What have you found to be the best all around rose food to give the lots of leaves and blooms?

Answer 1

If you want an organic fertilizer Espoma's Rose*Tone or Flower*Tone is hard to beat. Last's about 6 weeks.

If you want a longer term fertilizer Osmocote is the best. It lasts 4 months so you'd only have to fertilize roses twice a year.

If you want some fast acting fertilizer MiracleGrow is still hard to beat. Scotts bought MiracleGrow and Peter's so they are nearly identical now.

If you use Osmocote or Peters Mg is in it so no need for Epsom salts and I'm pretty sure Espoma ferts also have Mg. No need to add extra since it's a trace element.

Answer 2

One of my mentors, the late great Dick Schmidt was a past president of the Michigan Rose Society. He exclusively used Espoma brand "Rosetone" on his roses (as do I).

My antique (planted circa 1914) rosebushes have really turned around since I began their maintenance. A rose bush that sometimes put on a dozen flowers in the spring, this year had over five-dozen!

I would also recommend an eighth of a cup of Epsom salts once per year. Epsom salts are also known as Manganese sulphate, which contains an abundance of trace elements which helps the plants too. Not too much, it can be detrimental, just an eighth of a cup every year, or every other year.

Do your pruning in the spring!

I hope that this helps
Good luck-