Lilyfinch,

Here is how I would figure out how much of your correctly diluted liquid feed to give per rose. Let's use a mature hybrid tea, like Peace, for example.

This test could be done in real life, the best method, or visualized in your mind as a second best method.

Let's say your Peace rose was growing in an adequately sized container for its size rather than in the ground. You want to give it its scheduled liquid feed. How much do you give it? Let's stipulate that it is well hydrated...watered 6 hours ago, no sooner or earlier, until the water ran out of the drainage holes at that time.

Pour your properly prepared liquid fertilizer solution slowly, by cupfuls, into the Peace rose's pot, pausing after every cupful long enough to determine if any fertilizer solution is running out of the drainage holes. Take your time, you are running a test, and want to be as accurate as possible.

You will be surprised to discover how long it will take for the fertilizer solution to run out of the drainage holes. You will also be amazed at how much can run out after it starts..continuing to flow out of the holes long after you thought at first that your Peace did not get enough fertilizer solution so far, as you gave it more.

Backtracking....make sure you count your cupfuls. As soon as you reach the point when you begin to see your fertilizer solution run out of your pot's drainage holes after the last cupful you poured, that's how much fertilizer solution each in ground equivalent hybrid tea should get, no more, in fact even less if quite a bit of fertilizer solution is observed running out of the drainage holes.

An extra step would be to put a pan under your peace rose and collect the fertilizer runoff, measure it, and subtract from your total cupfuls poured to get the correct feed amount.

I'll wager the amount of fertilizer solution necessary for an effective feed is less than you expected. I could be wrong.

I hope my system makes sense of you. Remember, nothing is carved in stone. I have found it is best to underfeed than overfeed.

Moses

Moses!! Amazing explanation!! Finally I get it!!:)

Yes Moses , that does make sense ! I can test on my potted roses .. with just regular water as I think I used miracle grow potting mix so I don't want to add fertilizer yet .

Thanks for the good idea !! I think I under used the more bloom anyway as numbers aren't my thing and I had t keep reminding myself I had a two gallon can and a half tablespoon measure . Lol

On your question on fungicides: I use a 2-gallon pump sprayer, easy to find. Pour the indicated amount into the sprayer, add water, pump, spray. The spray is a fine mist, and very efficient in applying the product. If you only have 8 roses, a 1-gallon spray would be fine.

Daconil isn't the most effective (it is a surface fungicide), but if it works for you, go with it.

Lilyfinch

In regard to sprayers, I like this one from Solo which works very slick and can adjust to a very fine mist:

https://www.amazon.com/Solo-420-2-Liter-One-Hand-Pressure/dp/B000AQNQ4Q/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1497531516&sr=8-2&keywords=solo+2+liter+sprayer

For bigger jobs, I love the convenience of this battery powered sprayer (no pumping, very powerful, very adjustable nozzle):

https://www.amazon.com/Chapin-63985-4-Gallon-Battery-Backpack/dp/B00Q03MMDO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1497531624&sr=8-1&keywords=chapin+battery+powered+backpack+sprayer

I own both and wouldn't be without them.

Diane , please recommend your favorite! This was my first try of sprays. I'm due to buy more so I'd love to know what really works ! Heard good things about Bayer , that was going to be next but I'll try what works !

Ben I will look into those ! As my rose collection gets bigger ( probably around 50 or so now ) I'll need something more helpful . Right now I'm only spraying The ones showing signs of bs but all of a sudden they all have it at the bottom . That must be my fault for watering in the evening which is the best time for me.

Moses your explanations are wonderful ! Don't get out more .. haha we need you here!

I didn't realize you were treating Blackspot specifically. I live in Blackspot Paradise, I use the combo that K and M Roses recommends...Mancozeb + Honor Guard, bought from Amazon, it does a great job. Mancozeb is a contact fungicide, Honor Guard is systemic. In other words, get rid of it now, and keep it gone! I do need to spray every 2 weeks where I live, but you might get by with less than that.

Oh yes Ben .. I have black spot on roses they say don't get it ! I tried to choose bs resistant roses but it's getting ugly out there. I'll hop onto amazon and check it out

Sadly a lot of roses that are touted as BS disease resistant are not BS resistant in certain areas of the country...

I spray 50 roses with the $25.00, Solo sprayer, available on Amazon, which Texas Ben recommended, and kindly provided a link to it in his earlier post.

Many sprayers have passed through my hands over the years. None worked better for me than my Solo sprayer. No sprayer is perfect, but the Solo comes very close to it.

Easy to use, easy to clean, efficiently delivers its contents ranging from a stream spray to an extremely fine spray. The fine spray comes out in a low force, slower, misty manner, which is ideal in that very little spray is wasted. You use less spray and the environment is less impacted.

There is no harsh, forceful air flow behind the spray. A forceful air flow behind a fine mist PUSHES the leaves out the way of the spray. I hate sprayers that do that. The leaves are not effectively sprayed, nor are both leaf surfaces reached easily with a forceful air flow spray.

The Solo sprayer is not like this, it just releases a gentle force of fine mist reaching exactly where you want it to. The leaves hardly rustle as they are being fine sprayed.

The tank of the Solo is in one hand with the wand at the end of the tank. The other hand is free. There are no stiff, hard to maneuver, rose cane-breaking hoses to deal with. No clumsy, heavy tank has to be dragged around. Those tanks are unstable because the pressurized stiff hose frequently causes them to fall over, get stuck in, and damage bushes. When you need to stop to repump up the pressure, often in awkward places on the ground, in or near your rose bed, you start to go on a slow burn.

The Solo is repumped right in your hand. Your free hand pumps the tank right where you are standing.

I highly recommend the Solo sprayer, seconding Ben's recommendation.

Moses

Ok - totally lazy with the fertilizer here! I put the fish emulsion in a hose end sprayer and use it that way. I wander around the yard with the hose and a Summer Shandy, too many roses to make up fertilizer by the bucket! I have a sprayer I just leave the fish stuff in all the time.

These responses are so incredibly helpful! Thank you for the detailed descriptions and the Amazon links.

I am moving from a few scattered roses to a rose garden with approx 100 plants and I will need a good sprayer (s).

Moses, I love your advice about letting the rose lead. Love it! And I think it applies to raising children and a whole lot of other things in life :)

Yes, Moses...I just realized that's what I do. You explained it so well and I love how you phrased it - let the rose lead...we follow. Excellent!

Carol

Lily, I use plain ol miracle gro for my pots once a week. No measuring anything here! lol I put a scoop in my watering can and fill up and just water. My roses and potted plants always grow and bloom great. For BS I use Bayer disease control in a handheld pump spayer and it works great. Im def going to order that solo though. I usually go through a couple cheap sprayers a year. Thanks Ben and Moses for the recommendation!

Lilyfinch z7 mid tn, Pentathlon (manzate) and Banner Maxx (same as Honor Guard) as the regular program. Bayer Disease Control for Roses, Flowers, and Shrubs in a pinch. I get my sprayers from HD or Lowes. I have an expensive one in the garage that was too unwieldly to use and it is faster for me to use the pump sprayers.