I have read that you can over do it. This was in reference to how much you use rather than how often though. I apply alfalfa twice a year in early spring and July using the same application rate that you do. I think it is wonderful for the soil and roses. I don't really know if this is the optimum.

I don't know how much is too much, but I suspect there is a point beyond which you should not push. I'd say, like Mendocino -- a couple times a year?

In a place with a really short growing season, I think once.

Jeri

I have also read that anytime you use a meal (alfalfa, cottonseed, etc.) you should add a little lime in the mix since meals acidify the soil.

I've been using alfalfa pellets and alfalfa hay cubes 2x a year. Plus a mild alfalfa/kelp tea every month. This is my first year doing this and everything in my no-spray garden is growing well and resisting bugs better than normal. The roses are glorious, with deeper colors. Also they hold their blooms longer.

Ingrid, in our climates, I'd do it 2 times a year, March and July like Pam said. I am more liberal...I use about 3-4 cups for a large bush = my 3 year old 6 x 5 Grandmother's Hat. But, I spread it over a wide area, and put mulch over it. Sometimes I have used too much, so maybe the doses Pam outlined are better. The stuff is great.

Jerome

Ingrid, one of the most important things I've learned on this forum, is take care of the soil and good results follow.

I don't fertilize much, like Pamela, 1 or 2 times per year. I applied Alfalfa early in the season and after I finish deadheading the spring flush, I'll probably do it again and that's it for the season.

Carol

Well, last year was the first time I used alfalfa pellets. They sounded great, but when I finally got around to using them I had no idea how much to use and didn't bother to find out, so using my own judgment I put about half a feed bucket around each rose. Then, I looked it up and saw everyone saying this cup or two stuff. Oops. The most negative effect of that amount was the smell of the fermenting pellets. The roses were all fine. I remember Julia's rose sent up some basals with a zillion blooms on them that were all smaller flowers them usual due to the quantity. Not an improvement in my opinion, but not plant death by overdose either.

I use alfalfa once or twice a year and I pepper the beds with it. I am fertilizing not only my roses but also the perennials and bulbs that are growing with them. This year I put a wood chip mulch over the fertilizer, alfalfa and compost layer, so I probably will skip the second application.

Rosefolly

i bought about 20 bags of bradfields which is alfalfa based with molasses and a few other things. I don't think it would be much different than grass clippings, or a hay mulch. I was trying to get rid of the rest of it probably 3 or 4 bags and dumped and tilled it in where i planted a a few ht's this spring. i think it is pretty hard to overdo it, but i never saw the spectacular results that many others are seeing, but my soil is probably a grass based soil anyway, so that may be why.

Thank you kindly everyone for your input. I'm getting the message that twice a year is probably optimal, and I may increase the amount I've been using on the larger, established roses when I do fertilize. I've also started using it on my companion plants and am happy with the results. For the money and the minimal output in labor I really don't think I could find a better product. Had I not been on the rose forum I never would have heard of it.

Regards,

Ingrid

Any nutrient source can be over-applied. It depends on what your particular soil has in it when you start using the product, what the product adds and how much of it is added. Without sampling your soil and having it tested all you have to work with is assumptions.