Potash on roses - how much to use?

20 years ago

I was convinced by a friendly old chap at a local Open Garden to try Potash on my roses, but now IÂm confused as to how much. Can people advise what they use?

This chap said to use 150g per bush every 3 months: sprinkle it over the ground and water it in well. But when I bought a bag this morning, it says to use just 10g per square metre Â thereÂs a bit of a difference there! Another bloke at the nursery said something in the middle Â about 50g per bush every month (which adds to the same overall as 150g every 3 months I suppose, but who knows if it is better in little doses or one big hit?)

Ok, IÂm now officially confused. This chap's roses looked BRILLIANT so he must be doing something right, but I don't want to burn the plants - and for all I know, I heard him wrong!

Thanks all ...

Featured Answer

kevarose_2006

20 years ago

I burn my garden wood rubbish when I can (I have about 20 cabbage gums in my front acre that drop leaves and branches) and have several piles of ash now - I dig it onto the ride on trailer and then heap it around the various roses - a lot of effort but I think it helps and I never think about quantities - like I do when I cook - I do it by "feel". Have to do an ash expedition tomorrow in fact. If you are allowed to burn, I am sure this is better - and cheaper - than buying chemicals .... but what do I know?

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (7)

rosesforme
20 years ago
Hi femmeradsy

I use about a handful on each rose.
I sprinkle it on and around the rose to about the drip line, and work it in a little to the soil then water well.
I would do this every month or so.
Pretty casual about it but the roses are always look better...stronger colour and healthy.
cheers
Michelle
User
20 years ago
I had been putting on the 10gms per bush every three months when I was using Organic Life,
but now that I am back to using a Chemical Fertilizer I don't use it at all.
If I am using the right combination of elements I should not have to add extra,
Maybe its just a sales thing before you go out the door, after all sometimes less is best.
Cheers..MM.
Related Discussions
Anyone use Rosetone, kelp meal, green sand, or sulfate of potash?
Q
Comments (13)
Thank you ALL for the info. on potassium. I'm on the look-out for greensand and granite dust. The 7 gallons I received from Roses Unlimited had these shiny, silvery, metallic bits mixed in the soil. I don't know if they are granite dust, please inform. Hi LovemySheltie: Lowe's in Chicagoland sells Rose-Tone. Walmart sells Holly-tone. I prefer Holly-tone since our soil and water is alkaline, and Holly-tone has more calcium. My neighbor grows his tomato in a big pot, he has blossom-rot problem and has to use gypsum (calcium sulfate). I grow tomatoes in the ground - zero blossom-rot, but my limestone soil is barely adequate in calcium. Holly-tone says to use only 1 cup with peatmoss in the planting hole. NPK is 4-3-4, the below excerpt is from the Epsoma website: "Holly-tone, like all Espoma Tone products, provides 12 additional trace elements and micronutrients such as iron, calcium and magnesium. Holly-tone derives its 15 nutrients from organic ingredients including dehydrated manure, animal tankage, crab meal, cocoa meal, cottonseed meal, dried blood, sunflower meal, kelp, greensand, rock phosphate and sulfate of potash." My Holy-tone bag also lists alfalfa meal, and 3% calcium, 1% magnesium, and 2% sulfur - perfect for alkaline clay. My soil in Chicagoland is tested high in magnesium, but barely adequate in calcium. We are right next to a limestone quarry!
...See More
How much potash?
Q
Comments (10)
Although greenwaste compost would be my first choice too, 0.75 cups of fertilizer per 100 sq.ft. is a pretty good amount. 0.75 cups of muriate of potash (0-0-60) is about 7.5 ounces per 100 sq. ft. or, to put it in terms that are more familiar for most, 4.7 lbs per 1000 sq. ft. That would put you at about 2.8 lbs of actual potassium per 1000 sq. ft. That's pretty typical and should do the trick. Remember, you don't want to over-apply, especially those really soluble sources. And how much time and energy does it really take to spread a little more than 1/2 cup of fertilizer over 87.5 sq. ft.? (a little less than a 9 foot by 10 foot area total).
...See More
How much Chickety Doo Doo to use?
Q
Comments (16)
Hi Mas: The only lavender I have is Angel Face, it's clean here for both me and my neighbor. There's a Kordes lavender rose, Poisedon, that Roses Unlimited carries. It's vigorous, and is grown in Russia, zone 5a. Check out this info. from HMF: "Poisedon is listed in Roses Unlimited booklet as "very fragrant". Pat Henry, owner of Roses Unlimited informed me that Poisedon is "very fragrant, very robust and healthy." I double-checked with another rose-grower on Poisedon, zone 6b. She also stated that Poisedon is very healthy, and has a nice scent. Tesselaar nursery in Australia stated on their website about Poisedon, or Novalis: "Plenty of blooms through the season that rate an impressive 5/5 on our fragrance scale. Blooms open singly and in clusters. Vigorous with a strong disease and black spot resistance. Leaves are light green. Named for the Romantic German writer. Bred by one of the most eminent breeders in the world, Kordes of Germany in 2010. Grows to 1m tall." *** From Straw: I heard good things about Neptune for alkaline soil: Neptune is a strong & disease-resistant rose, but Neptune died on a zone 5a winter. Here is a link that might be useful: Picture of Poisedon in HMF
...See More
how much damage can applying granular insecticide do in a rose garden?
Q
Comments (7)
Our understanding of nature is continuing to expand. I feel that there is a dilemma as to whether one should apply the precautionary principle when there is "new science" that suggests "bad effects" but the "new science" needs to be followed up by additional research. The link below leads to a new paper that I feel fits this description. http://toxsci.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2016/07/31/toxsci.kfw111 ----------------------------------------------------------- I have a copy of the full paper. In the Introduction section the following appears: "The toxicity of imidacloprid is embodied in neurotoxic action through disrupting neural signaling in adult insects (Tomizawa and Casida, 2005). However, little is known about its potential toxic effects on early embryo development in spite of a few reports on human health, including reproductive ability (Elbert et al., 2008; Gu et al., 2013; Wamhoff and Schneider, 1999). Currently, more and more attention is being paid to the toxic effects of pesticides on embryo development, including neural dysplasia. And the public is concerned about the risk of congenital diseases caused by exposure to pesticides, such as imidacloprid. However, there is no direct evidence of toxicological effects on neurogenesis or corresponding mechanisms nowadays. In this study, we investigated whether or not imidacloprid could affect neurogenesis and explored the relevant mechanism of imidacloprid-induced neural tube defects (NTDs) during early chick neurogenesis." The final sentence of the Discussion section states: "It is obvious that more precise molecular experiments are required to completely reveal the toxicological mechanism for imidacloprid exposure to embryonic neurogenesis."
...See More
Sparaxis
20 years ago
I guess it depends where you live. Sandy soils may be potassium depleted, but most other soils should contain sufficient K not to need regular topping up. If you are using a general purpose fertiliser you shouldn't need more.
rosesforme
20 years ago
Just a query
MM I use Organic Life as well.
I think it does a great job.
I also use cow manure from the farm.
Can I ask why you dont use Organic Life any more?
Thanks
Michelle
User
20 years ago
Hi Michelle ...Yes Organic life was Ok when I started off feeding the new roses but I noticed something was wrong later so I emailed some pics to a Queensland rose grower by trade asking him what did he think could be wrong with them. He wrote back and said they need feeding I told him I do and what I use was Organic Life he said that's good but it is missing the K and this is what he wrote .

