Sara Ann , I had been trying to reply to this since this am . I read it , put phone down , got back and it disappeared. Here it finally is ! Lol

i looked up accuweather bc I had no idea it was a site , just thought it was news speak . I’m happy to report my area will also warm up after this week ! Sure hope it’s super accurate!

I can’t wait either . I have a lot of fertilizer and pruning and mulching to do. So much I wish I could hire it out . I’d like it to warm up a little so I can clean my basement up . It’s very cold there and I hate going down when it’s like this. But I need to count pots and see how many I’ll need for all my new babies . I think I have 35 ish roses coming . I’m debating on ordering “ state of grace “ and garden and home from Edmunds. What’s two more ? :)

I'm excited too I planted a bunch of roses last summer and fall so this will be their first spring!!!

Hey Sara Ann!! I hope you’re doing great. This time of year I’m sooooo over winter I can’t stand it. I was curious about Accuweather. Is it pretty good about being accurate with the forecast?

Roses blooming are still a long ways off for me. Earliest would be Memorial Day. That's when I usually get my first bloom. I just want to get out and be able to work in the yard! I lost all of last season so the roses and beds are a weedy mess. The whole yard needs lots of TLC. I'm hoping that I'll be able to manage a couple of hours a day to bring things back into shape by the time the roses are ready to bloom!

Yes! AccuWeather is the best you can watch the radar and everything.

So good to hear from you all, I know we are all looking forward to spring and our roses blooming! Prettypetals, so happy tp see your post. I really missed your gorgeous bouquets last year! They are one of the things I look most forward to on this forum! I love it when members post pictures of their roses.

According to my favorite weather man, we had 3 full days of sun for the month of February, and only 11 days of partial sun. Everything I have is starting to leaf out, but its suppose to be in the 30’s a few days next week. Uhggg I’d settle for more sun at this point but I’ve been ready for spring and rose since December :) my ARE order arrived last week, so the pot ghetto is just growing and growing.

So ready to be done with cold and foggy, windy and wet.

Today could be decent. Fingers crossed. I still have 15 roses to prune, home stretch. Than the clean up can begin .

I have bulbs and plants in addition to roses coming and feel a bit overwhelmed . But, it will all get done, it may take longer than usual, but hey, its only March

I am getting ansy too! Been pruning and retying climbers.

Here is Florentina with some new growth already. Hardly any dieback this winter. It has never bloomed yet. Hoping it will bloom once this third year but the spot may be too shady.

So hoping this is our last night of freezes [to be 27 or so], tho we usually get a cold snap around Easter. Have had more rain than usual, so the yard is really wet, but had a beautiful day of sunshine today and things will dry fast - except that on Thursday we are getting 6 more days of rain.......tomorrow is partly sunny so am getting a big load of mixed sand, mushroom compost and bark fines on my small trailer. Too muddy to get golf cart to my pile of this great stuff, so going to just have it parked by my trailer shed on concrete drive and can get to it anytime I need it. So excited as now I can start to put this on beds to raise them, then can start planting roses! Also can start potting a bunch as well. Have ordered a bunch and have been making trips to Chamblees. Unless its pouring rain, I dont mind getting out and digging - and its not supposed to be cold - so let the digging begin! All my roses are leafing out beautifully - will start putting out Mills Magic Rose Mix, alfalfa pellets, epsom salts, cottonseed meal so any rain will wash that in. Dont think I can wait much longer to start all my rose activities! Sure feel sorry for those up north who are buried in snow. When our blistering summer comes, I will envy them their balmy summers!

Alameda, have you noticed a difference using Mills? I have never tried it, but I am curious.

here's my first red rose bloom of the year. Heirloom burst forth with blooms first but the red roses catch the eye.

Edit: can't insert a pic.

Totoro, not sure I notice a huge difference, but this is an organic blend and not sure I would see a big change, not like using a shot of Miracle Gro. But I do know that it has all the goodies like alfalfa, cottonseed meal, etc. that are good for soil - and anything good for soil is good for the roses. It has an excellent reputation and I have used it for years, my roses are healthy and I use it in my potting mix when I pot up roses - so I would say that it contributes to the overall health of my roses and its something I will always put on my roses in early spring. I have alot of roses, its about $26/bag so I go to Houston where I get it 15% off for Rose Appreciation Week as a member of the Houston Rose Society each February. I get 4 bags, and am going to use the Mills soluable fertilizer this year that I ordered.

Judith

Thanks, Judith. When you put it in the pot, do you also use liquid fertilizer?

I haven't found a fertilizer that consistently gives me a lot of blooms , but perhaps I am just not using enough? I should probably get a home soil test.

Sweet drift

Winchester cathedral

Not too many blooms in the pic because I cut them all for bouquets

Spirit of freedom. The best Austin out there in my opinion.

SoF, Pat Austin and wedding bells

I understand from people who are more expert than I that when you transplant to a pot or ground, wait until after the first flush of blooms to use the liquid "chemical" type of fertilizer. I overfertilized a rare rose years ago that I couldnt replace with being too generous with chemical fertilizer, and have been cautious ever since. Kim Rupert, a really top notch rosarian, has said "fertilize weekly, weakly" and I adhere to that.

I am 2 hours from Chamblees [going there tomorrow to see what is left], told me some years ago, when I was frustrated with the David Austin rose Graham Thomas, who wouldnt bloom [huge bush, no blooms] to try Carl Pool 61 fertilizer. I did, and got blooms. Have used that ever since. I mix up my fertilizers [write down "rose recipes" I find and put on computer] as I also read a quote that said - "roses are hogs - feed 'em". Roses are apparently like gluttons at the buffet table - but I am cautious about giving them too much. I saw real growth and blooming last year when I used Osmocote. The last couple of years however, I have had so much going on that I wasnt regular with my fertilizing but got blooms anyway. Always start out the year with high hopes of being organized......then some train wreck comes along and I cant stay on schedule. I know getting a soil test is the ideal thing to do before fertilizing, but I have so many beds in so many different places, and a fenceline with roses all along it - it would be daunting and expensive to take that many samples, so I put a light layer of rotted horse compost [I raise horses so have plenty] on top of beds, try to do this spring and fall, doesnt always work out. I found this makes my soil really friable and everything grows in it. In spring I topdress with the Mills [and put it in the bottom of the hole when I am planting in ground or in pots], epsom salts, alfalfa pellets, cottonseed meal around the roses in spring, put a shovelful of rotted horse compost on top then the mulch. I read where it is a good idea to put compost on first then mulch as mulch robs plant of nitrogen,or does something that makes it hard for plant to take up nutrients. [check this out, I could have remembered incorrectly] compost prevents that. I really like to read about what experienced rose lovers do - always learn something.

Judith