I know there are several out there growing roses in the/a gritty mix and do very well with it - perhaps they'll reply so you don't have to take a biased opinion. ;o) We know that roses don't especially like a high % of N in their diet, & most growers will purposely limit N to near actual deficiency levels. Though I don't agree there is ANY benefit in supplying high amounts of P in their (roses) nutritional program, I'd have to defer to any rosarian that is truly experienced in growing roses in containers. I can't imagine how a plant could ever actually USE more P than N w/o displaying severe N deficiency symptoms. If I was pursuing the fun of roses in containers, I would start out with any 1:1:1 fertilizer that had all the minors (or I would supply the minors with a supplement) and add enough 0-0-3 ProTeKt to bring the fertilizer formula up to somewhere near a 1:1:2 ratio. Al

This is not an easy question...I hope someone can chime in and help you. How much and how often you fertilize can depend on the kind of soil you use..So lets us know what your soil consists of ok... If your using a fast draining mix, such as Al suggests in the container forums, the gritty one in particular,most likely everyday feeding at weak doses and watering wouldn't be an issue. What's is great about that mix, is that if the the weather or pots are too hot to allow the plant to absord the nutrients, they will never build up anyways. Every watering will flush what residue salts and unused fertilizer you have that can become toxic over time, to be replaced with fresh fertilizer and water. It has been a wonderful soil for me in many plants. My plants were VIBRANT all of my last very hot summer. I too had to water everyday.. I watered and fertilized mine last summer with a 1/4 strength of dynagro, and also had CRF in my soils, and they did marvelous!! I watered this way in the gritty mix and the 5.1.1.one, discussed in the container forum. And our summers can get very HOT. Please, take a peak on that forum. I think you will get your answers your looking for. It will take some time to read some though..lol Here is the link to check it out. I hope it helps you... There is alot of educated and expereinced members there you WILL learn from. Some have asked the same question as you too. http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/contain/nph-ind.cgi?n=60 Fertilizer Program for Containerized Plants II Mike...:-)

Some folks get nearly as detailed in their ferts as they do their soil. I use MG 15-30-15 diluted to 1/4 strength. You're fertilizing far too often IMO, but others may say differently. I'd only go once a month. There's no need to fertilize plants when they're not in their growth cycle. Figure out what's in growth (and what isn't) and you'll be able to feed appropriately. Plants adjust to the seasons of their location. No, no to the coffee grounds - these plants aren't acid-loving, as they prefer a neutral soil. I'd suggest you get a book on the basic care of C&S - they're usually fairly cheap at the bookstore or often available at a public library. Miles Anderson has two (I think) inexpensive ones which were quite valuable to me when I was beginning in these plants of ours. In this way you can get a lot of 'Aha' moments and be more comfortable about how to grow. Aside from that, you're in a prime area for plants of these sorts - mistakes are more easily forgiven, but you can avoid them by getting some beginner's information under your belt and stride about confident that your plants are getting good care.

The Dyna Gro 9-3-6 is good (maybe even superior) fertilizer for just about anything grown in a container. The exceptions would be Australian native P sensitive plants and blueberries. For roses or other woody plants I would follow their 'production routine', which is to mix 1 tsp. per gallon of water, once a week. Because I grow altogether too many woody plants in containers and using the Dyna Gro weekly or more often is excessively expensive and time consuming, I prefer to use Osmocote Plus. One application in spring lasts the entire growing season and it also has a full range of micronutrients. A slightly different NPK ratio but still a perfectly acceptable and highly functional fertilizer.