( If you were to apply a combination of 100grams of organic life plus one level tsp of potassium sulphate (it's very strong IE 41.5% potassium%) once in August, once in November and once in February you would have the basis of a regular and balanced fertiliser program for your roses.)

He also advised me to divide the amount in half and do it every six weeks instead, well by time I had finished that 35kg bag of OL I had had enough of adding the two to each plant. He also gave me this alternative to feed the roses with another brand of Chemical fertiliser and just give them 10gms every six weeks. So I bought a bag and have only did it the twice so far but I have notice that the Autumn flush of leaves are a better colour..

We have bad soil here Michelle and we don't get much rain, then when we do it heaves down and probably leaches all the good things out of it, So I will try his idea for a while yet and see how is goes.. Your roses always look healthy Michelle so what you are doing must be right for them..Where what I was doing for mine was not.
Cheers...MM.
rosesforme
20 years ago
Thanks for your reply MM
I think you have to adjust the feeding routine according to the type and quality of the soil.
We Have dodgy soil here and have had to improve it...now I know where the dodgy bits are and the bits that have drainage trouble.
Only a few weeks back I planted 2 Violinas along the back fence with reservation...sure enough it was too damp there and the roses were not going well.I put them into containers until I can find a good spot and they are starting to show new growth already.
I have potted camellias in that spot vacated by the violinas and will plant them if I see good growth over the next month or so,
It should be good for the camellias..its shaded and thats what I think was not good for the roses,
cheers
Michelle

Potash on roses - how much to use?

kevarose_2006

Comments (7)

rosesforme

User

Related Discussions

Sparaxis

rosesforme

User

rosesforme

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US