As with soil mixes, each nursery has a preferred fertilizing program for their roses. In general, roses need their nitrogen to keep blooming and growing well. Whether it be granular, soluble or slow-release, a balanced fertilizer often works best -- triple 8, 10, 12, 15 or even 20. Minor elements needed most by roses are iron, zinc and magnesium. Always follow the manufacturer's recommendations for the produce you choose.

Begin fertilizing at half the recommended rate when your new roses haave produced shoots of 3 to 4 inches length. Using any fertilizer earlier in the life of the plant can burn the young developing roots. But you can top-dress newly potted roses with a slow-release fertilizer because it takes longer to actually get to the root zone. As the plants grow larger, frequency and strength of fertilizer can be increased. Fertilizing right after the completion of a bloom cycle insures the best continuity of flower.

Blackspot--A rounded dark lesion on the foliage that defoliates the plant from the lower leaves up. Appears in the summer. Spread by splashing water.

Powdery Mildew -- Irregular whitish lesions that deform the young soft foliage. Appears first in spring. An airborne fungus.

Downey Mildew -- Irregular purple-black lesions on the canes and foliage. Defoliates quickly. Appears when nights are cool and days are warm.

Rust -- Rust-red spots appearing on the underside of the lower leaves. Appears in cool conditions. Spread by splashing water.

Aphids -- Soft green insects that suck plant juices from young growing tips and flower buds, producing a sweet exudate that often attracts ants. They multiply very rapidly in early spring and late fall

Spider Mites -- Very minute arachnids that give a salt and pepper appearance to the underside of leaves. Can defoliate from the ground up and stop any new growth when severe. They multiply best in summer heat.

Thrips -- Tiny sucking insects that enter the young flower buds and damage the petals, producing brown edges and lesions. They multiply best in summer heat

Beetles -- Flying insects that eat large portions of the flowers, buds and sometimes even the foliage. They appear mostly in mid to late summer.

Midge -- Soil-borne insects whose larvae distort and devour the small young flower buds and growing shoots. Also, mostly evident in mid-summer.

Borers -- A larvae that enters fresh cuts and bores down the center of the cane. Damage is most evident when winter pruning, although the insect is active in late summer.

Caterpillars -- Larvae of moths and butterflies that appear sporadically in summer. They mostly eat the young flower buds and new shoots.