desirable since it is too cool for the coated part of the formulation to be working. He also say that we can give another boost with a cup of Mills or Rose Tone in April and again in August before the nice cool growing days of September and October. Best, Nick

As usual, I experience immense fatigue and a good dollop of guilt when I read what most of you are doing to fertilize your roses. (Especially those of you who have hundreds!) Fortunately, I can blame my laziness on health issues and feel pretty swell about it all when I've thrown some alfalfa on each bush, watered it in and called it good. Since I have some kelp and fish meal sitting of my shelf, I wonder whether that would benefit the newer bands in the ground. My ignorance about the finer points of plant nutrition is vast. Somehow the roses forgive me anyway.

Ingrid

Ingrid I would not feel too guilty. I just broadcast alfalfa and I'm happy with that. I have to admit that I hire someone to spread the compost and mulch. They do in two days what takes me two months -- literally! It is just a huge job.

Frequent, specialized fertilizing all season long is necessary to develop competition level cutting roses. Think of athletes developing their skills for the Olympics versus what an ordinary person needs for good health, fitness, and healthy appearance. You can have a glorious garden display with the good-health-and-fitness level of care (which is also better for the health of your soil). You only need to go for the gold if you are competing in exhibitions.

rosefolly, you are a darling! Your post immediately made me feel better. Since I hand-water and it's very dry here that's also quite a chore so I have to be selective about what to concentrate on. I do think that alfalfa is pretty magical and I've had quite a few roses sprout basal canes a few weeks after fertilizing. I mulch mostly with leaves from my trees, some if which are already decomposing, so that in part at least they also act as compost. In a way I also feel I'm contributing to the health of everything in my garden by never using toxins or chemical fertilizers. Just letting things be and lending a little helping hand by planting lots of companion plants, especially those that bees like, seems to work well, and I'm happy to see an abundance of beneficial wildlife, which seems to increase every year.

Ingrid

I did my fertilizing Saturday. With the El Nino weather, all my roses have started to leaf out, most have 1 - 2" of growth now. Since we're expecting a week of rain, I put alfalfa and Rosetone on all 40 bushes Saturday then waited for yesterday's rain! I have a few basals breaking already on a couple of bushes, but the 2010 winner is Valentine (one of Randy's suggestions). It has 4 basals already, two of which are 9 inches long!! Thanks Randy!!

I've tried to stay organic with my fertilizing this year but it's a trial. Both dogs spent the weekend trying to dig up and eat the stuff (even though I scratched it in). What's a dog to do?! Bone meal, blood meal and so many other temptations! This is why I picked a weekend where it's supposed to rain it in. I just hope the smell goes away soon.

Debbie

***"As usual, I experience immense fatigue and a good dollop of guilt when I read what most of you are doing to fertilize your roses."***

LOL, I busted out laughing because this was exactly my reaction by the time I got to your reply.

Yup, this is the time again to feed the roses! I am done fertilizing the front yard and hope to get to the back yard today. I give my roses with 1 - 2 cups of organic fertilizer for roses and 2 cups of alfalfa meal (Hybrid Teas, Floribundas and Grandifloras). The bigger climbers get a little bit more of each. When I am really good I spread a bag of compost around each rose, but I am not getting always around to do it.

Ideally I would love to put a 3" layer of compost down in the whole garden and then top it off with mulch as some of you do, but I simply don't have the time and the means to realize this plan, so I just do what I can :-).

Christina

Here is a link that might be useful: Organic Garden Dreams

"...dried blood (~20 lbs), bone meal (~15 lbs)..."

Ogroses, you don't have dogs, right??? LOL

Rosefolly, thanks for posting your reassuring comments: you make us all feel better. I do occasionally think about how much better a job I could be doing cultivating my roses. But then spring comes and not all, but a sufficient number of them are GLORIOUS, and it's all done on their native gray clay, plus hay mulch and pruned material. My biggest mistake has not been preparing adequate planting holes, as our soil is extremely poor in organic material. But if a rose of ours gets a decent planting to begin with and a regular covering of organic material afterwards, it does fine.
My strategy, along with organic mulching, is to plant as many herbaceous plants in the beds as I can get to grow, and let them do the work. Their roots penetrate the soil; their litter of dead leaves and twigs feeds the soil life. They keep the ground cool in summer while allowing air and water to pass. My reading of 'Teaming with Microbes' has encouraged me to leave the soil largely undisturbed after the initial digging and preparation, so that the web of soil life can develop. I will dig an area that hasn't be worked before and is very heavy, so that I can enrich it with organic matter; but I don't systematically dig my garden beds. The big problem is getting as much organic matter as I need; a problem so far without a solution except time and patience, as the plants grow and slowly begin to mulch themselves.
Hey, Paula! Happy spring!
Melissa

After reading about all the alfalfa, I think I may be getting the best of all worlds. I have been using fresh horse manure as mulch, and the horses are fed 50% #1 alfalfa hay. I have been questioning whether or not I should use supplemental fertilizer along with the manure, but it's sounding like it may be enough. I mulch monthly - hopefully not too much... (ps - and the dogs love the alfalfa hay - both before and after eaten by the horses).

Here in central Florida, where our soil temperatures never go below 70 degrees F at 6" depth, we prune in late February for an early- to mid-April bloom (we should peak around the end of this week I think). We then fertilize as soon after pruning as we can get around to it. We use up to 3 cups Harrell's Polyon 12-6-8 6-month slow release (much like osmocote), 2-3 cups milorganite, 2-3 cups alfalfa pellets, 1/2 cup gypsum, 1-5 cups dolomite (depending on pH -- this year we only used a cup since our soils were mostly in the low 6's), 1/3 cup KMag (sulpomag), and 1/3 cup Epsom salts. We then mulch heavily over that with pine straw. Then in the fall (usually September), we'll use another 2-3 cups Milorganite and about 1/3 cup Kmag. That's it for the year.