How to apply winter fertilizer to Chinese roses?
Living knowledge series, about the related experience of applying winter fertilizer to Chinese roses in flower planting, the following is a detailed sharing.
When to apply winter fertilizer to Chinese roses? What kind of fertilizer should be chosen for winter fertilization of Chinese roses? What are the specific fertilization methods?
Let's analyze them one by one.
I. When to apply winter fertilizer to Chinese roses?
Applying winter fertilizer to Chinese roses has always been a topic of controversy. Some people think that Chinese roses are dormant in winter and do not need much fertilizer, so applying fertilizer in winter is a waste.
But that's not actually the case. Applying organic fertilizer to Chinese roses in winter can not only promote the expansion of bud spores but also maintain soil temperature, and winter is also the best time to apply raw fertilizer.
If applying fermented organic fertilizer, it can be applied once before winter. In the northern regions, it should be applied once before freezing to keep the soil warm.
For applying unfermented raw fertilizer, it should be used when the lowest temperature is below 5 degrees, close to 0 degrees. Generally, raw fertilizer is buried in January, and the low temperature will consume the heat generated during the fermentation process of raw fertilizer, preventing fertilizer damage.
II. What kind of fertilizer should be chosen for winter fertilization of Chinese roses?
There are many sources of organic fertilizer, such as kitchen waste compost, chicken manure, sheep manure, earthworm manure, soybean cake fertilizer, rapeseed cake, fish intestines, bone meal, and many more. How should we choose? What kind of organic fertilizer is suitable for Chinese roses?
Among organic fertilizers, there is a rule: organic fertilizers derived from plant residues generally contain more nitrogen, while those from animals contain more phosphorus and potassium.
How to apply winter fertilizer to Chinese roses?
According to this characteristic of organic fertilizers and combined with the plant's fertilizer requirements, we can more easily select suitable organic fertilizers for Chinese roses.
Since Chinese roses bloom frequently and have a long flowering period, they consume a lot of phosphorus and potassium fertilizers, so the winter fertilizer for Chinese roses should preferably be rich in phosphorus and potassium or have a relatively balanced content of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium.
First is fish intestine fertilizer, but fish intestine fertilizer is used raw, and in high-temperature areas, it is not safe and the probability of attracting pests in summer is greatly increased. From the perspective of utilizing the growth of Chinese roses, fish intestines are a good choice, but preventive measures against soil pests are necessary.
Besides fish intestines, chicken manure, sheep manure, and earthworm manure are also good choices. These organic fertilizers have relatively balanced nutritional elements, but for Chinese roses that need a lot of phosphorus and potassium, they may not provide enough. However, it's not a problem; we can use bone meal together with them to increase the proportion of phosphorus and potassium.