Planting roses in Sept. zone 9

Question

I know I’m pushing my luck planting this rose at this time but, unfortunately, it can’t be helped. Some of the information I’ve read says not to fertilize at this time, so I wasn’t going to do it. However, some of the soil mix I was going to use is Vigoro’s organic gardening soil – which, according to the package, continually feeds for up to 3 months. Is this going to be a problem, as that would indicate it has some kind of fertilizer in it.

Thanks

Answer 1

I have had to do late season transplants too. Definitely do not use soils that has such fertilizer in it, as this will gear the rosebushes into grow mode when they should be storing up energy for the winter and slowing down on bloom production. Look for some EKO brand soils as they will typically have natural soil building contents and no added fertilizers. You can make your own mix using equal portions of compost, top soil and some play or landscaping sand plus add some kelp meal to the mix. Once transplanted, water them in with some water that has Super Thrive mixed into the water. It is not a fertilizer but a nutrients supplier kind of like taking vitamins. Just after the first frost, give each rosebush two tablespoons of super phosphate working it into the soils lightly and water in lightly. It moves through the soils slowly and gives the root systems something to snack on during the winter to help strengthen them for a better Spring. Keep any eye on the soils moisture throughout their dormant winters nap time period. The root systems will not be well enough developed to bring up the moisture they normally would.